Mindfulness Activities for Teens: Self Reflection
This session includes mindfulness activities for teens, helping older students practice honest self-reflection while staying kind rather than slipping into self-judgment. They consider why reflection can be worth the discomfort, unpack a discussion about handling racing thoughts, and work through a quick game that weighs a situation against one possible response. The payoff is a growth-minded way to learn from experience.
Extension activity
- Skill
- Self-Regulation
- Goal
- Being Mindful
- 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 lessonSelf Reflection
In this video lesson, students learn how to use self-reflection with a growth mindset by revisiting a past moment, considering the positives and negatives with self-compassion, and identifying ways to grow.
- Extension activity
Self-Reflection Journal
In this journal activity, students write about a time they used self-reflection to figure out how they were feeling, practicing checking in with their own emotions.
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: Why might honest self-reflection be worth the discomfort?
Practice
- Discussion Question
- Role-Play Activity
- Mini Game
How to use it with your students
- 1Watch Play the video 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 use self-reflection to think about a past moment and how it affected them and the people around them. They practiced looking back on an action or conversation, noticing the positives and the harder parts with kindness toward themselves. They also worked on using that reflection to find one way to grow or do something differently next time.
Key Terms
- Self-Reflection
- Looking inward to notice what you want, what you care about, and where your energy comes from. It helps you picture who you want to become and make choices that move you there.
- Growth Mindset
- A growth mindset means seeing abilities as something that can develop over time with effort, practice, and support. Challenges become opportunities to learn rather than proof of failure.
Sample IEP Goal This Session Supports
-
Mindfulness
Learner will independently initiate a mindfulness practice (e.g., breathing exercise, movement break, body scan) when noticing a need to reset, and engage with the practice for its full duration, in 4 out of 5 opportunities independently/given X prompt(s).
Send this tip home to support generalization
At home or in the classroom, after a tricky moment has passed, try asking what they might do differently next time and what went well too. Pairing the two keeps reflection from tipping into self-criticism.
Ready to teach Self Reflection?
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More Self-Regulation Activities
Frequently asked questions
Is this intervention free?
Yes, this ready-to-teach session on Self Reflection 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 Self Reflection, three practice prompts, and an extension activity, Self-Reflection Journal.
What skill does this intervention teach?
This ready-to-teach session is on self-regulation - more specifically, being mindful.
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