Calming Strategies for Teens: Staying Calm in School
This session teaches calming strategies for teens, helping older students manage stress at school by noticing early body signals and using positive self-talk. They explore a guiding question about how the body signals stress, discuss the early signs they might pick up on and what to do with that information, and break down a short interaction in three steps to find where it went off track. The payoff: strategies students can choose from to stay steady at school.
Extension activity
- Skill
- Self-Regulation
- Goal
- Managing Stress
- 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 lessonStaying Calm in School
Teach your students to be aware of others and how their behavior affects them. Help them recognize when they are starting to lose control. They'll then choose a strategy that works for the situation so that everyone maintains positive thoughts about them.
- Extension activity
Staying Calm Role-Plays
Students are given problem scenarios and are asked to role-play strategies they would use to stay calm in each situation.
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: How does the body signal stress?
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 notice the early body cues that signal they are starting to feel overwhelmed, like getting hot or feeling their heart beat faster. They practiced choosing a strategy that fit the moment, such as taking a break, taking a few deep breaths, or using positive self-talk. Students also talked about how managing stress in these ways affects what classmates and teachers think and feel about them.
Key Terms
- Self-Controller
- Noticing your body's warning signs when a feeling starts to build, then using a calming strategy early. You catch the frustration before it takes over instead of reacting after it does.
- Positive Self-Talk
- Positive self-talk means intentionally using kind and encouraging thoughts when you’re dealing with a frustrating or stressful situation. It helps you respond more thoughtfully instead of reacting right away.
Sample IEP Goal This Session Supports
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Managing Stress
Learner will recognize signs of stress in their own body or thinking (e.g., tight chest, racing thoughts, feeling overwhelmed) and apply a self-selected strategy (e.g., deep breathing, positive self-talk, taking a break) to manage the feeling in 4 out of 5 opportunities independently/given X prompt(s).
Send this tip home to support generalization
After something goes wrong at home or at school, try asking the student which strategy actually helped them feel settled afterward. Noticing what worked makes it easier to reach for next time.
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More Self-Regulation Activities
Frequently asked questions
Is this intervention free?
Yes, this ready-to-teach session on Staying Calm in School 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 Staying Calm in School, three practice prompts, and an extension activity, Staying Calm Role-Plays.
What skill does this intervention teach?
This ready-to-teach session is on self-regulation - more specifically, managing stress.
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