Emotional Regulation for Teens: Handling Unexpected Changes
This session includes emotional regulation activities for teens, helping older students handle unexpected changes without letting frustration take over. They start with the question of why changes feel hard, watch a short video reviewing calming strategies, and talk through a scenario where a group project gets reorganized. A quick game asks them to weigh two ways to respond to a sudden change and choose a helpful next step.
Extension activity
- Skill
- Self-Regulation
- Goal
- Managing Stress
- 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 Unexpected Changes
When plans unexpectedly change it can feel really upsetting and confusing, or even cause anxious feelings. In this video lesson, learners will review different strategies to help them stay calm when unexpected changes happen.
- Extension activity
Staying Calm
Through the creation and delivery of pizzas, students will race against the clock and work together to apply their self-regulation skills and knowledge.
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 unexpected changes feel 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 that unexpected changes can bring up feelings like frustration or anxiety, and that it helps to notice those feelings before making a plan to handle the change. They practiced choosing a calming strategy that fit the moment and then reframing the situation with positive self-talk. Students also worked on accepting the things they could not control and finding one positive in a new plan.
Key Terms
- Switch Tracks
- Switching Tracks means adjusting your thinking when a plan changes unexpectedly so you can handle the new situation instead of staying stuck on the old plan. You notice the change, work through how you feel about it, and look for a way forward.
- Self-Regulation
- Self-regulation means managing your thoughts, feelings, and actions so you can respond in a way that supports your goals and well-being.
Sample IEP Goal This Session Supports
-
Managing Stress
Learner will recognize signs of stress in their own body or thinking (e.g., tight chest, racing thoughts, feeling overwhelmed) and apply a self-selected strategy (e.g., deep breathing, positive self-talk, taking a break) to manage the feeling in 4 out of 5 opportunities independently/given X prompt(s).
Send this tip home to support generalization
Try this at home or at school: when a plan changes without warning, take a slow breath together and name one thing that can still go ahead as expected. Pointing to what stays the same gives the student something steady to hold onto.
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More Self-Regulation Activities
Frequently asked questions
Is this intervention free?
Yes, this ready-to-teach session on Handling Unexpected Changes 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 Unexpected Changes, three practice prompts, and an extension activity, Staying Calm.
What skill does this intervention teach?
This ready-to-teach session is on self-regulation - more specifically, managing stress.
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