Resources for Students with Anger Management

Let's face it: Students can get angry sometimes. There may be a few students in the class that struggle with anger management more than others, and it can be tough to find ways to help them control their anger. 

EducationWorld has curated a list of eight lesson boosters such as activities, crafts, books, and other strategies teachers can use when it comes to aiding their students in controlling or dealing with their anger.

1. Angry Paper Toss: Provided by Kim's Counseling Corner, this activity can help students share what makes them angry without saying it out loud. For some students, sharing what makes them angry can be difficult, and writing it down, or drawing a picture makes them more comfortable. Here are the instructions:
   1. Gather large white paper, markers, napkins, tape, and a container of water.
   2. Tape the paper somewhere like the side of a building or driveway. 
   3. Have each student write down what makes them angry, or draw pictures. 
   4. Dip the napkins in water, roll them up in balls, and have students throw it at the paper. The marker will drip down the page and the drawings will fade.
   5. Right after the activity, ask students how it felt to write down their anger. Then ask how it felt to throw the wet napkins at the wall. 
2. When Sophie Gets Angry-Really, Really Angry by Molly Bang: In this book, Amazon says, "Everybody gets angry sometimes. For children, anger can be very upsetting. Parents, teachers, and children can talk about it. People do lots of different things when they get angry. In this Caldecott-honor book, kids will see what Sophie does when she gets angry. What do you do?"
3. When Sophie Gets Angry: Teachers can either read the book and have a discussion with their students, or participate in this activity. Provided by SchCounselor.com, this activity allows students to communicate what makes them angry and what was "okay" and "not okay" regarding to the behaviors of Sophie.

In this activity, the teacher can create a tree and give examples of what can make them angry. Students can put positive ways to handle their behavior, including "count to 10", "tell the teacher", "take deep breaths", or more. 

4. Cool Down and Work Through Anger by Cheri J. Meiners: In this book, Amazon says,"children learn that it is okay to feel angry—but not okay to hurt anyone with actions or words. They discover concrete skills for working through anger: self-calming, thinking, getting help from a trusted person, talking and listening, apologizing, being patient, and viewing others positively."
5. Anger Sandwiches: In this activity provided by PSRideAWeb.com, students can create their own anger sandwiches, a craft they can turn to when they are feeling angry. Students will cut out construction paper to look like two pieces of bread, meat, cheese, lettuce and tomato. Students will then label each ingredient an emotion that can lead to anger, such as "hurt", "frustration", "worry", etc. Label the piece of break on top "anger", and talk about a scenario that where the person can go through that series of emotions leading to anger. 

"This can also be a way to help them process an incident, as well as practice coping skills, taking care of those other layers of feelings before we explode!" saidPSRideAWeb.com.

6. How to Take the Grrrr Out of Anger by Elizabeth Verdick: This book, according to Amazon, "teaches them how to recognize anger in themselves and others, how to handle situations and emotions (loneliness, guilt, frustration, fear) that lead to or mask anger, and how to deal with the anger they feel."
7. Anger Management Worksheets: For the older crowd, teachers can provide their students with seven, free printable anger management worksheets provided by LovetoKnow Stress Management. 
   1. Identify Triggers: This worksheet helps students figure out what makes them angry by checking off scenarios provided by the worksheet.
   2. Understanding Your Triggers for Anger: Once students recognize their triggers, students can then understand what causes them, and why certain scenarios lead to anger. 
   3. Anger Management Techniques: With this worksheet, students can brainstorm ideas for handling situations that make him or her angry. Teachers can encourage their students to try these techniques the next time they are angry, and note which ones that work or don't. 
   4. Express Your Anger: In this worksheet, students learn how to effectively communicate their expression of anger through writing. Some of the activities include answering why the situation made them angry, and ways they can make the situation better or avoid it in the future. 
   5. What Would You Do?: This worksheet provides students with a list of different scenarios, and asks students how he or she would handle this situation and what stress management techniques they would use.
   6. Time-Out Exercise: The next time students are becoming angry, they can use the worksheet as a pause button to assess their situation. Students can reflect on why they are angry, their first reaction, and answer if there is a better way to handle what happened. 
   7. How Anger Affects Your Health: In this activity, students learn that anger causes high levels of stress that can lead to strain in their physical health. Students can fill this sheet out the next time they are angry and reflect on differences in their expression, muscles, breathing, heart, and more. 

Article by Kassondra Granata, EducationWorld Contributor