Coping Skills for Teens: Making Better Decisions
This session teaches coping skills for teens, helping older students recognize a strong feeling early and shift it before it steers their choices. They explore what it means to notice and name an emotion, then use a coping strategy and positive self-talk to change the channel. Students watch a short video, discuss what helps them catch a feeling as it builds, and weigh possible responses to a real situation in a quick game. The takeaway: giving a feeling time and space makes room for better decisions.
Extension activity
- Skill
- Emotional Recognition
- Goal
- Changing the Channel on Feelings
- Grade level
- Middle & High 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 lessonChanging the Channel to Make Better Decisions
Teach your students to control big emotions so that their emotions don't control them. Changing the Channel on our negative thoughts helps us make good decisions and keep others safe. Students will learn to give themselves time so that the emotion dissipates, choose a calming strategy, and how to Change the Channel by thinking positive thoughts.
- Extension activity
It's Okay to be Wrong
When Alessandra gets a question wrong in class, she feels very down and disappointed in herself like she can't do anything right. She's upset and feels like everyone in the class is thinking bad about her. When she tries again, she realizes that everyone gets things wrong sometimes, and it's not a big deal. There's always next time!
Plus everything you need to teach them
Warm-up
- Video: 4-7-8 Breathing2:13
- Video: Obstacles into Opportunities Visualization1:19
- Video: Yoga Pose Library
Session Opener
Guiding Question: What does it mean to Change the Channel?
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 how to Change the Channel on strong emotions like anger, frustration, or sadness so those feelings do not take over their decisions. They practiced naming the emotion they were feeling, giving themselves time, choosing a strategy that works for them, and switching a negative thought to a positive one. Recognizing a big feeling early gives them more options for how to respond.
Key Terms
- Change the Channel
- Change the Channel is a self-regulation strategy you can use when a strong emotion is building. You notice what you’re feeling, then intentionally shift your attention using coping skills like deep breathing, positive self-talk, or taking space so you can think more clearly.
- Calming Strategy
- Something you do on purpose to bring a big emotion back down, like deep breaths, taking a break, or shifting to a more helpful thought. You use it when you notice a strong feeling starting to take over.
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 seems frustrated, try saying "Take a minute, then tell me one thing that might help." Naming the feeling and pausing gives the emotion time to ease before they decide what to do.
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Frequently asked questions
Is this intervention free?
Yes, this ready-to-teach session on Making Better Decisions 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 middle and high school students.
What's included?
You'll get access to your choice of warm-up videos, a session opener, a core material on Changing the Channel to Make Better Decisions, three practice prompts, and an extension activity, It's Okay to be Wrong.
What skill does this intervention teach?
This ready-to-teach session is on emotional recognition - more specifically, changing the channel on feelings.
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