Anger Management for Teens: Handling Anger
This session includes anger management activities for teens, helping older students handle anger with the Change the Channel strategy. They start by noticing body clues like a warm face, tense muscles, or a racing heart that signal anger is building, then choose a coping strategy that fits the moment. Students explore why anger is hard to manage alone, share ideas in a discussion, and weigh two ways to respond to a realistic situation in a quick game.
Extension activity
- Skill
- Emotional Recognition
- Goal
- Changing the Channel on Feelings
- 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 lessonHandling Anger
The concept of Changing the Channel is reviewed to help learners understand how to best cope with feelings of anger when they arise.
- Extension activity
Changing the Channel on Feelings
Learners will practice their "good, better, best" decision-making for a variety of emotional recognition scenarios.
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 can anger be hard to handle alone?
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 Change the Channel on feelings of anger by noticing body clues like a warm face or a racing heart. They practiced figuring out what triggered the anger and then stepping away to try a strategy like counting to ten or taking deep breaths. Naming the feeling early gave them a chance to handle it before it took over.
Key Terms
- Change the Channel
- Change the Channel is a self-regulation strategy you can use when a strong emotion is building. You notice what you’re feeling, then intentionally shift your attention using coping skills like deep breathing, positive self-talk, or taking space so you can think more clearly.
- Body Clues
- Body clues are signals you notice inside your body, like a fast heartbeat, a hot face, or tense muscles, that tell you a feeling is starting. Noticing them early can help you figure out what your body needs.
Sample IEP Goal This Session Supports
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Changing the Channel on Feelings
When experiencing strong emotions such as jealousy, disappointment, frustration, or embarrassment, learner will use a self-selected coping strategy (e.g., taking a break, positive self-talk, deep breaths) to manage the feeling and return to the task or interaction 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 notices they are starting to feel angry, you can offer them a quiet moment away from the situation to try one strategy they like. Stepping back first often makes it easier to think clearly.
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More Emotional Recognition Activities
Frequently asked questions
Is this intervention free?
Yes, this ready-to-teach session on Handling Anger 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 Handling Anger, three practice prompts, and an extension activity, Changing the Channel on Feelings.
What skill does this intervention teach?
This ready-to-teach session is on emotional recognition - more specifically, changing the channel on feelings.
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