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Friendship Builders

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Lesson Plan

Friendship Builders Lesson Plan

Students will develop essential social skills—sharing, taking turns, empathy, and conflict resolution—through guided practice and hands-on activities over six 30-minute sessions.

Early social skill development fosters positive peer interactions, reduces conflict in the classroom, and builds confidence in forming friendships, supporting kindergarteners who need extra practice with cooperative play.

Audience

Kindergarten

Time

6 sessions, 30 minutes each

Approach

Engaging activities, role-play, and guided reflection.

Prep

Prepare Materials

15 minutes

Step 1

Session 1: Getting to Know You

30 minutes

  • Welcome students and introduce lesson objectives.
  • Present slides 1–3 of the Friendship Builders Slide Deck about making friends.
  • Pair students to share their favorite toy or activity.
  • Encourage active listening and follow-up questions.
  • Reinforce participation with Smiley Face Stickers.
  • Differentiate: pair nonverbal or emerging-language learners with supportive peers and use picture prompts.

Step 2

Session 2: Sharing Is Caring

30 minutes

  • Review the concept of sharing using slides 4–5 of the Friendship Builders Slide Deck.
  • Model sharing with classroom props.
  • Distribute the Sharing and Caring Worksheet; guide students to color and circle examples of sharing.
  • Have students practice sharing items in small groups.
  • Offer Smiley Face Stickers for successful sharing moments.
  • Differentiate: provide one-on-one support for students who struggle to initiate sharing.

Step 3

Session 3: Taking Turns

30 minutes

  • Introduce taking turns via slides 6–7 of the Friendship Builders Slide Deck.
  • Organize a turn-taking game using the Timer: set 30 sec per turn and rotate a classroom object.
  • After each turn, ask students how they felt waiting and playing.
  • Celebrate good turn-taking with Smiley Face Stickers.
  • Differentiate: use visual countdown (timer) and verbal countdown for students needing extra support.

Step 4

Session 4: Understanding Feelings

30 minutes

  • Teach basic emotions using slides 8–9 of the Friendship Builders Slide Deck.
  • Introduce Emotion Expression Cards with pictures of happy, sad, angry, and surprised faces.
  • Have students match cards to short scenario descriptions.
  • Role-play feeling expressions in pairs.
  • Provide extra time or one-on-one modeling for students with language delays.

Step 5

Session 5: Resolving Conflicts

30 minutes

  • Discuss conflict resolution steps on slides 10–11 of the Friendship Builders Slide Deck.
  • In pairs, use Friendship Role-Play Cards to act out common playground disagreements.
  • Guide students to use “I feel ___ when you ___” statements and emotion cards as support.
  • Offer corrective feedback and praise effective resolutions.
  • Differentiate: simplify scenarios or co-role play with an adult for students needing more guidance.

Step 6

Session 6: Friendship Celebration

30 minutes

  • Review all social skills via a quick slide recap of the Friendship Builders Slide Deck.
  • Facilitate a collaborative art project or group game requiring sharing and turn-taking.
  • Distribute certificates marked with Smiley Face Stickers for students who demonstrated key skills.
  • Encourage reflections: each student names one friendship skill they improved.
  • Differentiate: allow alternative expression (drawing or pointing) for students with communication needs.
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Slide Deck

Friendship Builders

A 6-Session Social Skills Program for Kindergarteners

Let’s learn to make friends, share, take turns, and solve problems together!

Welcome students to the Friendship Builders program. Introduce yourself and explain that over six sessions, they will learn how to make friends and get along with others.

Today’s Objectives

• Make new friends
• Practice sharing
• Take turns kindly
• Understand feelings
• Solve conflicts politely

Review each objective briefly, pointing to how these skills help in the classroom and on the playground.

What Is a Friend?

A friend is someone who:
• Uses kind words
• Listens when you talk
• Plays and shares with you
• Helps you when you’re sad

Define friendship in kid-friendly terms. Ask: “What makes someone a good friend?”

Session 1: Getting to Know You

• Turn to a buddy and share your favorite toy
• Ask one question about your friend’s choice
• Give a smile or thumbs-up when they answer

Session 1: Pair students and have them share their favorite toy or game with a partner.

Session 2 Concept: Sharing Is Caring

Sharing means letting someone else use your things for a while.

Sharing shows you care and helps friends feel happy.

Explain the concept of sharing. Model by offering a classroom prop to a volunteer.

Session 2 Activity: Sharing Practice

Complete the Sharing and Caring Worksheet:

  1. Color pictures of sharing.
  2. Circle the times people share.
  3. Show your work to a friend.

Distribute the Sharing and Caring Worksheet. Guide students to color and circle sharing examples.

Session 3 Concept: Taking Turns

Taking turns means waiting patiently for your turn to use something or speak.

It helps everyone have fun and feel included.

Introduce taking turns. Use a timer or visual countdown to illustrate.

Session 3 Activity: Turn-Taking Game

• Pass the object when the timer dings
• Tell one word about how you feel after your turn
• Cheer for each friend’s turn

Play a turn-taking game with a timer set for 30 seconds per student.

Session 4 Concept: Understanding Feelings

We all feel different emotions. Can you show me how you look when you’re:
• Happy • Sad • Angry • Surprised

Show emotion faces and label each one. Ask children to make each face.

Session 4 Activity: Emotion Match

Use the Emotion Expression Cards:

  1. Listen to a short story.
  2. Pick the card that shows how the child feels.
  3. Explain why you chose that card.

Hand out Emotion Expression Cards. Read scenarios and have students match the correct card.

Session 5: Resolving Conflicts

Steps to solve a problem:

  1. Calm down and use a nice voice
  2. Say “I feel ___ when you ___.”
  3. Listen to your friend
  4. Find a solution together

Practice with Friendship Role-Play Cards.

Explain conflict-resolution steps. Model an “I feel… when you…” statement with a volunteer.

Session 6: Friendship Celebration

• Review sharing, turn-taking, feelings, and conflict-solving
• Group art project or cooperative game
• Receive a Friendship Builder certificate
• Name one skill you practiced

Celebrate all the skills learned. Hand out certificates or stickers and encourage students to share one thing they improved.

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Worksheet

Sharing and Caring Worksheet

Name: _______________________ Date: _______________________

Directions: Color the pictures that show sharing. Circle the pictures that do not show sharing.

  1. Picture A: Two children passing a toy


  2. Picture B: One child holding a toy alone while a friend watches


  3. Picture C: A child offering a snack to a friend


  4. Picture D: A child grabbing a toy away from a friend


  5. Picture E: Two friends taking turns on a seesaw


  6. Picture F: A child refusing to let a friend join the game


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Activity

Friendship Role-Play Cards

Description: Print, cut out, and use these cards in pairs during Session 5 to practice conflict resolution and cooperative problem-solving. Students draw a card, read or listen to the scenario, and act out how they would handle it using “I feel ___ when you ___” statements and emotion cards as support.

Role-Play Scenarios:

  1. You and a friend both want the same ball at recess.
  2. A classmate accidentally knocks over your block tower.
  3. Two friends need the same paint color for their art project.
  4. Your friend won’t let you join a game they’re playing.
  5. You and a friend must carry a heavy box together.
  6. You see a friend looking sad on the playground.
  7. A friend is upset because you said “no” when they asked to play with your toy.
  8. You and a friend have to share one pair of scissors during craft time.

Teacher Tips:

  • Model one scenario first with an adult or another student.
  • Encourage use of emotion cards and “I feel ___ when you ___” language.
  • Offer positive feedback and stickers for demonstrating calm voices, listening, and fair solutions.
  • Simplify or co-role play for students who need more support.
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Project Guide

Friendship Art Project

Session: 6 – Friendship Celebration
Objective: Students collaborate to create a large “Friendship Quilt” mural, practicing sharing, taking turns, and teamwork.

Materials:

  • Large butcher paper or chart paper taped on a wall or table
  • Pre-drawn grid or individual paper squares (one per student)
  • Crayons, markers, colored pencils
  • Stickers (hearts, stars, smiley faces)
  • Glue sticks
  • Timer

Instructions:

  1. Introduce the Project (5 minutes)
    • Explain that the class will make a big friendship quilt together.
    • Show an example of a completed quilt or mural if available.
  2. Decorate Your Square (10 minutes)
    • Give each student one square.
    • Prompt them to draw themselves with a friend or show a kind action (sharing, hugging, playing).
    • Encourage details: smiles, speech bubbles with kind words, or emotion faces from Emotion Expression Cards.
  3. Turn-and-Decorate (10 minutes)
    • Set the timer for 1–2 minutes.
    • When the timer dings, each student passes their square to the right.
    • The next student decorates the border: add patterns, stickers, or kind words.
    • Repeat until each square has been decorated by 3 classmates (or as time allows).
  4. Assemble the Quilt (5 minutes)
    • Teachers or volunteers help glue each decorated square onto the large paper grid.
    • Discuss how each piece shows kindness and teamwork.
  5. Reflection (5 minutes)
    • Gather students around the finished mural.
    • Ask each child to name one way they shared or took turns during the project.
    • Praise positive examples and reinforce the friendship skills learned.

Differentiation & Supports:

  • Nonverbal learners can add stickers or stamps instead of drawing.
  • Provide picture or word cards for students to label their drawing if writing is difficult.
  • Pair students with stronger peers to model sharing of supplies and turn-taking prompts.

Outcome: A vibrant friendship quilt showcasing each student’s creativity and their new social skills—ready to display in the classroom as a reminder of kindness and cooperation!

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Friendship Builders • Lenny Learning