Self-Control Activities for Teens: What's in My Control
This session includes self-control activities for teens, helping older students notice worry early and focus on what they can control. They watch a short video on agency, discuss how a classmate facing a stressful first day might redirect their energy, and play a quick game that sorts situations by whether a response focuses on controllable factors. The takeaway: using self-control strategies early can ease anxious feelings and help students feel more ready.
Extension activity
- Skill
- Self-Regulation
- Goal
- Using Your Self-Controller
- 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 lessonWhat's in My Control
This video lesson highlights the concept of agency and how learners can reduce anxious feelings by focusing on what they can control.
- Extension activity
Interactive Worksheet: What I Can Control
A sorting activity that reviews the concept of focusing on what is within your control versus factors that are out of your control.
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 do people often spend time worrying about things they can't control?
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 focusing on what they can control, like their own thoughts and choices, can ease anxious feelings when something feels uncertain. They practiced scanning their body and mind for early signs of anxiety, such as a racing heart or worried thoughts. They then chose a strategy to help themselves feel ready before those feelings grew bigger.
Key Terms
- Agency
- Your ability to take meaningful action and have some control over your own life. When you focus on the steps you can actually take, you feel more in control and less anxious.
- Self-Controller Scanner
- Using your Self-Controller means noticing early signs of strong emotions and choosing strategies before reacting, so you can respond in a safe way.
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
At home or in the classroom, when a student seems anxious about something coming up, try asking what part of it they can actually control and what they might do next. Naming one thing in their control can make a worry feel smaller.
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More Self-Regulation Activities
Frequently asked questions
Is this intervention free?
Yes, this ready-to-teach session on What's in My Control 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 What's in My Control, three practice prompts, and an extension activity, Interactive Worksheet: What I Can Control.
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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