Impulse Control for Kids: Finding Strategies That Work
This session includes impulse control activities for kids, helping students notice how their body feels and pick a calming strategy that works for them. Through a discussion about two classmates who feel uneasy before presentations, students explore why the same moment can call for different strategies. In a quick game, they choose the strategy they would try first when a group activity feels frustrating, building a toolkit of options that work for them.
Extension activity
- Skill
- Self-Regulation
- Goal
- Using Your Self-Controller
- 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 lessonFinding Strategies that Work for You
The main reason to learn lots of calming strategies is so we can choose the one that helps us stay in a learning or social situation without leaving it completely.
- Extension activity
Self-Regulation
Get students up and out of their seats to practice self-regulation strategies with this Simon Says-inspired listening game.
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: Why might different strategies work for different people?
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 noticing what they are feeling can help them figure out what their body and brain need in that moment. They practiced choosing a self-regulation strategy that worked for them, like taking a deep breath or holding a fidget, so they could stay in a situation instead of leaving it. Students also explored how different people need different strategies, and that there is no single right way to handle a big feeling.
Key Terms
- Self-Controller
- Noticing when big feelings start to build inside you and using a calming strategy early so you can stay in control. When a crowd or a busy moment makes you nervous, you pick the strategy that helps you feel best.
- Choose a Strategy
- Choosing a strategy means picking a tool or action that helps your body feel calm or focused so you can stay in the situation.
Sample IEP Goal This Session Supports
-
Using Your Self-Controller
Learner will use their Self-Controller to manage stress responses when triggers arise (e.g., unexpected changes, transitions away from preferred activities) by recognizing stress signals and applying a self-selected strategy before reacting in 4 out of 5 opportunities independently/given X prompt(s).
Send this tip home to support generalization
If a student starts to feel frustrated or nervous at home or in the classroom, try asking what their body needs right now and offering a couple of options, like holding a fidget or taking a quick break.
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More Self-Regulation Activities
Frequently asked questions
Is this intervention free?
Yes, this ready-to-teach session on Finding Strategies That Work 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 Finding Strategies that Work for You, three practice prompts, and an extension activity, Self-Regulation.
What skill does this intervention teach?
This ready-to-teach session is on self-regulation - more specifically, using your self-controller.
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