Executive Functioning Activities for Middle School
Planning & Organization
- Grades
- Grades 6–9
- Formats
- Google Slides, PDF, PowerPoint
- Pages
- 34
- Answer keys
- Included
Opens our store on Teachers Pay Teachers, where you can see the full preview and buy.
Teach the executive functioning skills students need to plan, get organized, start tasks and stay focused. This no-prep executive functioning unit for middle school gives students a one-page mini-lesson and a realistic practice page for each of 8 EF skills, plus a self-assessment, scenario task cards and a personal strategy toolkit. Teen-respectful, practical and ready for advisory, special education or counseling groups.
What's included
- Teacher guide with 11-session pacing, materials and differentiation (support, on level, challenge)
- How to use the unit in advisory, special education and school counseling, plus sample IEP goal starters
- CASEL alignment page and table of contents
- "What Is Executive Functioning?" student overview of all 8 skills
- EF self-assessment (24 statements rated 1-4, with Start and End columns) + My EF Profile graph
- 8 mini-lessons: planning & prioritizing, organization, time management, task initiation, working memory, focus & attention, flexible thinking, self-monitoring
- 8 practice pages: Maya's Busy Week, Backpack Rescue, Luis's Evening (estimated vs. actual time), Stuck Starting, Memory Lab, Distraction Detective, Plan B group chat, Check Before You Submit
- 8 scenario task cards + recording sheet
- Personal strategy toolkit
- Weekly reflection log
- EF Skills Check unit quiz (13 questions)
- 5-page answer & discussion guide with sample answers and what to look for
How to use it
Teach one skill per session (30-40 minutes), or one skill a week in advisory. Students start with the self-assessment, add a strategy to their toolkit after each lesson, and track one strategy a week on the reflection log. It works for whole-class lessons, resource rooms, small counseling groups and one-on-one sessions. Print and go: just cut apart the task cards.
Skills practiced
Planning & prioritizingorganizationtime managementtask initiationworking memoryfocus & attentionflexible thinkingself-monitoringself-reflection
