George Lucas Educational Foundation
Edutopia

K-2 Primary

Explore and share tips, strategies, and resources for helping students develop in elementary school grades K-2.

  • Teaching Consent to Elementary Students

    Teaching consent in the elementary grades means using nonsexual situations to guide students to assert and respect boundaries.
    Emelina Minero

  • How to Adapt Popular Discussion Strategies for Kindergarten

    Modeling tried-and-true discussion strategies for the youngest students gives them a way to begin to share their thinking with peers.
    Ruth Calkins

  • The Evolution of a Trauma-Informed School

    Two years after Edutopia filmed trauma-informed practices at a Nashville school, we check in with the principal to see what has changed.
    Alex Shevrin Venet

  • The Sensory Room: Helping Students With Autism Focus and Learn

    Imagine a safe space where students with autism can go to calm their bodies and then get back to the business of learning.

  • What’s Lost When We Rush Kids Through Childhood

    The author of "The Importance of Being Little" on the costs of our collective failure to see the world through the eyes of children.
    Emily Kaplan

  • How to Teach Handwriting—and Why It Matters

    Teaching young students how to write by hand before moving on to keyboarding can help improve their reading fluency as well.
    Brooke MacKenzie

  • 60-Second Strategy: Pom-Pom Jar

    Explicitly teaching and celebrating kindness is a simple yet powerful way to build a positive classroom culture.

  • Making Students Feel Safe

    A trauma-informed approach ensures that students feel safe, supported, and nurtured—to improve their chances of academic success. 

  • A Student-Driven Approach to Experiential Learning

    See how a Reggio Emilia–inspired elementary school in Australia fosters student interests to spark curiosity and joy in learning.

  • 6 Elementary Reading Strategies That Really Work

    Strategies like choral reading and ear reading improve students’ reading fluency, expand their vocabulary, and increase their confidence.
    Emelina Minero

  • Time to Play: More State Laws Require Recess

    Unstructured playtime is making a comeback in schools as frustrated teachers, parents, and advocacy groups demand legislative action.
    Brittany Shammas

  • How to Keep Your Elementary Students Focused

    5 research-backed tips to keep your elementary students on-task.

  • A Daily Support System for Students

    Students who need extra social and emotional support have a quick check-in with an adult at the start and end of each day.

  • Bringing a Dog to School

    A veteran teacher and administrator makes the case for having a therapy dog in elementary school.
    Shari Feeney

  • Starting the Day With a Calming Routine

    Exercises that help young students who’ve experienced trauma transition into the school day in a relaxed and ready state.
    Lori Desautels