Anxiety and Worry What Would You Do? Cards — Think, Choose, Act
Worry often shows up in the body before students can name it. These anxiety and worry what would you do scenarios give Grades 2–5 forty everyday moments, and each card quotes the “what if” thought in the child’s head.
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About this resource
Worry often shows up in the body before students can name it. These anxiety and worry what would you do scenarios give Grades 2–5 forty everyday moments, and each card quotes the “what if” thought in the child’s head. Students stop and think, choose one of three action cards and explain why, building Self-Management habits for facing a worry one small step at a time.
What students practice
- Noticing body signals like tapping fingers or a dry mouth
- Talking back to “what if” thoughts
- Telling someone they trust about a worry
- Taking one small brave step
- Checking how likely a worry really is
What’s inside
- 40 scenario cards, eight each for Noticing Worry Signals, Catching ‘What If’ Thoughts, Sharing a Worry, Taking One Small Brave Step and Checking If a Worry Is Likely
- 120 action cards on 10 printable pages, three per scenario
- 40 reflection sheets, one page per scenario, with room to write a different action
- A teacher guide covering discussion, action-card choice, reflection, role play and learning stations; 77 pages
A look inside
- The Face-Down Quiz: before you even turn the quiz over, you think, “Every problem is going to be too hard.” The choices: Talk Back, Count the Problems, Doodle Instead.
- The Chilly Pool Edge: your cousins jump right in, and you stand at the edge thinking, “It’s going to feel freezing.”
- Flickering Lights: the lights flicker during a board game. The most helpful card, Remember Last Time, has you recall the last storm, when the lights came back, and keep playing.
How to use these anxiety and worry what would you do cards
- Read Flipping the Pillow aloud and turn and talk about its three questions before any action card comes out.
- Poll the class on the choices for The Office Errand (Walk It Down, Ask Kalani Along, Pick Someone Else) to turn the card into one of your decision making activities, then ask which choice is a small brave step.
- Run the five SEL learning stations so students meet the same coping skills for anxiety by reading, acting, choosing and writing.
Grade fit
Every card is short, written to “you” and set somewhere familiar: 13 at home, 13 at school and 14 in the community, from a barbershop to a train station. Younger students can answer aloud; Grades 4–5 can write full reflections.
Digital version
The interactive digital version shares as one link: students answer the think questions (or just read them in the quick format), choose an action card and say why, on any device with no student logins. At the end they download an answer sheet to hand in.
Good to know
Preview before you pick: a few scenes touch on family changes, such as a dad leaving for a four-day work trip in The Suitcase by the Door and Grandpa Moving In.
Pairs well with
For open-ended practice, try Anxiety and Worry Scenario Cards; to start the morning, use Anxiety and Worry Conversation Cards.
Questions teachers ask
Are these meant to diagnose anxiety?
No. The cards cover everyday worries such as a quiz, picture day or a dark cave tour, and practice noticing, sharing and facing them. The Sharing a Worry subtopic has eight scenarios about telling someone you trust.
Is there a clear best answer on each card?
Each scenario has one most helpful action, one partly helpful one and one impulsive one. Students explain their pick, so a partly helpful choice can still lead to a useful talk.
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