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 as 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 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, for example, while another student may fare better talking about their problems with a trusted adult.
This is why we suggest teaching your primary school students various 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 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 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 both 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 practising 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 a piece of paper!
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Managing Big Emotions – Cut and Paste Worksheets
Empower students to identify and manage big emotions with this set of cut-and-paste worksheets for early years students.
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Managing Stress (Coping Strategies) Interactive Activity
Assign this interactive learning activity to your students to assess their knowledge of coping strategies for managing stress.
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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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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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5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Exercise – Worksheet
De-escalate difficult situations with a printable grounding exercise.
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Dealing with Bullying Teaching Slides
Teach your students about bullying and how to deal with it with this comprehensive teaching presentation.
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Positive and Negative Coping Skills – Cut and Paste Worksheet
Explore the difference between positive and negative coping skills with this cut and paste worksheet.
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Calming Down Strategies Classroom Poster
Make calming down strategies easily accessible for your students with this classroom display poster.
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Dealing with Bullying Board Game
A fun board game for students to play when encouraging the use of resilience strategies.
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Emotional Self-Regulation Poster
Promote emotional awareness and self-regulation in your classroom with this classroom poster.
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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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Name Five Things - Calming Strategy Task Cards
Use the ‘Name 5 Things’ Calming Strategy in your classroom to help students regain self-control with printable calming activity task cards.
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Exploring Resilience Worksheets
Explore what resilience looks like and sounds like with your students with this set of three worksheets perfect for your social-emotional learning lessons.
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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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Perseverance Posters
Teach students the meaning of perseverance with these beautifully designed classroom posters based on a mountain climbing theme.
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Managing Big Emotions Posters
Help students manage emotions such as anger, fear, worry, sadness and happiness with this colourful set of posters for your primary school classroom.
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Mindful Breathing Exercises Posters
Teach students mindful breathing exercises to use when they are emotionally overwhelmed with this set of 7 classroom posters.
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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 practise identifying which stress management coping strategies to use and when.
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Coping Strategies for Managing Stress Teaching Slides
Use this informative set of 21 teaching slides to introduce or revisit coping strategies for students to manage stress.
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Stress Management Techniques for Kids Teaching Slides
An editable PowerPoint presentation to use when teaching your students about stress management.
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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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Guided Meditation Script for Kids (Mindful Breathing)
Share this guided meditation script with your students to promote mindfulness and help them to regulate their emotions by breathing mindfully.
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Managing Stress Game Show Interactive
Set up a gameshow in your classroom to reinforce your students’ ability to recognise and cope effectively with stress!
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My Personal Coping Skills Plan – Template
Ensure your students have a personalised coping plan for those challenging moments with this comic-themed printable template.
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Calming Strategies Chatterbox Template
Help your students choose and apply strategies when they need to calm down with this handy chatterbox template.
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What Can I Control? Interactive Resource
Learn about self regulation with this PowerPoint about things that you can and cannot control at school.
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Big Problem, Little Problem Posters
Show different strategies for identifying and solving big problems and little problems with printable posters.
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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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My Body Warning Signs - Worksheet
Help students identify the body signs that indicate they are feeling unsafe with this cut and paste worksheet.
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Positive and Negative Coping Skills – Sorting Activity
Explore the difference between positive and negative coping skills with these real-life scenario sorting cards.