Procrastination KS2 PSHE Guide & Activities

Free 7-page PSHE / wellbeing pack on procrastination for ages 8-12 (upper KS2 and early KS3): teacher notes, 8 discussion questions, a 30-minute lesson plan, 4 practical tools and 2 pupil worksheets.

Why do children put things off - and how do we help them start? This pack turns the story of Lena, a bright girl who freezes before a maths championship, into a ready-to-teach session on procrastination: what it really is (fear-driven avoidance, not laziness), how to spot the “worry voice”, and how to take a five-minute first step. Written for PSHE, RSHE and wellbeing time, guided reading, and one-to-one ELSA or SENCO sessions.

What’s inside (7 printable A4 pages)

• Teacher notes: story summary, learning objectives, curriculum links and the psychology of the avoidance loop (thought - feeling - escape - relief - repeat)
• 8 discussion questions for circle time, guided reading or a wellbeing lesson
• A 30-minute lesson plan
• 4 practical tools with “try saying” scripts for teachers, TAs and parents: catch the worry voice, put the thought on trial, the five-minute first step, the “If… then…” plan
• 3 activities: the First-Step Jar (with cut-out slips), an eight-step drama activity and a retelling task
• 2 pupil worksheets pitched at ages 8-12: “My Five-Minute First Step” and “Lena’s Notebook” (a five-day tracker)

How to use it

You do not need the book: page 2 summarises the story and the questions stand on their own. If you have read the story, it works as a follow-up guided-reading or PSHE lesson. Print pages 6-7 for pupils; the rest is for the adult. Page 4 can be sent home to parents.

Curriculum links

PSHE Association Programme of Study, KS2 Health and Wellbeing - Mental health (H17, H18, H19, H20, H24), continuing into the KS3 Mental health strand; DfE statutory Health Education - Mental wellbeing; also supports metacognition and self-regulation, and English reading comprehension (inference and discussion).

About the story

Tomorrow’s Thief is Book 1 of the Lena series by Kidsbooks - ten short, illustrated chapter books written for ages 8-12 and read comfortably up to Year 8, each about one feeling: procrastination, anger, worry, perfectionism, boredom and screen time, gratitude, feeling left out, online safety and self-worth. Every book has a Parent & Educator Guide bound into the back, with discussion questions, puzzles, activities and an original song, and is mapped to the PSHE Association Programme of Study. The stories are secular and every page is open to parents. Discussion guides for the other nine books will be added to this shop.