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Friendship Fundamentals

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Lesson Plan

Friendship Fundamentals

Students will identify qualities of healthy friendships, understand their impact on self-esteem, and apply strategies to build and maintain supportive relationships.

Developing healthy friendships boosts self-confidence, emotional well-being, and social skills. This lesson equips students to recognize positive traits in peers and strengthen their self-esteem through meaningful connections.

Audience

7th Grade

Time

45 minutes

Approach

Interactive discussions, collaborative activities, and personal reflection.

Materials

Prep

Prepare Materials

10 minutes

Step 1

Warm-Up Discussion

5 minutes

  • Pose the question: “What makes someone a good friend?”
  • Record student responses on chart paper.
  • Encourage examples and clarify any new ideas.

Step 2

Identifying Friendship Qualities

10 minutes

  • Distribute Friendship Qualities Worksheet and Blank Index Cards.
  • Instruct students to write one friendship quality per card with a brief definition.
  • When finished, have students place their cards on a central table for sharing.

Step 3

Group Chart Activity

10 minutes

  • Divide students into small groups of 4–5.
  • Each group sorts index cards into categories (e.g., trust, empathy).
  • On Chart Paper, groups list their top 5 qualities and add real-life examples.
  • Use Sticky Notes to highlight any overlapping patterns.

Step 4

Reflection and Self-Esteem Connection

10 minutes

  • Distribute the Friendship Reflection Journal.
  • Prompt students to reflect on a friendship that boosted their self-esteem.
  • Write about which qualities made it supportive and how it helped them feel valued.
  • Encourage honest, personal responses.

Step 5

Share-Out and Closure

10 minutes

  • Invite volunteers to share key insights from their journals.
  • Summarize common qualities identified and discuss strategies to cultivate them.
  • Ask students to set one personal goal to strengthen a friendship this week.
  • Collect journals or have students keep them for future reflection.
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Slide Deck

Friendship Fundamentals

Healthy Friendships & Self-Esteem

7th Grade Tier 1 Lesson
45 Minutes

Welcome students! Introduce today’s topic: healthy friendships and their impact on self-esteem. Outline the flow: warm-up, activities, reflection, and closing goal. Encourage participation and respect for each other’s ideas.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, you will:

  • Identify qualities of healthy friendships
  • Understand how friendships impact self-esteem
  • Apply strategies to build and maintain supportive relationships

Read each objective aloud. Emphasize why each goal matters: knowing qualities helps you choose good friends, understanding how friendships affect confidence, and learning practical strategies to build supportive relationships.

Warm-Up Discussion

• Pose the question: “What makes someone a good friend?”
• Record responses on chart paper
• Encourage examples and clarify new ideas

Prompt students: “What makes someone a good friend?” as they raise hands. Record responses on chart paper. Validate every idea. If needed, ask follow-up: “Can you give an example of that?”

Identifying Friendship Qualities

• Distribute Friendship Qualities Worksheet and blank index cards
• Write one friendship quality per card with a brief definition
• Place cards on the central table for sharing

Hand out the Friendship Qualities Worksheet and blank index cards. Explain they’ll write one quality per card with a definition. Circulate to support definitions. Once finished, ask them to place cards on the central table.

Group Chart Activity

• In groups of 4–5, sort index cards into categories
• On chart paper, list top 5 qualities with real-life examples
• Use sticky notes to highlight overlapping patterns

Divide students into groups of 4–5. Ask them to sort cards into categories (e.g., trust, empathy). On chart paper, list your group’s top 5 qualities and real-life examples. Use sticky notes to mark overlapping themes.

Reflection & Self-Esteem Connection

• Distribute Friendship Reflection Journal
• Reflect on a friendship that boosted your self-esteem
• Describe supportive qualities and how they made you feel valued

Distribute the Friendship Reflection Journal. Prompt students to write about a friendship that boosted their self-esteem: which qualities made it supportive and how it made them feel valued. Remind them this is personal and confidential.

Share-Out & Goal Setting

• Volunteers share key journal insights
• Discuss common friendship qualities and strategies to cultivate them
• Set one personal goal to strengthen a friendship this week

Invite volunteers to share insights from their journals. Summarize common qualities and discuss how students can cultivate them. Then guide each student to set one personal friendship goal for the week.

Resources

• Friendship Qualities Worksheet: Link
• Friendship Reflection Journal: Link

Remind students where to find the materials if they want to revisit them. Encourage them to use their journals and worksheets beyond today’s lesson.

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Worksheet

Friendship Qualities Worksheet

Instructions

Think about the qualities that make friendships strong and positive. For each quality below, write the name of the quality, define it in your own words, and give a specific example of how a friend might show this quality in real life.

  1. Friendship Quality: ____________________________

    Definition (in your own words):






    Example (real or imagined situation):





  2. Friendship Quality: ____________________________

    Definition (in your own words):






    Example (real or imagined situation):





  3. Friendship Quality: ____________________________

    Definition (in your own words):






    Example (real or imagined situation):





  4. Friendship Quality: ____________________________

    Definition (in your own words):






    Example (real or imagined situation):





  5. Friendship Quality: ____________________________

    Definition (in your own words):






    Example (real or imagined situation):





Reflection

Which of the qualities above do you value most in a friend? Why?










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Journal

Friendship Reflection Journal

Instructions

Use this space to reflect on your friendships and how they have influenced your self-esteem. Write honestly and thoughtfully.

  1. Describe a friendship that made you feel valued, supported, and confident. Who was this friend and what did you do together?











  1. What qualities did this friend show that positively impacted your self-esteem? List at least three qualities and explain briefly how each one helped you feel good about yourself.
  • Quality 1 (and explanation): ________________________




  • Quality 2 (and explanation): ________________________




  • Quality 3 (and explanation): ________________________




  1. Reflect on a time a friendship challenged you or made you feel less confident. What happened and how did it affect you?








  1. What did you learn from that challenging experience? How can you use what you learned to grow and improve your friendships?








  1. Write one personal goal you can set this week to strengthen or improve your friendships. Be specific and realistic.




  1. Describe one action step you will take this week to work toward your friendship goal.




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