Executive Functioning Skills Student Workbook – High School (Grades 9–12): Plan, Focus, Follow Through

What Is the Executive Functioning Skills Workbook for High School?

Executive Functioning Skills: Plan, Focus, Follow Through is a 120-page student workbook from Future Ready Education for high school students in grades 9–12 (ages 14–18). It builds the planning, organization and self-management skills teens need to handle heavier workloads now and live independently later. Across 7 chapters and 45 hands-on activities, students build systems and routines, manage time and competing priorities, reduce distractions and cognitive overload, beat procrastination, study with research-backed strategies, set and track goals, and learn to budget and build credit. Each chapter pairs a short guided reading with activities students can apply right away. A pre-assessment and post-assessment show their growth. The workbook builds the durable skills in your district’s Portrait of a Graduate.

Why Do Teachers and Parents Choose This Executive Functioning Workbook?

• Student-ready: written directly for teens, so students can work through it in class, with a coach or on their own
• Substantial content: 120 pages, 7 chapters and 45 hands-on activities
• Read it, then do it: each chapter pairs a short reading with activities students apply to their own schedules, assignments and routines
• Financial literacy included: a 10-activity chapter on budgeting, credit scores, credit cards and loans
• Evidence-based study skills: retrieval practice, spacing and dual coding
• Measurable growth: a pre-assessment and post-assessment show what students learned
• Built-in resources: extra tools and a Dictionary of Emotions
• Flexible: works for whole classes, small groups, executive functioning coaching or independent study

What Will Students Be Able to Do After Completing the Workbook?

By the end of the workbook, students will be able to:

• Recognize how executive functioning skills (organization, time management, focus, motivation and long-term planning) affect their grades, responsibilities, jobs and independence
• Design and maintain personal organization systems for materials, digital files, assignments, schedules and daily routines
• Prioritize tasks, estimate time, plan backward for long-term assignments, and balance school, work, extracurriculars and personal commitments
• Manage attention, reduce cognitive load and sustain focus despite stress or digital distractions
• Start tasks more effectively by building momentum and overcoming procrastination
• Use evidence-based study strategies like active recall, spaced practice and structured note-taking
• Set meaningful goals, break them into steps, monitor progress and adjust when plans change
• Make informed financial decisions by telling needs from wants, budgeting and understanding income and expenses

How Does This Workbook Build Portrait of a Graduate Competencies?

This workbook builds durable, future-ready skills, the transferable abilities students carry into college, careers and their communities. Each chapter connects to the competencies schools use to define college, career and life readiness:

• Personal Responsibility & Work Ethic (PRW): systems, routines, time management, overcoming avoidance and following through
• Agency (AGY): setting goals, building action plans and owning their learning
• Finances (FIN): spending, saving and giving; budgeting; credit scores; credit cards; the true cost of borrowing; and loan research
• Adaptability (ADP): planning for barriers and adjusting when plans go wrong
• Critical Thinking & Problem Solving (CT): prioritizing, financial trade-offs and analyzing cognitive overload
• Career Readiness (CAR): the planning, focus and self-management habits employers expect
• Creativity (CRE): designing study tools, activation rituals and personal systems
• Communication (COM): debating focus strategies and explaining reasoning
• Collaboration (COL): managing time and responsibilities on group projects
• Empathy (EMP): understanding how stress and overload affect yourself and others
• Citizenship (CIT): balancing school, work, family and community commitments responsibly

What Chapters and Activities Are in the High School Executive Functioning Workbook?

The workbook opens with an introduction for students and a pre-assessment, and includes 7 chapters, a post-assessment, extra resources and a Dictionary of Emotions:

1. Systems & Routines: System Scan, Personal Systems Inventory, Real-Life Scenario Challenge, Routines That Work, Digital Life Makeover, Organization Style Survey
2. Time Management: Time Estimation Challenge, Priority Sort, The Domino Effect, Time Management Scenario Lab, Time Management Tools Matching Challenge, When Plans Go Wrong
3. Focus & Cognitive Load: Focus Interference Lab, Digital Distraction Audit, The Focus Zone Blueprint, The Brain Bandwidth Meter, Cognitive Overload Scenario Debate, Build Your Focus Toolkit
4. Motivation & Momentum: Motivation in Motion, Procrastination Personality, Activation Ritual Builder, The Avoidance Loop, Overcoming Avoidance
5. Study Skills: How Your Brain Stores Information, Study Strategy Scenarios, Build a Study Tool, The Spacing Plan Builder, Dual Coding Art Lab
6. Goal-Setting: Outcome vs. Process Sort, Goal Reality Check, From Goal to Action Map, Barrier Forecast, The 4-Part Goal Builder, Steps & Checklist Builder, Adjustment Plan
7. Financial Literacy: Spend, Save, Give; Needs vs. Wants; Create a Basic Budget; Financial Trade-Off Scenarios; Credit Score Basics; Credit Card Scenario Decisions; The True Cost Timeline; Credit Score Story; Build-a-Credit Rulebook; Loan Research & Reflection Lab

Who Is This Executive Functioning Workbook For?

High school students in grades 9–12, their teachers and their parents. It works well in advisory and homeroom, study skills and freshman transition courses, academic intervention and support, executive functioning coaching, special education, financial literacy, college and career readiness, homeschool and independent learning. It also supports Portrait of a Graduate initiatives.

What Comes in the Executive Functioning Skills Workbook?

• Grade level: Grades 9–12 (ages 14–18)
• Format: Paperback student workbook
• Length: 120 pages
• Design: Full color, student-facing
• Includes: an introduction for students, a pre-assessment, 7 chapters, 45 activities, a post-assessment, extra resources and a Dictionary of Emotions
• Publisher: Future Ready Education, an IB Source company
• ISBN: 9781957136967

Frequently Asked Questions About the Executive Functioning Workbook for High School

What are executive functioning skills?

Executive functioning skills are the mental skills that help us plan, organize, focus, manage time, start tasks and follow through. For high schoolers, they include juggling multiple classes and deadlines, managing long-term projects, studying effectively and preparing for independent life.

What grade level is this workbook for?

It is designed for high school students in grades 9–12, ages 14–18.

Can students use this workbook on their own?

Yes. It’s written directly for students, with short readings and activities they apply to their own schedules, assignments and goals. It also works well with a teacher, coach or parent guiding the work.

Does it help with procrastination?

Yes. The Motivation & Momentum chapter helps students identify their procrastination personality, understand the avoidance loop and build an activation ritual for getting started on tasks they’ve been putting off.

Does it teach study skills?

Yes. The Study Skills chapter explains how the brain stores information and teaches research-backed strategies like retrieval practice, spaced practice and dual coding.

Does it include financial literacy?

Yes. The 10-activity Financial Literacy chapter covers spending, saving and giving, needs vs. wants, budgeting, financial trade-offs, credit scores, credit cards, the true cost of borrowing and loan research.

Can it help students who struggle with organization and focus?

Yes. The chapters on systems and routines and on focus and cognitive load are built for students who need help staying organized and focused. That makes the workbook useful for intervention, academic support and executive functioning coaching.

How is this different from The Inner Compass workbook?

This workbook focuses entirely on executive functioning. The Inner Compass High School Workbook includes this same executive functioning content plus full units on emotional intelligence and resilience. Choose this book for a focused executive functioning course, or The Inner Compass for all three skill areas.

Is there a teacher guide?

Yes. The Executive Functioning Skills High School Instructional Guide gives teachers and parents lesson guidance, UDL supports and a reflection guide to go with this workbook.

What are future-ready skills?

Future-ready skills, also called durable skills, are lasting, transferable abilities like self-management, financial literacy, adaptability and critical thinking. Students use them across subjects, careers and life.