Trauma-Sensitive Literacy Instruction

It is vital for educators to be aware of how traumatic experiences affect today’s students, yet few teachers learn the tools needed to successfully teach these students. This book highlights how English Language Arts teachers, who are typically not licensed or specifically trained to work with trauma issues, can design and implement instruction that helps students see that they are supported. Readers will find specific strategies for teaching literacy based on the authors’ extensive knowledge and experience in trauma-sensitive instruction, adolescent literacy, and culturally responsive and sustaining pedagogies. The authors show how to support middle and high school students with specific literacy practices (reading, speaking, listening, and writing) that build resilience. Trauma-Sensitive Literacy Instruction is for the many teachers who are unsure how to invite students and their traumas into classroom instruction and embed critical discussions and learning within their teaching practices and pedagogy. It will help ELA teachers navigate student trauma in a way that empowers both students and teachers.

Book Features:

• Responds to research that consistently shows how schools are often places that marginalize—and sometimes traumatize or retraumatize—children.
• Offers specific information related to literature, writing, discussion, and inquiry activities focused on various traumatic experiences.
• Provides rationales and research, along with examples, teacher vignettes, and steps for incorporating relevant practices in classrooms (grades 6–12).

Rachelle S. Savitz is an associate professor in the Department of Literacy Studies, English Education and History Education in the College of Education at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. Britnie Delinger Kane is an associate professor of literacy education in the Zucker Family School of Education at The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, where she also serves as the department head.

“The authors describe the negative effects of trauma and give suggestions to teachers for how they can help without taking on the role of certified school counselors…. They recommend various classroom activities, including using text sets, book clubs, reading conferences, anticipation guides, circles of viewpoints, and writing conferences.”

—CHOICE

“(A)n approachable, actionable, and relevant reference for literacy instructors.”

—Teachers College Record

“In this book, ELA teachers will find actionable pedagogical practices toward the transformative teaching that trauma demands and the respect, care, and support along the way that ELA educators need and deserve.”
—From the Foreword by Elizabeth Dutro, professor, University of Colorado Boulder

“To empower learners—which is the fundamental point of ELA—teachers need the heart, knowledge, and skills to strategically address the complexity of students living in trauma. Authors Savitz and Kane make stories concerning our most vulnerable children the axis of their book and provide a hopeful message to those educators who see and care: We can help.”
—Todd Finley, associate professor, East Carolina University

“Savitz and Kane’s book clearly and compassionately supports ELA teachers, preservice and in-service, in understanding the various types of trauma that adolescents bring with them into classrooms. The text provides teachers with concrete strategies and classroom stories of culturally responsive and sustaining pedagogies that help advance students’ multiple literacies and their social emotional well-being. This timely book is a must-read for all middle and high school ELA teachers trying to support their students in a post–COVID-19 world.”
—Jacy Ippolito, professor, Salem State University

Contents

Foreword  ix

Acknowledgments  xiii

1.  Introduction  1
What Is Trauma?  4
Trauma in Schools  6
How Does Trauma Influence Learning?  8
How Can Schools Become More Supportive Places?  9
The Purpose of This Book  11
Who Are We and Why Are We Writing This Book?  13

2.  Five Pillars of Trauma-Sensitive Literacy Instruction (TSLI): The Framework  14
The Research Base for This Book  17
Five Pillars of Trauma-Sensitive Literacy Instruction: A Framework  19

3.  Curating Appropriate, High-Quality Literature in TSLI  34
What Does Literature Have to Do With It?  35
Curating Novels to Build Classroom Libraries  47
Conclusion  58

4.  Critical Dialogue and Discussion in TSLI  59
Dialogic Teaching and Critical Literacy Practices  60

5.  Using Writing in TSLI  76
What About Teachers? Should We Be Using Expressive Writing to Support Students Experiencing Trauma?  78
Teaching Writing in Trauma-Sensitive Ways  79
Conclusion  94

6.  Critical Inquiry in TSLI  95
Critical Inquiry as a Trauma-Sensitive Literacy Practice  96
Guiding Principles for Designing Units of Trauma-Sensitive Critical Inquiry  98
Conclusion  108

7.  Hot Moments—Teacher Self-Care  110
Handling Hot Moments  111
The Emotional Labor of Teaching, Compassion Fatigue, and Compassion Satisfaction  125
Conclusion  134

References  135

Index  151

About the Authors  161