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Friendship Builders: Creating Our Classroom Community

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Lee Hughes

Tier 1
For Schools

Lesson Plan

Friendship Builders: Creating Our Classroom Community

Students will be able to identify key elements of strong friendships (empathy, active listening, problem-solving) and apply actionable steps to build and maintain positive peer relationships.

Building strong friendships is crucial for social-emotional well-being and creating a supportive classroom environment. This lesson equips students with the skills to foster positive interactions, reduce conflicts, and enhance their sense of belonging.

Audience

3rd-5th Grade Students

Time

60-75 minutes

Approach

Interactive discussions, role-playing activities, and reflection.

Materials

Smartboard or Projector, Markers or whiteboard, Friendship Builders Slide Deck, Friendship Qualities Worksheet, Friendship Scenarios Activity Cards, and Discussion Questions Handout

Prep

Teacher Preparation

15 minutes

  • Review the Friendship Builders Slide Deck and familiarize yourself with the content.
    - Print copies of the Friendship Qualities Worksheet (one per student).
    - Print and cut out the Friendship Scenarios Activity Cards.
    - Review the Discussion Questions Handout.
    - Arrange classroom for small group work and whole-class discussion.
    - Ensure projector/smartboard is functional for the slide deck presentation.

Step 1

Introduction: What is Friendship?

10 minutes

  • Begin with a warm-up question: "What comes to mind when you hear the word 'friendship'?" (5 minutes)
    - Introduce the lesson using the Friendship Builders Slide Deck (Slides 1-3).
    - Facilitate a brief class discussion on initial thoughts about friendship, emphasizing its importance in daily life and in the classroom.

Step 2

Exploring Friendship Qualities

15 minutes

  • Present the core qualities of friendship (empathy, active listening, problem-solving) using the Friendship Builders Slide Deck (Slides 4-7).
    - Provide clear definitions and examples for each quality.
    - Distribute the Friendship Qualities Worksheet and have students complete the first section, identifying and defining these qualities in their own words or drawing pictures. (10 minutes)
    - Briefly discuss student responses as a whole class.

Step 3

Putting Friendship into Practice: Scenarios

20 minutes

  • Divide students into small groups (3-4 students per group).
    - Explain the Friendship Scenarios Activity: Each group will receive a scenario card and work together to discuss how to apply the friendship qualities to resolve the situation.
    - Distribute the Friendship Scenarios Activity Cards to each group.
    - Circulate among groups, offering guidance and prompting deeper thinking (15 minutes).
    - Bring the class back together and have each group share their scenario and proposed solution with the whole class. (5 minutes per group, adjust based on class size).

Step 4

Deepening Understanding: Discussion and Reflection

15 minutes

  • Lead a whole-class discussion using prompts from the Discussion Questions Handout and those on the Friendship Builders Slide Deck (Slides 8-9).
    - Encourage students to share their experiences and insights gained from the activity.
    - Revisit the Friendship Qualities Worksheet for students to complete the reflection section, considering how they can apply these skills in their own lives.

Step 5

Conclusion: Our Classroom Community

5-10 minutes

  • Summarize the key takeaways of the lesson using the Friendship Builders Slide Deck (Slide 10).
    - Emphasize the collective responsibility in building a positive and supportive classroom community.
    - Encourage students to consciously practice the learned friendship skills in their daily interactions.
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Slide Deck

Welcome, Friendship Builders!

What comes to mind when you hear the word 'friendship'?

  • Share your ideas!

Greet students and introduce the lesson's main topic: friendship. Ask a warm-up question to engage them.

Why Talk About Friendship?

  • Friends make life better!
  • They help us learn and grow.
  • A strong classroom community starts with strong friendships.
  • It's about being kind and understanding to everyone.

Explain why learning about friendship is important, connecting it to their everyday lives and the classroom community.

Our Friendship Goals Today

Today, we will learn to:

  • Identify what makes a friendship strong.
  • Understand how to be a good friend.
  • Practice skills to build positive relationships in our classroom!

Set the learning objectives clearly for the students.

Quality 1: Empathy

What is Empathy?

  • Putting yourself in someone else's shoes.
  • Understanding how others feel, even if you don't feel the same way.
  • Showing you care.

Why is Empathy Important?

  • It helps us be kind.
  • It helps us know what a friend needs.

Introduce the first key quality: empathy. Provide a simple definition and examples relevant to their age.

Quality 2: Active Listening

What is Active Listening?

  • Listening with your ears, eyes, and heart.
  • Paying close attention when someone is talking.
  • Showing you are listening by nodding or making eye contact.

Why is Active Listening Important?

  • It makes your friends feel heard.
  • It helps you understand clearly.

Introduce active listening. Explain what it means and how to practice it.

Quality 3: Problem-Solving

What is Problem-Solving?

  • Working together to fix disagreements or challenges.
  • Finding fair solutions when friends have different ideas.
  • Talking things out calmly.

Why is Problem-Solving Important?

  • It helps friendships last.
  • It builds trust.

Introduce problem-solving. Explain that conflicts are normal and how friends can work through them.

Time to Practice!

We've learned about:

  • Empathy
  • Active Listening
  • Problem-Solving

Now, let's put these skills to use in a fun activity! You'll work in groups to solve some friendship puzzles.

Transition to the activity. Explain that they will be practicing these skills.

Let's Discuss!

After our activity, think about:

  • What was challenging about the scenarios?
  • What did you learn about being a good friend?
  • How can you use these skills in our classroom every day?
  • What does it feel like when a friend shows you empathy or listens carefully?

Guide the class discussion after the activity, using these prompts to encourage deeper reflection.

Building Our Classroom Community

How can we use our friendship skills to make our classroom an even better place?

  • Sharing ideas respectfully.
  • Helping each other.
  • Including everyone.
  • Celebrating our differences!

Continue the discussion, prompting students to connect the lesson to their classroom community.

You Are All Friendship Builders!

Remember, every day is a chance to:

  • Show Empathy
  • Practice Active Listening
  • Work Together to Problem-Solve

Let's keep building our amazing classroom community, one friendship at a time!

Conclude the lesson by summarizing the main points and encouraging continued practice of friendship skills.

lenny

Activity

Friendship Scenarios Activity

Instructions: Work with your group to read each scenario. Discuss how you can use empathy, active listening, and problem-solving to help the friends in the situation. Be ready to share your ideas with the class!

Scenario 1: The Broken Crayon

Maria accidentally broke her friend Leo's favorite blue crayon. Leo is very upset and starts to cry, saying, "Now I can't finish my drawing!"

How can Maria show empathy and active listening?



How can Maria and Leo problem-solve together?






Scenario 2: The Game Choices

Sarah and Ben both want to play different games during recess. Sarah wants to play tag, but Ben really wants to play kickball. They can't agree, and both are starting to get frustrated.

How can Sarah and Ben show active listening to each other?



What problem-solving steps can they take to choose a game or play together?






Scenario 3: Feeling Left Out

During group work, a new student named Alex feels shy and isn't participating much. Two other students, Chloe and David, are talking mostly to each other and haven't noticed Alex is quiet.

How can Chloe and David show empathy towards Alex?



What can they do to help Alex feel more included and comfortable?






Scenario 4: A Different Idea

Your group is working on a project, and you have an idea that is different from what your friend thinks is best. You both think your idea is better, and you're starting to argue.

How can you and your friend use active listening in this situation?



What problem-solving steps can you take to combine your ideas or choose the best one for the project?






lenny
lenny

Worksheet

Friendship Qualities Worksheet

Name: ____________________________

Part 1: Exploring Friendship Qualities

Think about what makes a good friend and how we can be good friends to others. For each quality, write down what it means to you or draw a picture that shows it.

1. Empathy

What does it mean to show empathy? (Putting yourself in someone else's shoes)






2. Active Listening

What does it mean to actively listen? (Listening with your ears, eyes, and heart)






3. Problem-Solving

What does it mean to problem-solve with a friend? (Working together to find solutions)






Part 2: Reflection

After our discussion and activities, think about how you can use these friendship qualities in your own life and in our classroom.

  1. Can you think of a time when you showed empathy to a friend? What happened?






  2. What is one way you can practice active listening more often in our classroom?






  3. Imagine you have a small disagreement with a friend. How will you use problem-solving to help? (List at least two steps).











  4. How can you help make our classroom an even friendlier place?






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lenny

Discussion

Friendship Builders: Discussion Questions

Instructions: Use these questions to guide a whole-class discussion after the Friendship Scenarios Activity. Encourage students to share their thoughts and experiences respectfully.

Part 1: Reflecting on the Activity

  1. What was it like to work with your group to solve the friendship scenarios?



  2. Was it easy or hard to come up with solutions? Why?



  3. Which friendship quality (empathy, active listening, or problem-solving) felt most important for your scenario? Why?



  4. Did anyone in your group have a different idea? How did you work together to decide?



Part 2: Connecting to Our Lives

  1. Can you think of a time when someone showed you empathy? How did it make you feel?



  2. When a friend actively listens to you, what does that look like? How does it make you feel?



  3. Why is it important to talk calmly and try to understand each other when there is a disagreement?



  4. Besides the scenarios we discussed, when else might you need to use your problem-solving skills with a friend?






  5. What is one small thing you can do this week to be an even better friend in our classroom?



  6. How can having strong friendships make our whole classroom a happier and more supportive place?






lenny
lenny