Motivation Activities for Kids: Motivational Strategies
This session includes motivation activities for students, helping them find ways to stay motivated when a task feels hard to start. They explore strategies like pairing a task they need to finish with something they enjoy, and they consider what works best for them. Through a short video, a discussion, and a quick game where they move to show how much they agree with different statements, students practice building their own motivation.
Extension activity
- Skill
- Self-Regulation
- Goal
- Executive Functioning
- 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 lessonMotivational Strategies
In this video modeling lesson, students learn how to stay self-motivated on tasks they don't want to do by pairing the task with something they enjoy, creating a routine, and breaking the work into small steps.
- Extension activity
Interactive Worksheet: My Motivators
In this interactive question-and-answer activity, students name three things that motivate them, explain why, and choose a motivator to use for a task they feel unmotivated about.
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: How can a person stay self-motivated?
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 staying motivated to do things they need to do is harder than doing things they enjoy, and that they can use strategies to help. They practiced ideas like pairing a task with something fun, breaking work into smaller steps, and making a simple schedule to check things off.
Key Terms
- Self-Motivated
- You are driven to get something done without anyone else telling you to do it. You decide how much effort to put in, and you use strategies to finish things you may not feel like doing.
- Motivational Strategies
- Little tricks you use to get yourself going on something you have to do but don't feel like doing. You might pair it with music you like, make a checklist, or break it into small steps with breaks.
Sample IEP Goal This Session Supports
-
Executive Functioning
Given a multi-step task, learner will use at least one self-selected organizational strategy (e.g., visual planner, breaking the task into steps, visual timer) to initiate and work through the task with decreasing adult support 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 faces a task they would rather skip, try asking which small strategy might help, such as doing one part now and saving something they enjoy for after.
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More Self-Regulation Activities
Frequently asked questions
Is this intervention free?
Yes, this ready-to-teach session on Motivational Strategies 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 Motivational Strategies, three practice prompts, and an extension activity, Interactive Worksheet: My Motivators.
What skill does this intervention teach?
This ready-to-teach session is on self-regulation - more specifically, executive functioning.
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