Executive Functioning Skills Instructional Guide – High School (Grades 9–12): Teacher & Parent Lesson Plans

What Is the Executive Functioning Skills Instructional Guide for High School?

The Executive Functioning Skills High School Instructional Guide is a 160-page downloadable, printable teacher and parent guide from Future Ready Education. It’s the teaching companion to the Executive Functioning Skills High School Workbook (Plan, Focus, Follow Through), giving you everything you need to teach students in grades 9–12 (ages 14–18) the planning, organization and self-management skills they need for school, work and independent life. The guide follows the workbook’s 7 lessons. Each one pairs a short guided reading with hands-on activities and includes learning objectives, teacher guidance and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) supports. A pre-assessment, a post-assessment and a teacher/parent reflection guide help you track growth. The guide builds the durable skills in your district’s Portrait of a Graduate.

Why Do Teachers and Parents Choose This Instructional Guide?

• Ready to teach: 7 complete lessons with learning objectives, guided readings and step-by-step teaching guidance
• Matches the student workbook: follows the High School Executive Functioning Workbook lesson by lesson
• Built for every learner: UDL guidance with scaffolded templates, visual timers, flexible output options and assistive technology ideas
• Intervention-ready: a strong fit for MTSS/RTI, special education, academic support and executive functioning coaching
• Measurable growth: a pre-assessment and post-assessment covering organization, time management, focus, motivation, studying, goals and money decisions
• Evidence-based strategies: active recall, spaced practice, structured note-taking, chunking and momentum-building techniques
• Financial literacy included: budgeting, needs vs. wants, credit scores, credit cards and the true cost of borrowing
• Instant access: a downloadable, printable PDF you can reuse every year

What Will Students Be Able to Do?

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

1. Recognize how executive functioning skills affect academic performance, personal responsibilities, employment and independence
2. Design and maintain personal organization systems for materials, digital files, assignments, schedules and routines
3. Prioritize, estimate time, plan backward for long-term assignments, and balance school, work, extracurriculars and personal commitments
4. Manage attention, reduce cognitive load and sustain focus despite stress or digital distractions
5. Start tasks more effectively using momentum-building techniques and motivation strategies
6. Use evidence-based study strategies like active recall, spaced practice and structured note-taking
7. Set meaningful goals, break them into steps, monitor progress and adjust when plans change
8. Make informed financial decisions by telling needs from wants, budgeting and understanding income and expenses

How Does This Guide Build Portrait of a Graduate Competencies?

This guide builds durable, future-ready skills, the transferable abilities students carry into college, careers and their communities:

• Personal Responsibility & Work Ethic (PRW): systems, routines, time management and following through
• Agency (AGY): setting goals, monitoring progress and owning learning
• Finances (FIN): budgeting, needs vs. wants, income and expenses, credit and borrowing
• Adaptability (ADP): adjusting plans, goals and routines when challenges come up
• Critical Thinking & Problem Solving (CT): prioritizing, backward planning and analyzing cognitive overload
• Career Readiness (CAR): the planning, focus and self-management skills employers expect
• Communication (COM): asking for help, discussing strategies and reflecting on growth
• Collaboration (COL): balancing personal commitments with team responsibilities
• Creativity (CRE): designing personal systems for organization, studying and focus
• Empathy (EMP): understanding how stress and overwhelm affect yourself and others
• Citizenship (CIT): balancing school, work, family and community commitments responsibly

What Lessons Are Included in the High School Executive Functioning Guide?

The guide includes a pre-assessment, 7 lessons, a post-assessment and extra resources:

1. Systems & Routines: personalized systems for materials, digital files, schedules and routines
2. Time Management: planning ahead, estimating time, prioritizing and structured scheduling
3. Focus & Cognitive Load: how attention works, how stress and overload affect performance, and building a deep-work environment
4. Motivation & Momentum: why procrastination happens and how micro-starts and activation strategies build momentum
5. Study Skills: retrieval practice, spaced repetition, structured note-taking and task chunking
6. Goal-Setting: academic, personal and future-focused goals, broken into steps and adjusted when obstacles arise
7. Financial Literacy: income, saving, needs vs. wants, budgeting, credit and practical money habits for independence

Resources: a Teacher/Parent Reflection Guide, a Dictionary of Emotions and extra tools for teachers, parents and students.

Who Is This Instructional Guide For?

High school general and special education teachers, school counselors and student support teams, MTSS/RTI and intervention specialists, executive functioning coaches, advisory leaders, tutors, homeschool families and parents. It’s designed for advisory, study skills and freshman transition courses, academic intervention, financial literacy, college and career readiness, and Portrait of a Graduate initiatives.

What Comes in the Executive Functioning Skills Instructional Guide?

• Grade level: Grades 9–12 (ages 14–18)
• Format: Digital download (printable PDF)
• Length: 160 pages
• For: teachers and parents, with student activity pages included
• Includes: 7 lessons with learning objectives and guided readings, student activities, pre- and post-assessments, UDL guidance, a Teacher/Parent Reflection Guide and a Dictionary of Emotions
• Companion to: Executive Functioning Skills: Plan, Focus, Follow Through, the High School Workbook
• Publisher: Future Ready Education, an IB Source company
• SKU: FRTMHSIG

Frequently Asked Questions About the Executive Functioning Instructional Guide

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.

How does this guide work with the student workbook?

It’s the teaching companion to the Executive Functioning Skills High School Workbook. It follows the same 7 lessons and adds teacher guidance, UDL supports, assessments and a reflection guide. Students work in the workbook while you teach from the guide.

Can I use it for MTSS, RTI or special education?

Yes. Structured lessons, UDL scaffolds and pre- and post-assessments make it well suited to Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions, IEP goals related to organization and task initiation, and academic support settings.

Can parents use this guide at home?

Yes. It’s written for both teachers and parents, with clear explanations and a reflection guide, so it works well for homeschool, tutoring and at-home support.

Does it include financial literacy?

Yes. The Financial Literacy lesson covers income, saving, needs vs. wants, budgeting, credit scores and the true cost of borrowing.

Does it include assessments?

Yes. A pre-assessment and post-assessment measure growth across organization, time management, focus, motivation, studying, goal-setting and financial decision-making.

How is this different from the Executive Functioning Teacher Resource Pack?

[Add the difference here, or remove this FAQ if you merge the two products.]

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.