Stress and Mental Health What Would You Do? Cards — Think, Choose, Act — cover preview
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Stress and Mental Health What Would You Do? Cards — Think, Choose, Act

Grades 2–5 · Self-Management · What Would You Do? Cards

“I’ve been grumpy every single day since Monday,” Ines says at lunch.

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Try it free first · same formatSelf-Awareness What Would You Do? Cards — Think, Choose, Act40 scenario cards · Free with a free accountOpen the free version
Grades
2–5
What you get
40 scenario cards
Use it
Print + digitaldigital = one link, no student logins
Competency
Self-Management

About this resource

“I’ve been grumpy every single day since Monday,” Ines says at lunch. These stress and mental health what would you do scenarios give Grades 2–5 forty moments when a friend or family member is carrying a feeling that has lasted or a day that is too full. Students answer three think questions, choose one of three action cards and explain it, practicing Self-Management skills and learning when to bring in a trusted grown-up.

What students practice

  • Noticing when a big feeling lasts for days
  • Accepting that it’s okay not to be okay
  • Slowing down a busy, stressful day
  • Telling a trusted grown-up when something big happens
  • Remembering that hard feelings pass

What’s inside

40scenario cards: Noticing Big Feelings That Stick Around, It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, Handling Busy, Stressful Days, Telling Someone When Something Big Happens and Remembering Hard Feelings Don’t Last (eight each)
120action cards, three per scenario
40reflection sheets for private writing
  • A teacher guide with five uses, including counselor-led groups; 77 pages

A look inside

Smiling for the Trip: before a museum trip, Hana whispers, “I’m smiling so nobody asks.” The choices: Drop the Fake Smile, Talk Up the Museum, Smile Along With Her.
The Big Move SecretPriyanka hasn’t told anyone her family is moving. The most helpful card, Let Her Teacher Know, suggests she tell her teacher so someone at school understands.

How to use these stress and mental health what would you do cards

Read The Grumpy Week and use think-pair-share on the three questions so students talk it over before they decide.
In a counselor-led group, role-play Shake It Off and close with the guide’s question about which emotions were involved.
Use the reflection sheets in SEL journaling routines, where students can write more than they might say aloud.

Grade fit

Each scene is about helping someone else, which gives Grades 2–5 a little distance from a heavy topic. Community settings lead (15, from a farmers market stall to a scout hall), with 14 at school and 11 at home, and the language stays short and concrete.

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

Read ahead before choosing cards: scenes include a sick dog, a family move, a new baby and a family bakery closing. The cards don’t diagnose anything. All eight Telling Someone cards point to a trusted adult, such as a parent, teacher or school counselor, as the most helpful choice, and these coping skills for stress work best alongside your school’s usual support.

Pairs well with

Questions teachers ask

Do students have to share their own feelings?

No. Every scenario has a friend, sibling, cousin or neighbor who is struggling, and students choose how to help. They can bring in their own experiences on the reflection sheets if they choose.

How do the cards handle bigger worries?

The Telling Someone When Something Big Happens subtopic has eight scenarios, and in each the most helpful action brings in a trusted grown-up.

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644 SEL resources for elementary classrooms — printables, digital activities and answer sheets, and every new one we add.

Stress and Mental Health What Would You Do? Cards — Think, Choose, Act Try the free version See the full library