Executive functioning skills are foundational; they’re the skills that help students plan before beginning a task, stay organized, manage time while working, and problem-solve to achieve goals. These skills are important for all of us at all ages.
When it comes to teaching and practicing executive functioning skills with kids, there are many options and approaches. You can hold group chats, play executive functioning games, integrate EF skills into what you’re already teaching, or you can take a few minutes each day to teach these skills explicitly. It’s important to have different options because different strategies and approaches might work best for different people.
With that said, worksheets and workbooks are often a great approach for teaching and working on executive functioning skills. A worksheet is concrete, already prepped for you, and easy to assign. For busy educators trying to integrate executive functions into the classroom, these qualities are important because every minute matters.
Some ways you can use worksheets to teach executive functioning skills include:
- Create a dedicated executive functioning time. This can be just 10 minutes a day or however much you have time for; it doesn’t need to be long! Use one page per day to introduce a skill or topic during your executive functioning time. Have students then keep all their materials in an executive functioning notebook.
- Learn about executive functioning skills together during morning meeting time. Again, practice just a page or two together. Decide if you want students to write out answers or discuss out loud before moving on with your day.
- Assign executive functioning worksheets for morning work. Then, take a few minutes to discuss and learn together.
- Practice during advisory time. If your school has an advisory period, this is an excellent time to introduce executive functioning skills like organization, planning, and self-control.
Below I’ve listed 12 worksheets and workbook ideas you can use to teach executive functioning skills with your students. I have included both free and full versions of worksheets to help you get what you need for you and your learners. My goal is these resources empower you as an educator to teach these skills and ultimately empower your students to find the strategies that work best for them.
1. Executive Functioning Workbook
The idea of a workbook to teach executive functioning skills just makes sense; it provides a simple and no-prep way to introduce topics like organization, planning, and attention. This executive functioning workbook starts out with an introduction to help learners understand what executive functioning skills are, identify their own strengths, and learn how to become a strategic learner. This is important because it gives a solid foundation for wanting to improve and learn new skills.
More topics in the workbook include executive functioning skills such as planning, organization, attention, mental flexibility, self-control, and perseverance. As students complete each workbook page, they learn valuable strategies for helping them do their best.
One simple example is teaching kids how to use a daily planner. A daily planner helps track important events, homework assignments, friends’ birthdays, and more. Learners can discuss the positives of using a daily planner, identify what events they might include in their own daily planner, and come up with a plan to try this one their own.
2. Executive Functioning Skills We’re Building Worksheet
An executive functioning skills we’re building worksheet is an excellent introductory printable activity to explain executive functioning skills to your learners. It goes over skills like task initiation, time management, and organization. One technique for using this free executive functioning worksheet is to discuss and color in one skill per day. Talk about what the skill means, why it’s important, and how students will put strategies for that skill in place today.
For example, if you are starting with task initiation, you can talk about how this executive functioning skill means being able to start tasks right away. Some times kids might start tasks right away is writing down homework when it is listed on the board, getting started on a worksheet or quiz when assigned, or cleaning up materials when it is time to switch classes or tasks. Delve deeper by talking about why it is an important skill; the better we’re able to initiate or start tasks, the quicker and more efficiently we can get those tasks done.
Something important to remember and teach kids is that we’re all building and working on these skills, often at different paces and different ways all at the same time. One learner might have strong organization skills but struggle more with time management; another student might have a tough time with task initiation but once they start, they excel with staying focused and persevering through. These are all skills we’re building.
3. Self-Control Worksheets
Sometimes, it’s helpful to target just one executive functioning skill at a time. In this case, these self-control worksheets and activities specifically target self-control skills. Self-control is the ability to stop and think before acting. At first, this sounds like a simple skill but it’s involved in so much of what we do from managing our emotions to making good choices to reach our goals.
These self-control worksheets and lessons help give learners the tools they need to manage their feelings, thoughts, words, and actions.
One of my favorite worksheets and activities here is learning to “hit the pause button.” This is the idea that we can teach ourselves to “pause” in the moment instead of reacting on impulse. Some strategies we can teach students include reading a book, listening to music, taking deep breaths, or thinking about something funny.
4. ABCs of Executive Functioning Worksheet
If your time is limited to integrate executive functioning skills, an ABCs of Executive Functioning Skills free worksheet might be a great option to try. Each letter targets a different skill, such as activating your brain, being self-aware, choices, developing a plan, and evaluating priorities.
You can use just a few minutes to discuss one of these skills each day. For example, let’s start with A: Activating Your Brain. This means using strategies to get your brain ready to learn. What strategies help you get ready to learn? You might eat a healthy breakfast, exercise your body, and stay hydrated. You might also think about what you’re about to learn and consider what you know about that topic.
From activating your brain to staying zen, there are many different executive functioning and study skills to target together.
5. Executive Functioning Brain Games Worksheets
Games have the potential to make learning much more fun, engaging, and memorable. Using executive functioning brain games worksheets is the best of both worlds where learners are having fun and building their executive functioning skills at the same time.
Each worksheet includes an executive functioning brain game for students to solve or complete. For example, one game is called “Decipher the Code.” For this activity, students must use a key to uncover and solve different phrases. In this case, kids are working on their working memory and attention skills. It’s worth noting that the skills kids are working on are even listed at the top right of each page, making it clear for you and your students why they are completing that activity in the first place.
As a bonus, these worksheets can be given as morning work or activities for early finishers. They are great to have on-hand to give some extra EF practice anytime.
6. Executive Functioning Brain-Booster Questions
These executive functioning brain-booster pages use the evidence-based strategy of classroom conversations to build executive functioning skills. Each executive functioning skill (such as planning, organization, task initiation, or metacognition) is highlighted with some conversation-starting questions.
You can use one question per day if time is short, or choose one skill per day to get more in-depth.
The most important idea here is to ask the question and let students chat. Encourage kids themselves to share answers and learn from each other. This is when the real learning happens.
7. Executive Functioning Lessons Worksheets
These executive functioning lessons and activities consist of many lessons and worksheets to give a strong foundation for executive functioning success. With 10 skills to learn, each section starts with a self-assessment worksheet for students to investigate their own strengths and challenges. Students then complete more worksheets and activities focused on that skill to give strategies along the way.
In this set, keep in mind that the worksheets aren’t just pages, but are part of lessons and activities for students. As students learn about each skill, it’s also important they can apply it to their own lives. For example, when students learn about planning, they will complete a self-assessment, learn about planning and why it’s important, and come up with planning examples. Students then get the chance to practice and relate planning to their own lives by writing out their daily routine and planning how to accomplish a goal.
After learning about planning, students will also focus on other skills including organization, task initiation, attention, self-control, working memory, flexibility, perseverance, and more.
8. Organization Worksheets
Learning to get and stay organized is a critical skill for kids and teens in school. You can use organization worksheets help teach organization skills and give the strong foundation that students need.
Organization is one skill under the executive functioning umbrella, but it’s actually a huge skill of its own as well. It includes tidying up materials, having a space for everything, keeping a clean workspace, organizing ideas, and using tools to help stay organized such as planners and calendars.
9. Executive Functioning Worksheets for Elementary Kids
Even elementary kids need practice with executive functioning skills. These are skills young children use when managing their big emotions, starting tasks, following through with responsibilities, and working well with others. Use these executive functioning worksheets and activities for younger learners to strengthen skills for planning, staying organized, making good choices, and more.
The worksheets are designed to be more simple, easy-to-read, and engaging to younger learners. Kids start off first learning about executive functioning skills and how they boost our brain power. Then, they will learn about each individual skill with practice that applies to their lives.
One simple activity is learning that our brain helps us make choices every day! With a partner, children will make a list of all the choices they make each day, such as deciding what to eat, how to dress, and who to play with. This sets the stage for learning that if we build our brain skills, we can also make better choices too.
10. Executive Functioning Free Workbook
If you want to teach executive functioning skills but aren’t sure where to start, this free executive functioning workbook is a helpful option. It gives the foundation of what executive functioning skills are and why they matter in the first place.
11. Executive Functioning ABC Workbook
From A-Z, there are so many different executive functioning abilities and skills that we use every day. Use an Executive Functioning ABC Workbook to target those skills in a sequenced and strategic way. This workbook uses each letter of the alphabet to highlight a few different skills from A to Z.
P is for perseverance. This is the ability to work through a challenge or tasks until it’s completed. Sometimes that means having to work through difficulties, problems, and roadblocks along the way. Some strategies for persevering through a challenge include trying a different way, using self-talk, using calming strategies, skipping and coming back later, and making a plan.
This workbook is both printed and digital, but it’s worth mentioning that the digital option includes moveable and interactive pieces on Google Slides. This is extra fun for kids who learn well with a self-paced digital workbook.
12. Executive Functioning Stories Worksheets
Executive functioning read alouds provide an engaging and low-stress way to work on skills for success. In this set, students will listen to a read aloud focused on each individual executive functioning skill. After each read aloud, students complete simple and engaging worksheets to help them remember each skill, such as planning, time management, and attention.
A bonus for kids here is that each of the stories focuses on an animal character, such a Tyra the Time Management Tortoise or Oscar the Organizing Octopus. If you work with animal lovers, these are a must for your classroom library.
The goal is to not only help students learn about each executive functioning skill, but also to feel empowered that they can strengthen that skill too!
More Executive Functioning Ideas
- Games to improve executive functioning skills
- 15+ executive functioning strategies every teacher can use
- Executive functioning resources for teens
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