Executive Functioning Activities

About this resource

Print-and-go executive functioning activities for grades 3-8, written for the student to use. The student sorts what a job needs, breaks a big job into small steps, puts mixed-up steps in order, plans a day, a week and their homework, checks off start-to-finish lists, and guesses how long a job will take. Eight picture tool cards to cut and keep give them something to reach for, and a log counts it. This is a set of student pages, not a teacher observation form.

EVERYTHING INSIDE — 32 pages

• What Do I Need? (2 pages): 6 everyday jobs, 6 pictured things each; the student circles what the job needs
• Break It Into Steps: one big job and 4 small steps, with a circle to color when each step is done
• Put the Steps in Order (2 pages): 6 jobs of 4 pictured steps, shown mixed up; the student writes 1 to 4 in the circles
• My Day Plan: 6 parts of the day, each with "I will", "I need" and a circle to color
• My Week Plan: 5 days with what is due, a plan for it and a circle to color
• My Homework Plan: one assignment in 4 steps, with a guess at the time and the real time
• Start-to-Finish Checklist: 12 boxes in three groups (start, do, finish), each with a picture
• Pack and Ready Checklist: 12 boxes in two lists (before I leave school, before bed)
• Guess My Time: 5 jobs, a guess, the real time and a circle for too short, just right or too long
• My Weekly Check-In: 15 circles (5 days, 3 prompts) to color
• 8 tool cards in full color, cut apart 4 across and 2 down so each cut is one straight line: make a list, set a timer, small steps, pack it up, check my work, ask for help, short break, just start. Each has a picture, a word and a short line the student can read
• The same 8 cards in black-and-white ink-saver
• 8 blank cards: the student draws a picture and writes their own words on type-in lines
• A how-to page and an answer key for the 6 sorting jobs and the 6 order jobs, with a space for your classroom's own routine
• A Tool Card Log (20 rows: date, task, card picked, finished 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 pages and cards, 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 that maps every page, 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 or write. The jobs are everyday school and home jobs: write a sentence, pack a lunch, study for a test, clean up after art. The pictures show things, not people. The student in the example is invented.

The Tool Cards

8 pictured cards the student can pick from when a task feels big. Keep them in a pocket, on a ring or at the desk. Use a blank card for 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 writing 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, special education teachers, counselors and paraprofessionals who want short, concrete planning and organizing pages for grades 3-8, and the families who get the home page.

More In The Collection

This set is in the Visual Supports Collection, alongside Self Control Worksheets, Multi-Step Directions, To-Do and All Done and Sticker Chart. 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.