Sheryl Hott, Little Oak School
 

LOOKING DEEPER -- a lesson plan exploring the role of traumatic response in humans.
GOALS: To gain basic understanding of trauma, recognize episodes that can produce it, and behaviors it can elicit.
SUPPLIES: Display copy of "Acharei Moti" by Chaim Nachman Bialik and copies to give students. (Print version) Internet access for trauma sites (See links below.)
INTRODUCTION: As a class, read the poem "Acharei Moti" ("After My Death") by Chaim Nachman Bialik.. (Print version) After my death, thus shall you mourn me "There was a man--and see: he is no more! Before his time did this man depart And the song of his life in its midst was stilled And alas! One more tune did he have And now that tune is forever lost Forever lost! And great is the pity! For a harp had he A living and singing soul And this poet, whenever he voiced it The inner secrets of his heart it expressed All its strings his hand would make sing out. Yet one hidden chord now is lost with him Round and round it his fingers would dance One string in his heart, mute has remained Mute has remained---to this very day! And great, oh great is the pity! All its life this string would tremble Silently quivering, silently trembling To sound the tune that would set it free Yearning, thirsting, sorrowing, desiring As the heart sorrows for what fate has decreed Though its tune was delayed--every day did it wait And with unheard whisper begged it to come Its time came and passed, and it never arrived It never arrived! And great, oh, how great is the pain There was a man--and see: he is no more And the song of his life in its midst is stilled One more melody did he have And now that song is forever lost Forever lost!	(This poem was recited at the memorial ceremony for the fallen astronauts of the Columbia space shuttle. It was written in 1904 by the Hebrew poet Chaim Nachman Bialik.) Ask the students to notice their feelings and thoughts. In what way does the poem express personal loss? In what way does it express a collective loss? Ask the students if they noticed any differences in their thoughts or feelings during and after they read this poem. Their comments will probably recognize a range of mental activity from subtle to strong. Summarize by asking them to keep in mind that "we were just reading a poem" and that real life situations may magnify this range of feeling greatly.
GUIDED DISCUSSION: 1. Students brainstorm a list of "What is Healthy or Common Human Behavior". All serious contributions accepted. Explain this is a "general public" list, not a psychologist's or professional's definition.	MY CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE: Our list of “healthy or common behaviors” included sleeping, eating, walking, talking, skateboarding, thinking, interacting, socializing, hate, love, worrying, stress, judging, sympathy, desire to learn, caring, nervousness, communication, writing, drinking liquids, trying to be physically comfortable, grief, caring about things, eating, trying to control emotion, fighting, screaming, hitting, pushing, singing, seeing, wanting to know what’s going to happen, spontaneous thinking
2. Make a "What is Unhealthy or Uncommon Human Behavior List". Again, for academic purposes, all serious contributions are acceptable and same "general public" rule for the definition applies.	Our list of “unhealthy or uncommon human behaviors” included dangerous actions, murder (“good” reasons discussion ensued), gluttony We came to realize that abnormal or uncommon behavior was often relative to environment and culture. We discussed examples of when "abnormal" behaviour might accepted as "normal."
3. Define trauma and what it does to humans. **Exercise Caution** Someone in your group may have been traumatized. You must act responsibly in order not to re-traumatize them. Explain that to your students in a general way: “When we talk about trauma we need to be aware of others and careful with what and how we express ourselves.” Ask for list of general actions that could cause trauma.	Our list of “general actions that could cause trauma” included seeing people die (stated by a student who had experienced this), death, abuse---sexual, physical,emotional, being hated, pain--physical and mental, abnormal behavior by maniacs, some hospital procedures We came to realize that trauma is hard to verbalize.
4. Students look at one of the web sites below about trauma causes, symptoms and long term problems. National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) A program of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs http://www.ncptsd.org/ Facts about PTS http://www.ncptsd.org/facts/index.html Children and terrorism http://www.ncptsd.org/facts/disasters/fs_children_disaster.html "About Trauma" web page by Oregon psychologist David V. Baldwin PhD http://www.trauma-pages.com/pg2.htm Students are asked to assemble a list of trauma symptoms derived from one of these websites: Common Responses to Trauma -- and Coping Strategies by Patti Levin, LICSW, PsyD http://www.trauma-pages.com/t-facts.htm Warning Signs of Trauma Related Stress posted by the American Psychological Assocation. http://www.apa.org/practice/ptsd.html	This information is tied into the "healthy/unhealthy" discussion so that students understand that trauma reactions are common human responses. Our list of “general actions that could cause trauma” included: seeing people die (stated by a student who had experienced this), death, abuse---sexual, physical,emotional, being hated, pain--physical and mental, "abnormal behavior by maniacs"
ASSESSMENT: ***Once again, warn students that trauma victims can be re-traumatized and that they must exercise caution with their example.**** Individually or in groups, students are given an array of sources, newspapers, magazines, books, or other pertinent resources. Their job is to glean an example of a potentially traumatic event. They need to think who might be traumatized and why. OR Students are asked to bring in a resource that they recognize shows a potential traumatizing situation. Individuals or groups can discuss the situations, decide who they think could be traumatized and why.

Thank you to Jacob Fetsch and Jungyul Kwon for helping to develop this lesson idea.
Sheryl Hott, Little Oak School