As a school counselor, I recommend that classroom teachers do these four things to support students in their social-emotional growth. 


There are excellent online audio and visual resources that speech improvement teachers and classroom teachers alike can use to help students develop their listening and speaking skills. These media-rich resources provide ways to listen to language and isolate specific sounds and words that may need attention.

Incorporating strategies used by occupational, physical and speech therapists into classroom teaching can not only greatly benefit students with disabilities, but can also improve learning for all students. And the more teachers normalize using these strategies, the more special needs students will feel included and supported.

High school teacher Amy Matthusen of East-West School of International Studies in Queens explains how to deepen students' engagement with a play or novel by having them produce a talk show featuring characters from the text.

The latest online mapping tools can do much more than get us from point A to B. With features such as data collection and media integration, online maps can be used in the classroom to take student activities in completely new directions. 


Two factors have contributed to the increase in bullying in recent years: the pervasiveness of social media and lingering stress from the pandemic. But no matter the reason, the surge has prompted educators to address the issue more urgently.