Executive Functioning for Teens: Prioritization & Planning
This session includes executive functioning activities for teens, helping older students decide what to tackle first when several tasks compete for the same limited time. They start with a guiding question about why ranking tasks is worth doing, then discuss how to weigh consequences and trade-offs when a big assignment, a friend's event, and a practice all land in one week. A quick game asks them to compare two ways of handling a situation and decide which task to tackle first.
Extension activity
- Skill
- Self-Regulation
- Goal
- Executive Functioning
- 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 lessonPrioritization & Planning
In this video lesson, students learn how to prioritize their tasks by writing a to-do list, weighing the consequences of waiting, ranking tasks from most to least important, and being honest about what is realistic.
- Extension activity
Prioritization & Planning Journal
In this journal activity, students identify strategies they will use to improve their prioritization and planning skills, connecting the lesson to their own workload.
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 can prioritizing be a helpful skill?
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 prioritize by ranking their tasks from most to least important. They practiced listing out their weekly to-dos and weighing the consequences of finishing some tasks sooner and others later. This helps them feel less overwhelmed when several responsibilities pile up at once.
Key Terms
- Prioritization
- Deciding what matters most and tackling those tasks first so your effort goes toward reaching your goal. A to-do list or agenda helps you see what needs to get done and what you've already finished.
- Procrastination
- Putting off a task until the last minute instead of starting it. Waiting like this often builds up stress and anxiety as the deadline gets closer.
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 has a few things to get done, try asking them which one matters most right now and what might happen if it waits. Talking it through out loud can make the choice clearer.
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Frequently asked questions
Is this intervention free?
Yes, this ready-to-teach session on Prioritization & Planning 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 Prioritization & Planning, three practice prompts, and an extension activity, Prioritization & Planning Journal.
What skill does this intervention teach?
This ready-to-teach session is on self-regulation - more specifically, executive functioning.
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