Abstract:
This paper was written for elementary education professionals to use as a guidebook when dealing with the topics of death and dying in the classroom. While there are an abundance of resources available to teachers, the majority of them are hundreds of pages long and can be overwhelming to a person who is already too busy. An effort has been made to compile only the most pertinent information about the subject.This project begins with a discussion of children's understanding of death during three different stages of development and a discussion of the stages of grief that children will experience. A list of various, typical reactions are included. Along with explanations of the areas of death education that should be covered in the classroom is a list of guidelines for teachers to follow. Included near the end is a list of resources available for use with young children, as well as those that are appropriate for adult use. Finally, there is a section dedicated to acknowledging some of the questions and problems that have not been dealt with and the author's final thoughts on the project.
