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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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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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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My Feelings Volcano Worksheet
Prevent students from being overcome by strong emotions with this volcano-themed coping skills worksheet.
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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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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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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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Circle of Control Poster
Display this poster in your classroom to remind students about the things in life they can and cannot control.
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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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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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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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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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Mindful Colouring and Breathing – Pinwheel Activity
Practise mindfulness through colouring and breathing with this paper pinwheel craft activity.
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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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Perseverance Posters
Teach students the meaning of perseverance with these beautifully designed classroom posters based on a mountain climbing theme.
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Stress Management Toolkit for Kids
Practice stress management techniques with your students with this set of 4 worksheets, which form a stress management toolkit for reference.
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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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Angry Outbursts – Comprehension Worksheet
Explore emotional awareness and healthy calming strategies with this comic-style comprehension passage and accompanying questions.
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I Need a Break! Card Templates
Help your students regulate their emotions by presenting them with an ‘I Need a Break!’ Card for a few minutes of downtime.
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Perseverance or Not? Scenario Cards
Get students to explore real-life examples of perseverance with this set of 16 scenario cards perfect for developing students' social-emotional skills.
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Perseverance Strategies Mini-Book
Teach your students perseverance strategies with this printable mini-book perfect for primary students!
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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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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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Managing Anger Scenario Cards
Explore ways to manage anger in a variety of real-life situations with this set of 16 scenario cards.
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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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Understanding and Managing Anxiety Teaching Presentation
Teach your students about anxious feelings with this comprehensive guide to understanding and managing anxiety.
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Managing Anxiety Scenario Cards
Explore ways to manage anxiety in a variety of real-life situations with this set of 16 scenario cards.
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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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Bounce Back – Resiliency Task Cards
A set of 24 task cards to use when teaching students how to be resilient.
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Breathing Colours - Guided Meditation Script
Print a guided meditation script for teachers to lead your students through a breathing colours meditation exercise.