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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Resilience Word Search
Use this resilience word search to immerse your students in the key vocabulary related to this important social-emotional skill.
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Resilience or Not? Scenario Task Cards
Get students to explore real-life examples of resilience with this set of 16 scenario cards perfect for developing students' social-emotional skills.
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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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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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Mindful Breathing Templates
Help your students to calm themselves down when they are feeling upset or anxious with these 8 mindful breathing templates.
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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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Calming Strategies A-Z Poster
Help students find coping methods with our classroom display poster highlighting 26 effective strategies for handling intense emotions.
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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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Managing Emotions Mini-Book
Help your early years students explore and manage their emotional responses with this printable mini-book.
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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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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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The Worry Waterfall – Anxiety Management Poster
Teach your students how to deal effectively with worrying thoughts with this classroom poster.
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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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Calm-Down Strategy Cards
Help your students choose and apply strategies when they need to calm down with this comprehensive set of calm-down strategy cards.
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Dealing with Bullying Poster
A poster to display in the classroom to encourage students to use the five Tool Kit resilience strategies.
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What Is Resilience? Teaching Slides
Teach your students the meaning of resilience with this age-appropriate slide deck perfect for your social-emotional learning lessons.
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Resilience or Not? Interactive Sorting Activity
Explore examples of resilience by playing this interactive sorting game perfect for your social-emotional learning lessons.
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Becoming Resilient Mini-Book
Use this printable resilience book to teach your students what resilience means and how it can be used as a tool in their everyday lives.
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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 Board Game
A fun board game for students to play when encouraging the use of resilience strategies.
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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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Coping Skills Wheel – Poster
Help your students learn and apply emotional self-regulation skills with this coping skills wheel of choices poster.
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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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What Is Anger? Poster
Teach your students to understand and manage anger with this informative classroom display poster.
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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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My Emotional Triggers Worksheet
Help your early years students explore the situations that trigger them to experience certain emotional responses with this 2-page emotional triggers worksheet.
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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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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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Managing Anger Worksheet (Upper Primary)
Help older students identify and manage angry feelings with this self-reflection and action plan worksheet.
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Managing Anxiety Worksheet (Lower Primary)
Help students identify and manage anxious feelings with this self-reflection worksheet.
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What Is Anxiety? Poster
Teach your students to understand and manage anxious feelings with this informative classroom display poster.