Circle of Control Activity

About this resource

Print-and-go circle of control activity for grades 2-8. One picture holds the whole idea: inside the circle are the things a student can control, outside it are the things they can't. Students sort picture cards inside or outside the circle, circle an answer on short worksheets, then write and draw their own circle. A control check to color and a log turn it into something a student does all week.

EVERYTHING INSIDE — 29 pages

• A circle of control poster: 6 things I can control inside the circle, 6 things I can't control outside it (color page and black-and-white ink-saver page)
• A sort mat: two sides, INSIDE my circle and OUTSIDE my circle, with 12 card-sized boxes the cards sit in
• 12 sort cards to cut, 4 across and 3 down, cut on the dotted lines: my words, my work, my actions, being kind, my thoughts and getting ready (inside the circle); the weather, the bell, what others say, a late bus, what others do and the schedule (outside it). Each has a picture, a word and a short line the student can read
• The same 12 cards in black-and-white ink-saver
• 24 blank sort cards (16 on a page of their own, plus a row of 4 under the cards on the color page and on the ink-saver page): the student draws a picture and writes their own words
• Can I Control It? 8 everyday moments on 2 pages: the student reads each one and circles I CAN control or I CAN'T control
• What Can I Control? 3 moments with room to write what the student can control
• My Circle of Control: draw or write 3 things inside the circle and 3 outside it
• My Hard Time Plan: draw a hard time, then write what I can't control, what I can control, and what I will do
• My Control Check: 15 circles (5 days, 3 times a day) to color each time the student chose something they can control
• A how-to page and an answer key for the cards and the 8 moments, with a space for your school's own words
• A Control Log (20 rows: date, when, card picked, did it Y/N, initials)
• A weekly roll-up (8 weeks) with a percent graph
• A filled example: an invented student, one week on the log, three weeks on the roll-up and the cards picked across all three
• A family page with 6 small cards to cut apart and a note home
• A hand-off page so a paraprofessional or another classroom uses the same cards the same way
• A phrase bank: 23 lines in 6 groups (spoken lines for the poster, cards and worksheets; written starters for the log, the roll-up and the note home)
• A storage and binder label sheet: 12 labels and a spine strip
• Start Here, a contents page with page thumbnails, and a "what's next" back page

The Student Pages

Every student page has a "My name" line, one short instruction with a picture, big pictures and big rounded words, and room to circle, color, draw or write. The moments are everyday ones from the classroom and the playground. The student in the filled example is invented.

The Sort Cards

Twelve pictured cards, six inside the circle and six outside it. Use them on the mat, in a small group, as a quick sort at the desk, or hand a student two or three at a time. A blank card holds any idea that is not printed here.

What This Is, And What It Is Not

It is a fillable PDF: type into the name lines, the log, the roll-up, the family page, the hand-off page and the blank cards, or print and use a pen. It works offline with no account or subscription. It is NOT an editable online slideshow or word-processor document.

Who This Is For

Teachers, counselors, special education teachers and paraprofessionals who want a concrete, picture-based way to talk about what is and isn't in a student's control, for grades 2-8, and the families who get the home page.

More In The Collection

This set is in the Visual Supports Collection, alongside Self Control Worksheets, Positive Self Talk Swap Cards, Poster and Tracker, Frustration Tolerance Social Story and Calm Strategy Cards and Self Advocacy Social Story and I Can Ask Cue Cards. Free to try first: Visual Supports Starter Set FREE.

Pictures (color pages): Noto Emoji by Google, Apache License 2.0. Pictures (ink-saver pages): Fluent Emoji, Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation, MIT License.