Lesson Plan
Friendship Garden Grow-Along Lesson Plan
Students will be able to identify key traits of healthy friendships such as kindness, respect, and communication, and demonstrate ways to nurture these traits through interactive activities and creative expression.
Learning about healthy friendships empowers students to build positive relationships, fosters a supportive classroom environment, and equips them with essential social-emotional skills for life.
Audience
K-2nd Grade Students
Time
45-60 minutes
Approach
Discussion, storytelling, and hands-on activity.
Materials
Whiteboard or chart paper, Markers, Storybook about friendship (e.g., , The Rainbow Fish, or similar), Friendship Flower Worksheet, Crayons or colored pencils, Slide Deck: Friendship Garden Grow-Along, and Teacher Script: Friendship Garden Grow-Along
Prep
Gather Materials & Review
15 minutes
- Review the Friendship Garden Grow-Along Lesson Plan, Slide Deck: Friendship Garden Grow-Along, and Teacher Script: Friendship Garden Grow-Along.
- Print copies of the Friendship Flower Worksheet for each student.
- Gather crayons, colored pencils, markers, whiteboard or chart paper, and a friendship-themed storybook.
- Ensure technology for the Slide Deck: Friendship Garden Grow-Along is ready.
Step 1
Warm-Up: What Makes a Friend?
5 minutes
- Begin by asking students: "What does it mean to be a good friend?"
2. Facilitate a brief class discussion, writing down key ideas on the whiteboard/chart paper. Use Teacher Script: Friendship Garden Grow-Along to guide the discussion and introduce Slide 1.
Step 2
Story Time: Growing Friendships
10-15 minutes
- Read a chosen storybook about friendship aloud to the class. (e.g., "The Rainbow Fish").
2. After reading, discuss the characters' actions and feelings related to friendship. Ask questions like: "What did the characters do to be kind?", "How did they show respect?" Use Teacher Script: Friendship Garden Grow-Along and refer to Slide 2 and Slide 3.
Step 3
Exploring Friendship Traits
10 minutes
- Introduce the concept of a 'Friendship Garden' where good friendship traits are like flowers that need nurturing.
2. Discuss key traits: Kindness, Respect, and Communication. For each trait, ask students for examples of what it looks like and sounds like. Use Teacher Script: Friendship Garden Grow-Along and Slide 4, Slide 5, and Slide 6.
Step 4
Activity: My Friendship Flower
15-20 minutes
- Distribute the Friendship Flower Worksheet to each student.
2. Instruct students to draw or write one way they can show kindness, respect, and good communication on the petals of their flower.
3. Encourage them to decorate their flowers brightly.
4. Circulate and provide support and encouragement. Use Teacher Script: Friendship Garden Grow-Along and Slide 7.
Step 5
Share & Reflect
5 minutes
- Invite a few students to share their Friendship Flowers and explain what they drew/wrote.
2. Conclude by reiterating that nurturing friendships takes effort, just like caring for a garden.
3. Reinforce the importance of practicing kindness, respect, and good communication every day. Use Teacher Script: Friendship Garden Grow-Along and Slide 8.
Slide Deck
Friendship Garden Grow-Along
What Makes a Friend?
Welcome students and introduce the idea of thinking about friendships. Ask them to share initial ideas about what makes a good friend.
Story Time!
Let's read a story about growing friendships.
Introduce the storybook you've chosen. Explain that the story will help them think more about friendships.
Discussing Our Story
What did the characters do to be good friends?
How did they show kindness, respect, or good communication?
After reading the story, prompt students to discuss the characters' actions and feelings. Guide them to identify positive friendship behaviors.
Our First Flower: Kindness
Being nice and caring to others.
Sharing, helping, saying kind words.
Introduce 'Kindness' as the first flower in our garden. Ask students for examples of kindness in their own lives or with friends.
Our Second Flower: Respect
Treating others the way you want to be treated.
Listening, valuing differences, being polite.
Introduce 'Respect' as another important flower. Discuss what it means to respect someone, even if they are different.
Our Third Flower: Communication
Talking and listening to your friends.
Sharing feelings, solving problems with words.
Introduce 'Communication' as the third flower. Emphasize talking and listening as key parts of friendship.
My Friendship Flower
Draw or write how you will show kindness, respect, and communication to your friends!
Explain the activity. Distribute the worksheet and art supplies. Encourage creativity and thinking about specific actions.
Nurture Your Garden!
Every act of kindness, respect, and good communication helps your friendships grow strong and beautiful.
Invite students to share their creations. Reiterate the main message about nurturing friendships like a garden.
Script
Teacher Script: Friendship Garden Grow-Along
Warm-Up: What Makes a Friend? (5 minutes)
"Good morning, everyone! Today, we're going to talk about something super important: friendships! We're going to imagine our friendships are like a beautiful garden that we help grow. But first, let's think: What does it mean to be a good friend? What do good friends do for each other?"
(Listen to student responses and write down key ideas on the whiteboard or chart paper. Affirm their ideas and guide them to consider actions and feelings.)
"Those are wonderful ideas! We'll explore some of these more today. Take a look at our first slide! Slide 1"
Story Time: Growing Friendships (10-15 minutes)
"To help us think even more about friendships, we're going to read a special story together. This story is all about how characters learn to be good friends and what happens when they nurture their relationships. Our story today is The Rainbow Fish." Slide 2
(Read the chosen storybook aloud, using an engaging voice and showing the illustrations.)
"Wow, what a great story! Now, let's talk about it. Think about the characters in the story. Slide 3 What did the characters do to be good friends? (Pause for responses) How did they show kindness? How did they show respect? Did they talk to each other to solve problems?"
(Facilitate a discussion, drawing connections between the story and the students' earlier ideas about friendship. Highlight specific examples from the book.)
Exploring Friendship Traits (10 minutes)
"Just like a garden needs different types of plants and flowers to be beautiful, our friendships need different special ingredients to grow strong and healthy. We're going to talk about three important 'flowers' in our Friendship Garden today: Kindness, Respect, and Communication.
"Our first flower is Kindness. Slide 4 What does kindness mean? (Pause for responses) Kindness is about being nice and caring to others. It means sharing your toys, helping a friend when they're sad, or saying nice words to make someone feel good. Can anyone give me an example of when you showed kindness to a friend, or a friend showed kindness to you?"
"Our second flower is Respect. Slide 5 What do you think respect means in a friendship? (Pause for responses) Respect is treating others the way you want to be treated. It means listening when a friend is talking, understanding that your friends might have different ideas or like different things than you, and being polite. How can we show respect to our friends?"
"And our third important flower is Communication. Slide 6 This is a big word, but it just means talking and listening to your friends! When you have a problem, talking about it calmly is good communication. When your friend is telling you something important, listening carefully is good communication. Why do you think talking and listening are so important in a friendship?"
Activity: My Friendship Flower (15-20 minutes)
"Now it's your turn to grow your own Friendship Flower! Slide 7 I'm going to give each of you a special Friendship Flower Worksheet. On this worksheet, you'll see a flower with petals. On each petal, I want you to either draw a picture or write a word/short sentence about one way you can show Kindness, one way you can show Respect, and one way you can show good Communication to your friends.
"Think about what we just discussed. How will you make your friendships grow? You can use your crayons or colored pencils to make your flower beautiful and colorful! I will be walking around if you need any help or ideas."
(Circulate, provide individual support, praise effort, and gently redirect as needed.)
Share & Reflect (5 minutes)
"Okay, artists! It looks like we have a beautiful garden of friendship flowers growing! Who would like to share their Friendship Flower and tell us one way they plan to show kindness, respect, or communication?" Slide 8
(Call on a few students to share. Affirm their ideas.)
"Fantastic! Remember, just like a real garden needs water and sunshine to grow, our friendships need our care and effort every day. By being kind, showing respect, and communicating well, you are helping your friendships grow strong and beautiful. Keep nurturing your friendship gardens, everyone!"
Worksheet
My Friendship Flower
Name: ________________________
Imagine your friendships are like a beautiful garden! Each petal on your flower is a way you help your friendships grow.
Instructions:
- Draw or write one way you can show KINDNESS to a friend on one petal.
- Draw or write one way you can show RESPECT to a friend on another petal.
- Draw or write one way you can show GOOD COMMUNICATION to a friend on the last petal.
- Decorate your flower and make it colorful!
My Friendship Flower Drawing/Writing Area
(Imagine a large flower outline with three distinct petals for the following prompts. Students will draw/write directly on these petals.)
Petal 1: KINDNESS
How can you show kindness?
Petal 2: RESPECT
How can you show respect?
Petal 3: COMMUNICATION
How can you show good communication?
Reading
The Rainbow Fish (Summary)
(Note to teacher: This is a summary to be used if the full book is unavailable. It is highly recommended to read the actual book for the full experience with illustrations.)
Once upon a time, in a deep blue sea, lived a fish named Rainbow Fish. He was the most beautiful fish in the ocean, with dazzling, shimmering scales of all the colors of the rainbow. Because he was so beautiful, Rainbow Fish was also a little bit proud and often swam away when other fish wanted to play with him.
One day, a little blue fish asked Rainbow Fish for one of his beautiful shimmering scales. But Rainbow Fish refused, very rudely, and swam away quickly. The little blue fish was sad and told all the other fish what had happened. From that day on, none of the other fish wanted to play with Rainbow Fish anymore. They turned away when he swam by.
Rainbow Fish was very lonely. All his beauty didn't make him happy if he had no friends. He swam to a wise octopus for advice. The octopus told him that he would find happiness by sharing his beautiful scales with his friends, even if it meant he wouldn't be the most beautiful fish anymore.
Rainbow Fish was not sure about this idea. His scales were so special! But when the little blue fish came by again, looking sad, Rainbow Fish thought about the octopus's words. He carefully pulled off one tiny, shimmering scale and gave it to the little blue fish. The little blue fish was overjoyed!
As Rainbow Fish gave away more and more of his scales to the other fish, he still had many beautiful scales, but now he also had many, many friends. He felt a warm glow of happiness he had never felt before. He may not have been the most dazzling fish in the ocean anymore, but he was the happiest fish, surrounded by all his wonderful friends.