The Right Strategy for the Right Feeling

Personal & Social Development · Self-Regulation & Resilience · ages 7-9

Name ______________________ Date ____________

When you feel worried, which strategy often helps most?
- Pretending you are not worried
- Running as fast as you can
- Talking it through with someone
When you feel angry, which coping strategy often helps most?
- Sitting very still and saying nothing
- Doing something physical, like walking around
- Ignoring the feeling completely
The exact same coping strategy always works for every feeling.
Circle one: True False
Theo feels angry at recess but at school he can't run around like at home. What could he try instead?
- Yell at the person who upset him
- Squeeze a stress ball or push against a wall
- Wait to feel calm on its own with no strategy
Mia feels sad because her friend moved away. Which strategy fits best?
- Doing jumping jacks in the yard
- Talking about her friend with someone she trusts
- Holding the feeling in and saying nothing
Which of these shows someone using a strategy that fits the feeling?
- Mateo ignores the feeling and hopes it goes away
- Mateo breathes slowly when he feels so angry he wants to run
- Mateo breathes slowly when he feels nervous before his turn
Priya feels worried before a test and tries walking around the block, but she still feels just as worried. What should she try next?
- Walk around the block for even longer
- Stop trying any strategy at all
- Talk about the worry with a parent or teacher
Sam always uses deep breathing no matter how he feels. It didn't help last week when he was furious that his brother broke his toy. What went wrong?
- Deep breathing is never a good strategy for anyone
- Deep breathing didn't match his anger, which needed a strategy with movement instead
- Sam breathed too fast for it to work

Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

The Right Strategy for the Right Feeling W1-mt_j8Pv3s7TZR-s1

Talking it through with someone · Worry often gets smaller when you say it out loud to someone you trust.
Doing something physical, like walking around · Angry feelings often carry big energy. Moving your body can help let that energy out.
False · Different feelings often need different strategies. What helps with anger may not help with worry.
Squeeze a stress ball or push against a wall · At school, quieter physical strategies can release the same energy without needing to run.
Talking about her friend with someone she trusts · Sadness often eases when it's shared, not held in or worked off with movement alone.
Mateo breathes slowly when he feels nervous before his turn · Slow breathing fits a nervous feeling well. Big anger often needs a strategy with movement instead.
Talk about the worry with a parent or teacher · When one strategy doesn't help, it's worth trying a different one that matches the feeling better, like talking through a worry.
Deep breathing didn't match his anger, which needed a strategy with movement instead · When a strategy doesn't fit the feeling, it helps to try a different one, like movement for anger.