Self Management Teaching Resources
Help your students improve their self management skills with activities and printable worksheets created by teachers specifically for elementary and middle school students.
This teaching resource collection has been designed to help teachers help their students develop a host of skills from skills such as self control to impulse control and time management, goal setting. With digital and printable activities available, there is something to fit every lesson plan!
Best of all, each teaching resource has undergone rigorous review by the Teach Starter team to ensure it's ready for the classroom ... and your students!
Curious about teaching self management skills and looking for strategies that will work for your students? Read on for some tips from our expert teachers!
What Is Self Management? A Kid-Friendly Definition
Like so many lessons we teach, it can be helpful to start off by defining what self management actually means to give our students an understanding of the topic at hand. Here's a self management definition for kids from our teacher team:
Self-management means being in control of your own thoughts, feelings and actions. When we have good self management, we are able to make good choices and stay focused on our goals. Self management skills also help us to handle our emotions in a positive way.
Self Management Skills for Kids to Teach in the Classroom
As one of the core competencies of SEL, self management covers a fairly broad area. The skills that kids develop under this umbrella can include everything from means for control anxiety and anger to learning to set goals and make the changes necessary to meet them.
So what are the main skills you should be teaching? Here are some of the more common ones our teacher team focuses on with our students:
Resilience
We help our students develop resilience by teaching them how to bounce back from setbacks, cope with challenges and persevere — skills that they'll need long after they've left your classroom.
Self Control
The names are nearly synonymous, so it's hardly surprising that self control falls under the self management umbrella. Teaching kids these skills can involve discussing techniques they can use to manage their impulses and emotions
Goal Setting
Being able to set realistic and achievable goals — both short-term and long-term — falls under self management. With this in mind, it's important to also teach your students strategies to work toward their goals and track their progress.
Time Management
Helping your students understand the concept of time and teaching them to plan and organize their tasks and activities falls right in line with providing strategies to achieve their goals. Time management is also an essential life skill that will serve your students well into adulthood.
Task Initiation
While the level of independence and ability to initiate tasks is highly dependent on factors like age and person abilities, encouraging your students to start tasks promptly and independently is part of building those self management skills. This also involves helping them overcome procrastination or avoidance behaviors.
Organization
Teaching our students strategies for organizing their materials — whether it's keeping their desks tidy or returning borrowed materials to the appropriate place – is a key component of teaching them self management. As they get older, they should be able to take on more and more responsibility for keeping their belongings organized.
Responsibility
Speaking of responsibility, it's important to promote a sense of responsibility by encouraging students to take ownership of their actions in your classroom, to complete their assignments on time and to follow classroom rules.
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Managing Stress Coping Strategies Puzzle Match
Set your students up for success against stress with this calming puzzle activity where they will explore actionable strategies to manage stress!
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Breathing Colors – Guided Meditation Script for Kids
Print a guided meditation script for teachers to lead your students through a breathing colors meditation exercise.
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Guided Meditation Script for Kids (Body Scan)
Share this body scan meditation script with students to help them to regulate their emotions by breathing mindfully.
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Managing Stress Social Stories Interactive Activity
Share this relaxing and calming interactive activity with your students to help them to differentiate between helpful and unhelpful strategies for coping with stress.
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The Ultimate List of Coping Skills
Provide your students with this comprehensive list of coping skills to help them manage tricky situations and reduce the effects of overwhelming emotions.
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Stress Management Toolkit for Kids
Practice stress management techniques with your students with this set of 4 worksheets, which form a stress management toolkit for reference.
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Designer Dots - Dot Day Mandala Coloring Sheets
Create designer dot art on International Dot Day with a set of printable mandala coloring sheets.
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Mindful Coloring - Printable Flower Coloring Pages
Pick a pack of printable flower coloring pages to bring a bit of the outdoors into your classroom.
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New Year Goal Setting Activities - Flip Book Template
Inspire your students to reflect and set goals for the new year with a Goal Setting flipbook template.
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Mindfulness Activities for Kids - Backpack Craft and Book
Promote mindfulness and social and emotional learning with this Mindfulness Backpack activity.
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Things I Can and Cannot Control – Sorting Activity
Help students identify things in life they can and cannot control with this sorting activity.
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Circle of Control Poster
Display this poster in your classroom to remind students about the things in life they can and cannot control.
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New Year Goal Setting Worksheets - Firework Template
Prompt students to set various personal and academic goals at the start of the new year with our fireworks-themed goal-setting template.
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Bounce Back - Resiliency Task Cards
Use this set of 24 task cards when teaching students how to be resilient.
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Koala Mindful Coloring Sheet
A koala mindful coloring sheet.
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Reboot Remote
Help students work through tough situations with this remote control template.
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Coping With Change - Social Story Mini Book
A social story to develop coping skills for when there is a change in the routine.
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Chill Out – Classroom Break Passes
Give your students a work break to stop behavior problems before they start with our printable Chill Out Passes.
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Resilience Acrostic Poem Worksheet
Have students write a resilience poem to help them understand the meaning of this crucial social-emotional skill.
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Teacher Bullet Journal Templates - Wellness Tracker
Build your own wellness journal using a printable bullet journal template for teachers!
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Christmas Brain Breaks - Activity Slides
Add some Christmas Brain Breaks to your classroom festivities to help boost engagement and attention during the holiday season.
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Positive Self-Talk Writing Prompts (Teaching Slides)
Use this set of 15 positive self-talk scenarios as writing prompts to expand your students ability to be kind to themselves!
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Managing Big Emotions – Interactive Activity
Teach students how to manage emotions using healthy coping skills with this interactive scenario game for the early years classroom.
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Stress Management Techniques for Students Teaching Slides
Teach your students about stress management with this set of editable teaching slides.
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Calm-Down Strategy Cards
Help your students choose and apply strategies when they need to calm down with this comprehensive set of calm-down strategy cards.
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Dealing with Bullying Teaching Slides
Teach your students about bullying and being resilient with an interactive slide deck.
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Printable Bookmarks - Mindful Coloring
Bring calm to the classroom with these mindfulness coloring bookmarks.
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What Can I Control? Interactive Emotional Regulation Activity
Help your students build emotional regulation skills with an interactive emotional control activity for classroom SEL instruction.
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Morning Affirmations for Kids - Writing Worksheets
Complete and read aloud these positive affirmations for kids.
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Mindfulness for Kids - Daily Journal Worksheet
Create a mindfulness journal by printing your students copies of reflective mindfulness worksheets.
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30 Mindful Drawing Tasks — Meditation Drawing for Kids
30 mindfulness drawing tasks to promote calm in your classroom.
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New Year's Resolution and Goal Setting Workbook - Upper Grades
Learn about celebrations and make New Year’s resolutions with this 15-page activity booklet.
- Self Management Templates
- Self Management Worksheets
- Self Management Posters
- Self Management Games
- Self Management for Kindergarten
- Self Management for 1st Grade
- Self Management for 2nd Grade
- Self Management for 3rd Grade
- Self Management for 4th Grade
- Self Management for 5th Grade
- Self Management for 6th Grade