K-2 Friendship

K-2 students have just completed a guidance rotation on friendship. First they discussed what it means to be a friend and how they are friendly to others. They then read a story about friendship (below are the books read to each grade level) and as a reflection discussed and participated in the activity, Words that Help or Hurt Friendships from the Creative Small Groups for Grades K-5 activity book.

Books on Friendship:

K- How to be a Friend

1st grade- The Worst Best Friend

2nd grade- Enemy Pie

Enemy Pie is also available online with graphics at http://www.storylineonline.net/!



4th & 5th grade Friendship

4th graders learned the do's and don'ts regarding apologies and how to give a sincere apology from the book Sorry by Trudy Ludwig. In this activity, students discussed the importance of apologies, how to give and receive one, and how actions speak louder than words-showing someone your sorry rather than just saying it. Discussion questions and extension activities were used from the book, That's My Story Too! In this activity students also had the opportunity to share their likes with classmates to build relationships. They also identified qualities they look for in a friend and qualities they possess that make them a good friend.

5th grades participated in a discussion on friendship/peer relationships and did a skit from the book, Skits, Raps, and Poems For the School Counselor. In this activity, students discussed the difficulty in getting along with others, what kinds of problems they have with friends, and the different ways they attempt to resolve their conflicts. In the skit, extreme behaviors/personalities are presented that are sometimes present in friendship issues: aggression, tattling, jealousy/control, talkative, and low self-esteem/confidence. As a reflection, students had the opportunity to share how they would handle different situations where friends (or themselves) felt or displayed these adverse behaviors.  

3rd grade recipe for friends

A great book to read with 3rd graders on friendship is What's the Recipe for Friends? by Greg Williamson. Just like a recipe for a cake or pie needs the right ingredients to taste good, a friendship needs the right ingredients too. After sharing ingredients that make a cake (flour, sugar, butter, etc.) students were asked what ingredients are needed in a friendship (politeness, kindness, sharing, etc.). There are ingredients that can be added to much or that shouldn't be added at all that can spoil a recipe. Students had the opportunity to discuss ingredients/components that would make a cake and a friendship spoiled and/or ruined. After reading the story, students created their own recipe from the book Spectacular Guidance Activities for Kids. Students were able to identify many qualities that are needed for a friendship to be successful and were able to see that we all focus on different components/qualities in our friendships, and that's ok too! It's also important to emphasis to students that we can't expect from others, what we're not willing to give ourselves. It's a great reflective piece to have students think about what they can do to enhance their friendships.