Managing emotions can be challenging for elementary students, especially during moments of frustration, anxiety, or sensory overload. Teaching practical strategies such as deep breathing gives students foundational tools they can use anywhere to help themselves stay calm and focused. One standout resource for introducing and reinforcing this fundamental strategy is the Deep Breaths Interactive Activity from Everyday Speech. This engaging tool offers guided, hands-on practice with deep breathing techniques tailored specifically to younger learners.

What Is Staying Calm?

Staying calm is an essential component of emotional and behavioral self-control in school settings. It involves recognizing strong emotions as they arise and using regulation strategies to manage those feelings before they impact decision-making and classroom engagement. When students stay calm, they are better able to think clearly, communicate effectively, make thoughtful choices, and maintain positive relationships with both peers and adults.

In elementary school, staying calm might look like taking a break when upset, using coping skills before reacting impulsively, or participating in classroom routines calmly after a transition. While some students seem to naturally calm themselves, many benefit from explicit instruction and repeated opportunities to practice these skills. This support becomes even more important for students who are neurodivergent or have identified behavioral or emotional needs.

The Deep Breaths Interactive Activity is a no-prep resource designed to help clinicians and educators introduce, model, and practice the skills needed for staying calm. Using a structured, repeatable breathing technique, students learn to slow down their responses—with step-by-step support—so they can access language and reasoning skills even under stress.

Why Teach Staying Calm?

Directly supporting students’ ability to stay calm has widespread benefits for individuals, peer groups, and the larger school environment. Stakeholders repeatedly observe that classrooms where these skills are prioritized experience smoother routines and less disruption. Some reasons to explicitly teach strategies for staying calm include:

• Reduces frequency and intensity of emotional outbursts
• Supports executive functioning, including working memory and flexible thinking
• Increases students’ capacity to participate during group instruction and transitions
• Improves peer interactions, especially during conflicts
• Provides a foundation for problem solving when challenges arise
• Encourages development of self-control and self-reflection
• Promotes a sense of safety and predictability in classroom routines
• Fosters greater independence and confidence across settings

Deep breathing is an accessible and effective way to help students regulate emotions so they are ready to learn, connect, and adapt throughout the day.

Lesson Plan: Using Deep Breaths Interactive Activity

To introduce and reinforce the skill of staying calm through deep breathing, Everyday Speech’s Deep Breaths Interactive Activity provides everything needed for an engaging, hands-on lesson that fits seamlessly into a school-based setting. The following sample lesson plan offers a clear structure, adaptable for individuals, small groups, or classroom-wide instruction.

Step 1: Introduction and Discussion (5 minutes)

Start by gathering students into a comfortable, distraction-free environment—using chairs or floor mats as needed. Begin with a discussion about feeling stressed, anxious, or upset. Ask open-ended questions to encourage sharing, such as “Can you think of a time when you felt really upset at school?” or “What does your body feel like when you are nervous or worried?”

Introduce the concept that everyone experiences strong emotions sometimes, and that there are ways to help our bodies and minds calm down. Link this to the idea of self-regulation: being able to notice when we need help and knowing what to do in those moments. Briefly explain that one powerful tool for managing big feelings is deep breathing.

Step 2: Model Deep Breathing (5 minutes)

Explain and demonstrate the deep breathing technique that will be the focus of the activity. Use simple language and visual supports if available. For example, say “We are going to practice taking deep breaths to help our bodies slow down and feel better.”

Walk through these steps:

1. Inhale slowly through the nose for a count of five.
2. Hold the breath gently for another count of five.
3. Exhale slowly through the mouth for a count of five.

Consider demonstrating this two or three times yourself, then invite students to try together as a group. Use a timer or count aloud to support pacing. Encourage students to notice how their bodies feel before and after each breath.

Step 3: Guided Group Practice with the Interactive Activity (5 minutes)

Distribute the Deep Breaths Interactive Activity or display it for the group to see. The Everyday Speech Deep Breaths Interactive Activity includes cues and visual steps to ensure consistent practice, removing the guesswork for both adults and students.

Invite students to participate in the guided activity. Narrate and follow the prompts, encouraging each child to breathe in for five seconds, hold for five seconds, and breathe out for five seconds. Repeat the process several times so that students can internalize the pattern and rhythm. Optionally, introduce visualization strategies (such as imagining blowing up a balloon or filling up the belly with air) to make the activity more concrete and engaging.

Step 4: Applying Deep Breathing in Real-Life Scenarios (10 minutes)

Present several brief scenarios where students might benefit from using deep breathing. These could include:

• Preparing for a spelling test
• Waiting for a turn during a game
• After a conflict with a friend or sibling
• Before speaking in front of the class

Ask for volunteers or assign pairs to role-play how they might feel in these moments and how deep breathing could help them choose a positive response. For instance, “Pretend you just lost a game at recess and you feel upset. What can you do before you say something you might regret?” Prompt students to use the deep breathing technique before responding.

Facilitate a discussion afterward about how the strategy felt and when else it might be useful in their day-to-day lives.

Step 5: Visualization and Review (5 minutes)

To reinforce the new skill, display visualization cards, simple illustrations, or infographics (if available) that show each step of deep breathing. Combine this with another round of the Deep Breaths Interactive Activity as a class. Ensure every student understands not only how to do the technique, but also when and why to use it.

Summarize by listing times students could use deep breathing on their own, such as at their desk, at home, on the playground, or when starting to feel overwhelmed.

Supporting Staying Calm After the Activity

Teaching deep breathing as a standalone lesson establishes the foundation, but consistent reinforcement and generalization are crucial for mastery. To help students internalize staying calm as a lifelong skill, clinicians and educators can use several evidence-based approaches.

• Create visuals or reminder cards for students to keep in their desk, backpack, or pocket.
• Practice group or individual deep breathing regularly, such as after transitions or before tests.
• Model staying calm during stressful moments to normalize the strategy.
• Check in with students and prompt them to use deep breathing when frustration or anxiety surfaces.
• Incorporate deep breathing into daily mindfulness or calming routines.
• Collaborate with families by sharing strategies and the Deep Breaths Interactive Activity for practice at home.

Using frequent, brief practice sessions helps all students associate deep breathing with positive emotional regulation. Over time, many students will begin to recall the strategy and apply it independently.

Wrapping Up: Building Long-Term Calm with Deep Breaths

Prioritizing the skill of staying calm by explicitly teaching deep breathing not only helps students manage stress, but also provides them with an adaptable tool they can use throughout their academic and personal lives. Everyday Speech’s Deep Breaths Interactive Activity removes barriers to instruction with a clear, visually supported structure that ensures even young learners feel successful. By embedding these lessons into daily routines and responding supportively during challenging moments, educators and clinicians create a learning environment where all students develop the confidence to pause, breathe, and respond thoughtfully to whatever challenges come their way.

For a downloadable version of the Deep Breaths Interactive Activity, visit: Download Here