Coping Skills Teaching Resources
Help your students build coping skills and strategies this school year with printables, activities and more teaching resources created by teachers for teachers like you!
This social emotional learning resource collection is packed with teacher-created worksheets and other helpful tools designed to help kids learn what coping skills are and how to use them to manage their emotions.
Looking for some tips on teaching kids to how to cope with challenges? Read on for a primer from our teacher team, including examples of skills to share with your students, plus a kid-friendly way to explain the meaning of these skills.
What Are Coping Skills? A Kid-Friendly Definition
Do you need a kid-friendly definition to help explain what these skills are to your students? Try this one from our teacher team:
Coping skills are the special tools we use to help us deal with tough situations and big feelings or help us manage our emotions when things don't go the way we planned.
Our coping skills help us feel better and stronger, and they can make us feel more in control of our emotions and feelings.
Teaching kids to face their worries and concerns head-on is part of developing good coping skills.
Examples of Coping Skills for Kids to Share in the Classroom
This collection is packed with examples of coping skills built from the study of stress and how individuals adapt to challenging circumstances, but our teacher team didn't stop there.
We have put together a handy list of skills to focus on in the classroom in order to provide your students with a full toolkit of strategies they can use when they're feeling overwhelmed, stressed or anxious.
The coping skills that work best for each student are just as personal as the students themselves, and their ability to make use of each skill successfully can likewise be individual. One student may find that taking deep breaths is a great way to calm down when they're feeling overwhelmed, while another student may fare better talking about their problems with a trusted adult.
This is why we suggest teaching your elementary and middle school students a host of different coping skills and strategies so kids can pick and choose the ones that work best for them.
Here are some examples of coping skills for kids that we suggest sharing with your class!
- Deep Breathing — Learning to take deep breaths when you're feeling emotional is simple, but these exercises have plenty of research behind them that speaks to their efficacy in helping kids calm down and manage stress.
- Positive Self-Talk — Teach your students some positive affirmations they can use to reframe negative thoughts and develop a more optimistic outlook.
- Problem-Solving — Work on breaking down problems into smaller parts and brainstorming possible solutions helps them feel more in control and empowered.
- Asking for Help — Let your students know that asking for help from trusted adults, such as teachers or parents, when they are facing difficulties or feeling overwhelmed isn't just OK. It's a great coping mechanism to use!
- Mindfulness — Meditation, body scans and other mindfulness activities can all help your students develop awareness of their thoughts, emotions and sensations so they can cope better when they're stressed.
- Exercise — Kids and adults can release pent-up energy and reduce stress with something as simple as getting active, whether it's going for a run, taking a walk or practicing yoga.
- Art — Teaching your students to explore their emotions through art, such as drawing or journaling, allows them to process and communicate their feelings. Simple doodling, for example, is a perfect outlet for many students that doesn't require much more than a pencil and piece of paper!
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Emotion Strategies Wheel
Help your students self-regulate when they experience "big" emotions with this hands-on emotions wheel with accompanying calming strategies.
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Dealing with Bullying Poster
Add this anti-bullying poster for the classroom to your bullying prevention toolkit and teach your students five resilience strategies to respond to bullying behavior.
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Calming Strategies Fortune Teller Template
Help your students choose and apply strategies when they need to calm down with this handy fortune teller template.
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The Worry Waterfall – Anxiety Management Poster
Teach your students how to deal effectively with worrying thoughts with this classroom poster.
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My Emotional Triggers Worksheet
Help your elementary students explore the situations that trigger them to experience certain emotional responses with this 2-page emotional triggers worksheet.
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Managing Emotions Mini-Book
Help your elementary students explore and manage their emotional responses with this printable mini-book.
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Coping Skills Desk Plates
Download and print calm-down strategy desk plates for your students so they can respond appropriately to big emotions.
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Calming Down Mini-Book
Help your students to keep calm when they are experiencing heightened emotions with this social story mini-book.
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Resilience Writing Prompts
Use this set of resilience writing prompts to help your students reflect upon times they have observed resilience in themselves and others.
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Coping Strategies to Manage Stress Flipbook
Get crafty with your students creating this colorful flip book containing their own preferences of strategies for managing stress.
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Everyday Stress Coping Strategies Interactive Game
Develop your students’ ability to effectively cope with everyday stress using this interactive learning game.
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5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Exercise – Worksheet
De-escalate your students while in difficult situations with this calming exercise.
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Managing Big Emotions Anchor Charts
Help students manage emotions such as anger, fear, worry, sadness and happiness with this colorful set of anchor charts for your elementary school classroom.
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My Feelings Volcano Worksheet
Prevent students from being overcome by strong emotions with this volcano-themed coping skills worksheet.
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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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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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Responding to Stress: Small Group Skit Project
This small-group project lets students apply what they've learned about combatting stress by demonstrating practical coping skills.
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Big Problem, Little Problem Posters
A set of posters that show different strategies for big problems and little problems.
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Bingo Game – Coping Skills for Kids
Review calming strategies and coping skills for kids with a game of Bingo!
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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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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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Introduction to Emotions Teaching Slides
Teach your students to understand and manage their emotions with this comprehensive teaching presentation for your social-emotional learning lessons.
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Escape from Stress Board Game
Introduce this board game in your classroom to help students practice identifying which stress management coping strategies to use and when.
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Managing Stress Coping Strategies Poster Set
Display this set of five posters in your classroom to equip students with actionable strategies for coping with stress.
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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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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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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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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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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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Bounce Back - Resiliency Task Cards
Use this set of 24 task cards when teaching students how to be resilient.
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Reboot Remote
Help students work through tough situations with this remote control template.