Automatic Negative Thoughts - SEL Sketches - Free Printable

It looks like you've uploaded a worksheet titled "Ant Buddy" that is designed to help students understand common cognitive distortions (also known as "thinking errors") using fun, insect-themed characters. Each character represents a different type of distorted thinking, and the task is to fill in two columns:

1. What They Do: A description of the cognitive distortion.
2. Example: A real-life example of that thinking error.

This is a common tool used in Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to teach emotional regulation and healthy thinking patterns.

Let’s go through each "ant buddy" and complete the table with explanations and examples.

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✔ Completed Table

| ANT BUDDY | WHAT THEY DO | EXAMPLE |
|---------------|------------------|-------------|
| Ollie – Overgeneralizing | Taking one negative event and seeing it as a never-ending pattern of defeat. | "I failed one test, so I’m going to fail all my classes this year." |
| Allie – All or Nothing Thinking | Seeing things only in black-and-white categories; if something isn’t perfect, it’s a total failure. | "If I don’t get an A on this project, I’m a total failure." |
| Lester – Labeling | Assigning a negative label to yourself or others based on one mistake or behavior. | "I made a mistake, so I must be a loser." |
| Freddy – Filtering | Focusing only on the negative aspects of a situation and ignoring the positive ones. | "My teacher said I did well on most of the assignment, but I only heard 'most' and thought I failed." |
| Betty – Blaming | Blaming oneself or others for every problem, even when it's not fair or accurate. | "It’s all my fault we lost the game — I should’ve scored more goals." |
| Cammie – Catastrophizing | Expecting the worst possible outcome and exaggerating the seriousness of a situation. | "I forgot my homework — I’m going to get suspended and everyone will hate me!" |
| Maddie – Minimizing | Downplaying your successes or strengths, often dismissing praise. | "That was nothing — anyone could have done that." |
| Jazz – Jumping to Conclusions | Making assumptions without enough evidence, such as mind reading or fortune telling. | "My friend didn’t text me back, so they must be mad at me." |
| Marty – Mind Reading | Believing you know what others are thinking, usually negatively. | "They’re looking at me weird — they think I’m dumb." |
| Ellie – Emotional Reasoning | Believing that your feelings reflect reality (e.g., “I feel stupid, so I must be stupid”). | "I feel anxious about the presentation, so I’m definitely going to mess up." |
| Steve – Shoulda | Harshly criticizing yourself for not meeting unrealistic expectations ("should," "must," "ought"). | "I should have studied harder. I should have known this already." |
| Pete – Personalization | Taking responsibility for events that aren’t your fault or believing everything revolves around you. | "The team lost because I wasn’t good enough — it’s all my fault." |
| Ron – Always Right | Refusing to consider other viewpoints or admit mistakes; insisting you're always correct. | "I know I'm right — no one else understands this like I do." |
| Frank – Not Fair | Feeling resentful because life isn’t fair, leading to anger or withdrawal. | "It’s not fair that I have to do extra work while others don’t — I hate this!" |
| Charlie – Change ‘Em | Trying to change others to fit your needs instead of accepting them as they are. | "I’ll never be happy until my brother stops being so messy." |

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🔍 How This Worksheet Helps:

- Teaches self-awareness of unhelpful thinking patterns.
- Uses metaphors and humor (insect characters) to make abstract concepts relatable.
- Encourages reflection and real-world application through examples.
- Supports emotional regulation and coping skills.

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💡 Teaching Tip:

After filling out the chart, you can ask students:
- "Which Ant Buddy do you notice in your own thinking?"
- "How might you challenge that thought?"

For example:
> If someone says, *"I messed up, so I'm a failure"* (Labeling), you can respond:
> *"One mistake doesn't define you. Everyone makes mistakes. What can you learn from this?"*

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Would you like a printable version of this completed chart? Or perhaps a matching activity or worksheet for students to use independently?