Executive Function Skills for Teens: Learning to Prioritize
This session teaches executive function skills for teens, helping older students prioritize when several tasks compete for their time. They watch a short video on making a list, weighing what matters most, setting realistic deadlines, and breaking large tasks into smaller steps. A discussion compares two ways of tackling the same to-do list, and a quick game asks them to judge whether a response fits the situation. The takeaway: a clear plan makes a full week feel manageable.
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 modeling lessonLearning to Prioritize
In this video, students learn how to prioritize tasks by making a list, determining importance, setting realistic deadlines, and breaking down larger tasks.
- Extension activity
Interactive Worksheet: Learning Prioritization - Practice Scenarios
Students practice prioritization skills by selecting the best course of action in real-life scenarios. This multiple-choice activity helps build decision-making, time management, and organization skills.
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: What makes prioritizing tasks hard?
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 prioritize their tasks by first making a list of everything they needed to do. They practiced sorting those tasks into must-dos and nice-to-dos, then setting realistic deadlines based on how long similar work had taken before. This helped them manage a full workload and feel more in control of their time.
Key Terms
- Prioritize
- Deciding which tasks matter most so you know what to do first and what can wait. You weigh things like deadlines and impact to focus your time where it counts.
- Executive Functioning
- The set of mental skills that helps you organize, plan, manage your time, and switch between tasks. Think of it as your brain's operating system, keeping everything running smoothly.
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 seems weighed down by everything they have to do, try asking them to name which one thing matters most to finish first. Putting that single task at the top can make the rest feel more manageable.
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Frequently asked questions
Is this intervention free?
Yes, this ready-to-teach session on Learning to Prioritize 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 Learning to Prioritize, three practice prompts, and an extension activity, Interactive Worksheet: Learning Prioritization - Practice Scenarios.
What skill does this intervention teach?
This ready-to-teach session is on self-regulation - more specifically, executive functioning.
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