Help Your Students with Managing Emotions

Emotions are a normal part of being human. We can sometimes be inclined to label certain emotions as good and others as bad when, really, all emotional responses are equally valid components of the feelings rainbow! What’s more important than labeling emotions in this way is the ability to recognize when we are experiencing a particular emotion (and why), and know how these feelings can be managed in a healthy and constructive manner. 

Emotional awareness does not come naturally to many adults, so it’s no wonder our students can find this skill challenging. It is therefore essential that teachers educate their students about how to identify the situations that trigger a “big” emotional response, how their bodies respond to these emotions, and how they can take steps to manage these feelings in a positive way.

This managing emotions mini-book has been designed by our experienced teacher team to help you explore a variety of emotions, situational triggers and potential responses with your students. Students are required to reflect on each emotion and identify what situations they experience in their lives that can trigger this emotion within them. They are then required to select a healthy coping strategy (from a choice of three) that they could use to positively manage this emotional response. 

The emotions included in this managing emotions mini-book are:

• Anger
• Worry
• Sadness
• Excitement

This resource downloads as a black-and-white PDF or an editable Google Slides document.

Students can keep their mini-book on hand as a reminder of their emotional triggers, their physiological responses to these emotions and the strategies they can use to emotionally self-regulate.

Positive Coping Skills for Kids

Teachers are no strangers to observing our students’ inappropriate responses to emotional triggers. We’ve all witnessed a child use physical force in response to anger or frustration, or one that uses verbal slurs to express disappointment or jealousy. Even passive-aggressive responses, such as blatant ignoring or unkind facial expressions, are par for the course in most elementary school settings.

While these responses could be called coping skills, they are certainly not positive ones! That’s why the coping skills suggested in this mini-book are all healthy coping skills that focus on building and maintaining healthy relationships not only with others but also with oneself.

The positive coping skills for kids included in this mini-book are:

• Counting to ten
• Breathing deeply
• Squeezing a stress ball
• Asking an adult for help
• Thinking of a happy place
• Writing in a journal 
• Hugging a friend or family member
• Singing a happy song
• Spending some time in nature
• Doing some exercise
• Squeezing and relaxing muscles
• Doing a focused task, like a puzzle

How to Create This Managing Emotions Mini-Book

Use the dropdown menu on the Download button above to access either the quick-print PDF or the editable Google Slides version of this resource. (Note: You will be prompted to make a copy of the Google Slides template before accessing it.)

This resource contains six Letter pages. Each page includes two mini-book pages (12 pages in total). To assemble the mini-book, follow these simple steps.

1. Download the PDF version of the reader by clicking the Download button.
2. On your printer, select double-sided printing. Be sure to flip on the short edge.
3. Compile the pages, making sure the first page is at the bottom of your pile.
4. Fold your collection of pages in half to make a Half Letter-sized book.

More Activities to Explore Positive Coping Skills for Kids

Looking for more activities to help your students develop positive coping skills? We have more great teacher-created resources at your fingertips!

teaching resource

Coping Skills Wheel – Anchor Chart

Help your students learn and apply emotional self-regulation skills with this coping skills wheel of choices poster.

teaching resource

Mindful Breathing Exercises – Task Cards

Use these mindfulness breathing exercises to help students calm themselves down when they are feeling upset or anxious.

teaching resource

Calming Strategies Fortune Teller Template

Help your students choose and apply strategies when they need to calm down with this handy fortune teller template.