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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Hopes and Wishes Jar - Goal Planning Template
Have your students craft a hopes and wishes jar to set goals for the school year.
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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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Goal Setting – Iceberg Template
Download a free goal setting template that helps students identify singular aspects that they need focus on to achieve a goal.
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Printable SMART Goals Template
Start the school year by having your students use a printable template to set their own S.M.A.R.T. goals.
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Mindful Coloring Sheet - Tree
A tree mindful coloring sheet.
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I Need a Break - Choice Boards
Help upset students regulate their emotions in the classroom with our printable ‘I Need a Break!’ choice boards.
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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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Goal Setting Mountain Worksheet
Use a goal setting mountain worksheet with your students to take them to new heights this school year!
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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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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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Easter Bunny Coloring Page – Mindful Coloring
Practice mindfulness in the days leading up to Easter with this Easter bunny coloring page.
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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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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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Mindful Cat Coloring Sheets
Bring a sense of calm to your classroom with these delightful cat coloring sheets, “purr–fect” for mindfulness and creativity.
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Calm Down Corner Classroom Decor Pack
Create a classroom calm-down corner with a printable Calming Corner Decor Pack.
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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 younger students.
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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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Mindful Breathing Exercises – Task Cards
Use these mindfulness breathing exercises to help students calm themselves down when they are feeling upset or anxious.
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Pattern Coloring - Flower
Use colors to create a pattern using this sheet.
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Name 5 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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Goal Setting Thermometer Template
Set and track individual and whole-class goals with a printable goal-setting thermometer template.
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Anti-Bullying Coloring Sheets
Discourage bullying and promote kindness in the classroom with a set of printable Anti-Bullying Coloring Sheets.
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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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Big Problem, Little Problem Posters
A set of posters that show different strategies for big problems and little problems.
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Sloth Mindfulness Coloring Pages
Use these sloth-themed coloring pages to bring a bit of creative calm into the classroom.
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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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Goal Setting by Subject Templates
Help your students track their goals throughout the school year with these goal-setting sheets.
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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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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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I Can Calm Down! Worksheet
Help students identify calming skills they can apply to real-world scenarios with this one-page worksheet.
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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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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.
- 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