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A Friend in Need

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Lesson Plan

Supporting Friends Activities

Students will learn how to support friends in need by discussing and practicing compassion and helpfulness.

This lesson emphasizes the importance of caring for others, building strong social-emotional skills essential for healthy relationships.

Audience

1st Grade Group

Time

20 minutes

Approach

Interactive group discussion and activities.

Materials

Supporting Friends Activities, Helping Friends Presentation, and Compassionate Conversations

Prep

Preparation

5 minutes

  • Review the Supporting Friends Activities lesson plan.
  • Familiarize yourself with key discussion points on compassion and supportive behavior.
  • Ensure the Helping Friends Presentation and Compassionate Conversations materials are ready for group discussion.

Step 1

Introduction

5 minutes

  • Welcome students and explain the focus on supporting friends in need.
  • Use the Helping Friends Presentation to visually introduce the concepts of kindness and empathy.

Step 2

Group Activity: Compassionate Conversations

8 minutes

  • Divide students into small groups.
  • Ask each group to discuss scenarios from the Supporting Friends Activities lesson plan.
  • Encourage children to share ideas on how best to help a friend who is feeling sad or upset.

Step 3

Reflection

2 minutes

  • Gather the class back together and invite a few students to share what they learned.
  • Reinforce that being kind and supportive makes everyone feel better.
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Slide Deck

Welcome!

Today, we will learn how to be good friends by showing kindness and care to others.

Introduce the slide deck by welcoming students and explaining that today we're going to learn about supporting our friends. Encourage the students to listen carefully to the pictures and simple phrases that will show how to be kind and empathetic.

What is Kindness?

Kindness means doing good things like sharing, listening, and caring about others.

Explain the following slide by discussing what kindness means. Ask the students if they have ever seen someone be kind to a friend.

What is Empathy?

Empathy is understanding how another person feels and wanting to help them feel better.

Discuss empathy here. Tell students that empathy is trying to understand how someone else feels, and it helps us be kind friends.

Being a Good Friend

When we are kind and empathetic, we help our friends feel happy and loved!

This slide reinforces the lesson by visually summarizing the importance of kindness and empathy. Describe how these actions help us be better friends.

Let's Share!

Can you tell us about a time when you helped a friend or when someone helped you?

Conclude with an invitation for students to share examples of kind or empathetic actions they have observed or done for their friends. This invites group discussion.

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Discussion

Compassionate Conversations

Welcome to our small group discussion on how we can be wonderful friends! Today, we're going to talk about ways to help our friends when they are feeling sad or upset. Let’s share our ideas and listen to one another with kind hearts.

Discussion Guidelines

  • Listen Carefully: Make sure you listen when a friend is speaking. This shows you care about what they say.





  • Share Your Ideas: Tell your friends what you think and how you would help if you saw someone feeling sad.





  • Be Kind: Remember to speak softly and use kind words. We all feel happy when someone is loving and caring.

Group Discussion Questions

  1. What does it mean to be a good friend?
    • Can you think of a time when being a good friend made you or someone else feel better?





  2. How can you tell if a friend is sad or upset?
    • What are some signs that might show someone needs a little extra care?





  3. What are some ways to help a friend who is having a bad day?
    • Think of a kind action you could take to make them feel happy again.





  4. If a friend starts crying, what could you do to help?
    • Discuss ideas on how to comfort them while making sure they feel safe.





Follow-Up Points

  • Share a Story: Ask one or two students if they can share a story about a time when someone helped them feel better or when they helped someone else.





  • Draw a Picture: After the discussion, you might want to draw a picture of what being a good friend looks like. Use colorful markers and creativity!





  • Role-Play: In small groups, you can act out a short scene for how to help a friend who is sad.

Remember, every idea is important, and every kind word counts. Let's learn together about how we can all be a friend in need and a friend indeed!

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