- Encourage play re-enactment of the disaster to integrate the experiences in their lives.
- Have children draw pictures or create a mural and discuss in small groups with an adult.
- Let the children dictate short stories to an adult on a one-to-one basis to help verbalize fears.
- Play games that involve physical touching such as Ring Around the Rosie and London Bridge, to increase sense of security.
Primary Grades
- Make toys available that encourage re-enactment of experiences.
- Develop skits or puppet shows about what happened.
- Stimulate group discussion by showing your own feelings.
- Brainstorm classroom or family disaster plans.
- Develop projects, such as scrapbooks, that give children a feeling of control.
- Draw pictures and write stories.
Secondary School
- Facilitate group discussions of students’ experiences of the disaster. Include a mental health professional to help students express feelings in a safe, constructive environment.
- Have students work in small groups to develop a disaster plan for their home, school or community.
- Develop a class project to help the community rebuild.
Curricular Activities
- Art: Have students portray their experiences in various media.
- Civics/Government: Study government agencies that provide aid to victims. Invite a local government official to discuss disaster preparedness and recovery.
- English Language Arts: Have students write their personal experiences.
- Health: Discuss emotional reactions to disaster and the importance of taking care of one’s emotional and physical well-being.
- History: Research past natural disasters and lessons learned.
- Journalism: Have students write stories that cover different aspects of the disaster, such as impacts on the community, human interest stories, rebuilding efforts.
- Literature: Have students read literature and poetry about disasters in other times and places.
- Math: Create word problems dealing with disaster impacts, such as gallons of water lost or cubic feet of earth that moved in a mudslide.
- Psychology: Teach students about the signs of post-traumatic stress. Invite a guest mental health worker to talk about emotions and behaviors after a disaster.
- Science: Conduct research on aspects of a disaster, such as climate conditions that cause tornadoes or geologic conditions that create earthquakes.
- Speech/Drama: Ask students to develop a skit or play about coping with disaster.