Emotional Regulation Toolkit Lesson Plan

Standards Addressed

• Self-Awareness: Recognizing one's emotions and values as well as one's strengths and limitations.
• Self-Management: The ability to regulate one's emotions, thoughts, and behaviors effectively in different situations.

Objectives

Students will be able to:

• Identify personal strategies for emotional regulation
• Organize strategies based on different emotional situations they may encounter.

Materials

• Prompt Cards
• Computers
• Poster Board
• Markers
• Pencils
• Small box or container
• Sticky Notes

Assessment

Students can be assessed on:

• Identifying at least 3-5 emotional regulation strategies across different situations
• Creating a visual collage/poster or decorating a physical box that organizes strategies by situations/triggers
• Participating in peer sharing and providing respectful feedback during the gallery walk

Activating Prior Knowledge

• Begin with a quick check-in where students use an emotion scale (1-10) or emotion faces (here’s a free feelings chart) to share how they're feeling today.
• Then, pose the question: "What helps you feel better when you're upset, angry, or overwhelmed?" Record responses on the board using simple drawings or symbols alongside words.
• Ask the follow-up question: "Do you need different strategies for different situations?

Lesson Steps

1) Have students think about times they felt strong emotions (anger, sadness, overwhelm, excitement, anxiety) and what helped them feel better. Provide sentence starters: "When I feel _____, I like to _____" or "Something that helps me calm down is _____." Students can write, draw, or verbally share their ideas with a teacher/aide.

2) Break the class into pairs and have students discuss their emotional regulation strategies. Partners can help each other think of more ideas or situations they haven't considered. Provide visual prompt cards with different scenarios: "test day," "loud cafeteria," "argument with friend," "feeling left out."

3) Pose scaffolded questions as needed to support students:

• What do you do when it's too noisy around you?
• How do you handle feeling overwhelmed with schoolwork?
• What helps you focus when your mind is wandering?
• What do you do when you're feeling angry or frustrated?
• How do you calm down when you're anxious or worried?

You can also provide specific school scenarios to help students plan for success.

4) Bring the class together to allow students to present coping techniques they discussed and might use in situations. As a class, discuss the techniques and how to use them. Address the misconception: "These strategies won't work for me" or "I don't have any strategies." Clarify that everyone has ways they cope, even if they haven't noticed them before, and that learning new strategies takes practice. If necessary, provide examples from the Coping Strategies Poster.

5) Introduce the assignment: students will create their emotional regulation toolkit using one of the following options:

• Digital option: presentation software (Google Slides, Canva, etc.) with sections for each category
• Physical poster: poster board divided into sections with magazines, printed images, drawings, or personal photos
• Physical toolbox: students bring in a shoe box or small container to decorate and organize their strategies inside. Students can create cards with pictures or words describing their emotional tools and keep their toolbox in the classroom to access when needed.

Teacher Modeling: "I want to share my own emotional regulation toolkit with you. When I'm feeling overwhelmed with too much to do, I make a list and cross things off one at a time - it helps me feel more in control. When it's noisy and I need to focus, I use noise-canceling headphones or find a quieter space. When I'm frustrated, I take three deep breaths and sometimes I need to step away for a minute. Last week, I was feeling really anxious about a meeting, so I did some stretches at my desk and reminded myself that I was prepared. What I've learned is that different situations need different tools, just like a toolbox - you wouldn't use a hammer for everything!”

Reflection

Students will display their completed toolkits around the room, posters or decorated toolboxes, and conduct a "gallery walk" where they move around and view each other's work. Provide students with sticky notes to leave positive comments or write down strategies they might want to try. Set expectations for respectful viewing and thoughtful feedback, encouraging students to notice strategies they hadn't considered.

Students will then complete a brief reflection listing three emotional regulation strategies they use most often and then list a strategy they learned from the gallery walk that they might be interested in trying.

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Here is the printable version of  Emotional Regulation Toolkit Lesson Plan.

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