This has been a sampling of the content from the full Quick Reference Guide (QRG), Teaching Students from Poverty by Eric Jensen.

If you would like to purchase the full QRG, you may do so at www.shop.ascd.org by searching for stock number QRG118041.

ASCD PRODUCT #: QRG118041 (single); QRG118041P (25-pack)

© 2017 by ASCD. All rights reserved. Not for reproduction.

SEE MORE GUIDES AT WWW.ASCD.ORG/QUICKREFERENCEGUIDES SAVE 10% WHEN YOU BUY IN PACKS OF 25!

6

Acute and chronic stress can• Affect executive function skills. • Enhance emotional issues. • Suppress IQ and reading scores. • Foster memory loss and brain cell atrophy.• Discourage students from trying because then they can’t fail.• Encourage impulsive and aggressive behaviors.• Impair good judgment.• Lead to students forgetting, even after just reading a sentence.

There has been a good deal of research on the power of hope and optimism. A pioneer is Martin Seligman, also known as the “father of positive psychology.” His research (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000) suggests that hopefulness can be taught. Some strategies that build hope include

• Using daily affirmations (both verbally stated and posted on walls).• Asking to hear students’ hopes and offering reinforcement of those hopes.• Telling students specifically why they can succeed.• Providing needed academic resources (e.g., paper and pencils, computer time).• Helping students to set goals and build goal-getting skills.• Telling true stories of hope about people to whom students can relate.• Offering help, encouragement, and caring as often as needed.• Teaching students life skills in small daily chunks.• Avoiding complaining about students’ deficits. If they don’t have it, teach it!• Treating all the kids in your class as potentially gifted.• Building academic, emotional, and social assets in students.Source: Adapted from Jensen, 2009, pp. 115–116

IMPLEMENT 24/7 HOPEThe good news is that stress reduction skills are all teachable. 1 High-quality relationships—those with empathy, kindness,

and caring—lower student stress. Build those high-quality relationships with students.

2 Give students more control. Give students a choice in leadership roles (“Can you be in charge of classroom energizers this week?”), self-assessing (students have access to their own data and learn to develop “what to do next” strategies), and curriculum (students make choices in how they learn and how they would like to show their knowledge and skill: paper, demonstration, build a project, etc.).

3 Give students a voice in class (written and verbal). Honor student vision and goals. “Having a voice” means you believe that the students belong in an academic climate, they are worthy, and they have something of value to say. Having a voice gives them more control over their own choices.

4 Teach students how to manage their own stress (e.g., use better self-talk; change the narrative in your head; practice slow, deep breaths; take a walk; use smooth, slow movements).

STRATEGIES TO LOWER STUDENT STRESS 4

ABOUT THE AUTHOR ERIC JENSEN, PhD, is a former reading teacher who grew up in San Diego, California. He synthesizes brain research and develops practical applications for educators. Jensen has authored more than 30 books,

including Teaching with Poverty in Mind; Poor Students, Rich Teaching; Turnaround Tools for the Teenage Brain; and Different Brains, Different Learners. Jensen cofounded the first and largest residential academic enrichment program, now with more than 75,000 graduates.

REFERENCESEvans, G. W., Kim, P., Ting, A. H., Tesher, H. B., & Shannis, D. (2007). Cumulative risk, maternal responsiveness, and allostatic load among young adolescents. Developmental Psychology, 43(2), 341–351.Hanushek, E. A. (2004). Some simple analytics of school quality. Working paper 10229. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research. Retrieved from http://www.nber.org/papers/w10229 Hart, T., & Risley, B. (1995). Meaningful differences in the everyday experience of young American children. Baltimore, MD: Brookes Publishing.Jensen, E. (2009). Teaching with the brain in mind: What being poor does to kids’ brains and what schools can do about it. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.McCarter, S. (2017). The school-to-prison pipeline: A primer for social workers. Social Work, 62(1), 53–61.Noble K. G., McCandliss, B. D., & Farah, M. J. (2007). Socioeconomic gradients predict individual differences in neurocognitive abilities. Developmental Science, 10(4), 464–480.Seligman, M. E., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology: An introduction. American Psychologist, 55(1), 5–14.

Shah, A. K., Mullainathan, S., & Shafir, E. (2012). Some consequences of having too little. Science, 338(6107), 682–685.

Suitts, S. (2015). A new majority: Low income students now a majority in the nation’s public schools. Atlanta, GA: Southern Education Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.southerneducation.org/getattachment/4ac62e27-5260-47a5-9d02-14896ec3a531/A-New-Majority-2015-Update-Low-Income-Students-Now.aspx

United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service. (2017). Geography of poverty. Retrieved from https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/rural-economy-population/rural-poverty-well-being/geography-of-poverty.aspx

United States Department of Commerce (Census Bureau) (2011). American community survey. Retrieved from http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_10_1YR_S1702&prodType=table

ASCD is a global community dedicated to excellence in learning, teaching, and leading. For more about ASCD’s membership options, whole child approach, and advocacy efforts, go to www.ascd.org /about. To request training in your school or district, contact ASCD’s Professional Learning Services at programteam@ascd.org.

Learn more in Engaging Students with Poverty in Mind and Teaching with Poverty in Mind, available now at ASCD.ORG.

EFFECTS OF STUDENT STRESS IN THE CLASSROOM

ASCD PRODUCT #: QRG118041 (single); QRG118041P (25-pack)

© 2017 by ASCD. All rights reserved. Not for reproduction.

SEE MORE GUIDES AT WWW.ASCD.ORG/QUICKREFERENCEGUIDES SAVE 10% WHEN YOU BUY IN PACKS OF 25!

6

Acute and chronic stress can• Affect executive function skills. • Enhance emotional issues. • Suppress IQ and reading scores. • Foster memory loss and brain cell atrophy.• Discourage students from trying because then they can’t fail.• Encourage impulsive and aggressive behaviors.• Impair good judgment.• Lead to students forgetting, even after just reading a sentence.

There has been a good deal of research on the power of hope and optimism. A pioneer is Martin Seligman, also known as the “father of positive psychology.” His research (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000) suggests that hopefulness can be taught. Some strategies that build hope include

• Using daily affirmations (both verbally stated and posted on walls).• Asking to hear students’ hopes and offering reinforcement of those hopes.• Telling students specifically why they can succeed.• Providing needed academic resources (e.g., paper and pencils, computer time).• Helping students to set goals and build goal-getting skills.• Telling true stories of hope about people to whom students can relate.• Offering help, encouragement, and caring as often as needed.• Teaching students life skills in small daily chunks.• Avoiding complaining about students’ deficits. If they don’t have it, teach it!• Treating all the kids in your class as potentially gifted.• Building academic, emotional, and social assets in students.Source: Adapted from Jensen, 2009, pp. 115–116

IMPLEMENT 24/7 HOPEThe good news is that stress reduction skills are all teachable. 1 High-quality relationships—those with empathy, kindness,

and caring—lower student stress. Build those high-quality relationships with students.

2 Give students more control. Give students a choice in leadership roles (“Can you be in charge of classroom energizers this week?”), self-assessing (students have access to their own data and learn to develop “what to do next” strategies), and curriculum (students make choices in how they learn and how they would like to show their knowledge and skill: paper, demonstration, build a project, etc.).

3 Give students a voice in class (written and verbal). Honor student vision and goals. “Having a voice” means you believe that the students belong in an academic climate, they are worthy, and they have something of value to say. Having a voice gives them more control over their own choices.

4 Teach students how to manage their own stress (e.g., use better self-talk; change the narrative in your head; practice slow, deep breaths; take a walk; use smooth, slow movements).

STRATEGIES TO LOWER STUDENT STRESS 4

ABOUT THE AUTHOR ERIC JENSEN, PhD, is a former reading teacher who grew up in San Diego, California. He synthesizes brain research and develops practical applications for educators. Jensen has authored more than 30 books,

including Teaching with Poverty in Mind; Poor Students, Rich Teaching; Turnaround Tools for the Teenage Brain; and Different Brains, Different Learners. Jensen cofounded the first and largest residential academic enrichment program, now with more than 75,000 graduates.

REFERENCESEvans, G. W., Kim, P., Ting, A. H., Tesher, H. B., & Shannis, D. (2007). Cumulative risk, maternal responsiveness, and allostatic load among young adolescents. Developmental Psychology, 43(2), 341–351.Hanushek, E. A. (2004). Some simple analytics of school quality. Working paper 10229. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research. Retrieved from http://www.nber.org/papers/w10229 Hart, T., & Risley, B. (1995). Meaningful differences in the everyday experience of young American children. Baltimore, MD: Brookes Publishing.Jensen, E. (2009). Teaching with the brain in mind: What being poor does to kids’ brains and what schools can do about it. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.McCarter, S. (2017). The school-to-prison pipeline: A primer for social workers. Social Work, 62(1), 53–61.Noble K. G., McCandliss, B. D., & Farah, M. J. (2007). Socioeconomic gradients predict individual differences in neurocognitive abilities. Developmental Science, 10(4), 464–480.Seligman, M. E., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology: An introduction. American Psychologist, 55(1), 5–14.

Shah, A. K., Mullainathan, S., & Shafir, E. (2012). Some consequences of having too little. Science, 338(6107), 682–685.

Suitts, S. (2015). A new majority: Low income students now a majority in the nation’s public schools. Atlanta, GA: Southern Education Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.southerneducation.org/getattachment/4ac62e27-5260-47a5-9d02-14896ec3a531/A-New-Majority-2015-Update-Low-Income-Students-Now.aspx

United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service. (2017). Geography of poverty. Retrieved from https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/rural-economy-population/rural-poverty-well-being/geography-of-poverty.aspx

United States Department of Commerce (Census Bureau) (2011). American community survey. Retrieved from http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_10_1YR_S1702&prodType=table

ASCD is a global community dedicated to excellence in learning, teaching, and leading. For more about ASCD’s membership options, whole child approach, and advocacy efforts, go to www.ascd.org /about. To request training in your school or district, contact ASCD’s Professional Learning Services at programteam@ascd.org.

Learn more in Engaging Students with Poverty in Mind and Teaching with Poverty in Mind, available now at ASCD.ORG.

EFFECTS OF STUDENT STRESS IN THE CLASSROOM

ASCD PRODUCT #: QRG118041 (single); QRG118041P (25-pack)

© 2017 by ASCD. All rights reserved. Not for reproduction.

SEE MORE GUIDES AT WWW.ASCD.ORG/QUICKREFERENCEGUIDES SAVE 10% WHEN YOU BUY IN PACKS OF 25!

6

Acute and chronic stress can• Affect executive function skills. • Enhance emotional issues. • Suppress IQ and reading scores. • Foster memory loss and brain cell atrophy.• Discourage students from trying because then they can’t fail.• Encourage impulsive and aggressive behaviors.• Impair good judgment.• Lead to students forgetting, even after just reading a sentence.

There has been a good deal of research on the power of hope and optimism. A pioneer is Martin Seligman, also known as the “father of positive psychology.” His research (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000) suggests that hopefulness can be taught. Some strategies that build hope include

• Using daily affirmations (both verbally stated and posted on walls).• Asking to hear students’ hopes and offering reinforcement of those hopes.• Telling students specifically why they can succeed.• Providing needed academic resources (e.g., paper and pencils, computer time).• Helping students to set goals and build goal-getting skills.• Telling true stories of hope about people to whom students can relate.• Offering help, encouragement, and caring as often as needed.• Teaching students life skills in small daily chunks.• Avoiding complaining about students’ deficits. If they don’t have it, teach it!• Treating all the kids in your class as potentially gifted.• Building academic, emotional, and social assets in students.Source: Adapted from Jensen, 2009, pp. 115–116

IMPLEMENT 24/7 HOPEThe good news is that stress reduction skills are all teachable. 1 High-quality relationships—those with empathy, kindness,

and caring—lower student stress. Build those high-quality relationships with students.

2 Give students more control. Give students a choice in leadership roles (“Can you be in charge of classroom energizers this week?”), self-assessing (students have access to their own data and learn to develop “what to do next” strategies), and curriculum (students make choices in how they learn and how they would like to show their knowledge and skill: paper, demonstration, build a project, etc.).

3 Give students a voice in class (written and verbal). Honor student vision and goals. “Having a voice” means you believe that the students belong in an academic climate, they are worthy, and they have something of value to say. Having a voice gives them more control over their own choices.

4 Teach students how to manage their own stress (e.g., use better self-talk; change the narrative in your head; practice slow, deep breaths; take a walk; use smooth, slow movements).

STRATEGIES TO LOWER STUDENT STRESS 4

ABOUT THE AUTHOR ERIC JENSEN, PhD, is a former reading teacher who grew up in San Diego, California. He synthesizes brain research and develops practical applications for educators. Jensen has authored more than 30 books,

including Teaching with Poverty in Mind; Poor Students, Rich Teaching; Turnaround Tools for the Teenage Brain; and Different Brains, Different Learners. Jensen cofounded the first and largest residential academic enrichment program, now with more than 75,000 graduates.

REFERENCESEvans, G. W., Kim, P., Ting, A. H., Tesher, H. B., & Shannis, D. (2007). Cumulative risk, maternal responsiveness, and allostatic load among young adolescents. Developmental Psychology, 43(2), 341–351.Hanushek, E. A. (2004). Some simple analytics of school quality. Working paper 10229. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research. Retrieved from http://www.nber.org/papers/w10229 Hart, T., & Risley, B. (1995). Meaningful differences in the everyday experience of young American children. Baltimore, MD: Brookes Publishing.Jensen, E. (2009). Teaching with the brain in mind: What being poor does to kids’ brains and what schools can do about it. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.McCarter, S. (2017). The school-to-prison pipeline: A primer for social workers. Social Work, 62(1), 53–61.Noble K. G., McCandliss, B. D., & Farah, M. J. (2007). Socioeconomic gradients predict individual differences in neurocognitive abilities. Developmental Science, 10(4), 464–480.Seligman, M. E., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology: An introduction. American Psychologist, 55(1), 5–14.

Shah, A. K., Mullainathan, S., & Shafir, E. (2012). Some consequences of having too little. Science, 338(6107), 682–685.

Suitts, S. (2015). A new majority: Low income students now a majority in the nation’s public schools. Atlanta, GA: Southern Education Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.southerneducation.org/getattachment/4ac62e27-5260-47a5-9d02-14896ec3a531/A-New-Majority-2015-Update-Low-Income-Students-Now.aspx

United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service. (2017). Geography of poverty. Retrieved from https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/rural-economy-population/rural-poverty-well-being/geography-of-poverty.aspx

United States Department of Commerce (Census Bureau) (2011). American community survey. Retrieved from http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_10_1YR_S1702&prodType=table

ASCD is a global community dedicated to excellence in learning, teaching, and leading. For more about ASCD’s membership options, whole child approach, and advocacy efforts, go to www.ascd.org /about. To request training in your school or district, contact ASCD’s Professional Learning Services at programteam@ascd.org.

Learn more in Engaging Students with Poverty in Mind and Teaching with Poverty in Mind, available now at ASCD.ORG.

EFFECTS OF STUDENT STRESS IN THE CLASSROOM