Coping Skills for Kids: Getting a Bad Grade
This session teaches coping skills for kids, helping students Change the Channel on upsetting feelings, like the ones that come after getting a bad grade. Through a short video, a discussion about what to do when a strong feeling makes it hard to keep listening, and a quick game where students take turns naming ideas, they practice ways to feel ready to rejoin the class.
Extension activity
- Skill
- Emotional Recognition
- Goal
- Changing the Channel on Feelings
- Grade level
- Elementary School
Get everything you need to teach the skill
These materials are part of a no-prep session designed by our clinical team, with all the structure, scaffolding, and support you need to teach included.
Engaging materials
Video modeling lessonGetting a Bad Grade
When Liz gets a bad grade on her test, she gets so upset she can't participate in class anymore. The next time, she tries to think about the situation and observe how everyone else is acting. Are they acting upset? Liz talks to the teacher and is able to calm down.
- Extension activity
Smile, You're On TV
We're learning how to change the channel on big emotions. Ask your group how they calm themselves down.
Plus everything you need to teach them
Warm-up
- Video: Hot Cocoa Breathing2:05
- Video: Daily Intention2:59
- Video: Body Squeeze2:12
Session Opener
Guiding Question: What does it mean to Change the Channel on a feeling?
Practice
- Discussion Question
- Role-Play Activity
- Mini Game
How to use it with your students
- 1Watch Play the video modeling lesson so students see the skill in action.
- 2Practice Try the skill together with a discussion prompt, role-play, or mini game.
- 3Extend Use the extension activity to help students carry the skill further.
What's Covered
In this lesson, students learned that a disappointing moment, like a bad grade, can bring up big feelings, and that it helps to notice the feeling before reacting. They practiced switching an overwhelming feeling using coping strategies and positive self-talk, including taking a deep breath or asking an adult for help.
Key Terms
- Self-Control
- Noticing a strong feeling and staying calm instead of letting it take over. You take a breath or ask for help so the feeling does not run the moment.
- Coping Strategy
- A coping strategy is something you do to help your body feel calm and safe when a feeling gets big, like taking a slow breath or counting to ten in your head.
Sample IEP Goal This Session Supports
-
Changing the Channel on Feelings
When experiencing strong emotions such as jealousy, disappointment, frustration, or embarrassment, learner will use a self-selected coping strategy (e.g., taking a break, positive self-talk, deep breaths) to manage the feeling and return to the task or interaction in 4 out of 5 opportunities independently/given X prompt(s).
Send this tip home to support generalization
At home or in the classroom, when a student feels overwhelmed by something disappointing, try offering a choice like "Want to take a deep breath together or talk it through?" Naming the option helps them see they can shift the feeling.
Ready to teach Getting a Bad Grade?
Get the video, activity and discussion materials with zero prep.
Get These Materials Free
More Emotional Recognition Activities
Frequently asked questions
Is this intervention free?
Yes, this ready-to-teach session on Getting a Bad Grade is free. You can access this intervention free for 14 days through the Everyday Speech Session Library. Every user gets three free sessions, but you can get more or extend your access by sharing the Session Library with friends and colleagues.
What ages is this for?
These materials are designed for elementary school students.
What's included?
You'll get access to your choice of warm-up videos, a session opener, a core material on Getting a Bad Grade, three practice prompts, and an extension activity, Smile, You're On TV.
What skill does this intervention teach?
This ready-to-teach session is on emotional recognition - more specifically, changing the channel on feelings.
Get access to the full curriculum
A no-prep social skills curriculum with a full scope and sequence that builds student skills over time. MTSS-aligned across every tier, with 400+ whole class lessons and 800+ ready-to-teach sessions.
Start a 30-Day Free Trial
