Coping Skills Activities
Circle of Control, Grounding & Breathing for Teens
- Grades
- Grades 6–12
- Formats
- Google Slides, PDF, PowerPoint
- Pages
- 31
- Answer keys
- Included
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Teach coping skills teens will actually use, with activities they enjoy. This coping skills activities pack for middle and high school covers the circle of control, 5-4-3-2-1 grounding and four calm breathing patterns, then makes practice fun with Coping Skills Bingo (30 different cards), the Reset Road board game and 16 scenario task cards. Students finish with a personal coping plan that names trusted adults and the 988 Lifeline.
What's included
- Teacher guide with 5-day pacing, materials and differentiation (support, on level, challenge)
- Teaching Coping Skills Safely: class norms, breathing choices, what to do if a student shares something serious, when to involve your counselor, and a teacher well-being note
- Standards page (CASEL and ASCA Student Standards) with contents
- What Are Coping Skills? short reading with vocabulary and 5 questions
- Stress Thermometer check-in with a 5-day log
- Circle of Control explanation, a 24-card sort and a personal circle of control
- Calm Breathing: box breathing, longer exhale, five-finger and belly breathing, with gentle safety steps and breathing math
- 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding plus 4 more grounding tools
- Healthy or Unhelpful? sort (20 coping choices) with a swap-it challenge
- My Coping Toolbox builder (6 compartments)
- 16 scenario task cards + recording sheet, including one card on getting help for a friend
- Reset Road board game (30 spaces) that uses the scenario and circle of control cards
- Coping Skills Bingo: caller page with 24 clues + 30 different bingo cards (checked by computer: no two cards alike)
- My Coping Plan with trusted adults, the school counselor and the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
- 4 exit tickets
- 2 classroom posters: Circle of Control and Reset in One Minute
- Complete answer keys, sample answers for every scenario card, and what a strong answer includes for every open-ended and personal page
How to use it
Use it in advisory, homeroom, health, SEL or school counseling lessons, in small groups, or before testing season. Run it as a 5-day unit or pick the activities your students need. Print and go: just cut the cards and bingo cards. These activities teach everyday coping skills; they are not therapy and do not diagnose anything.
Skills practiced
Coping strategiescircle of controlcalm breathinggroundinghealthy decision makingself-monitoringhelp-seeking
