Qualities of a Good Friend
Lynette Wakinekona
 Grade 6

 

1.                  What’s my lesson about?

Risk/Content area:        Mental and Emotional Health
Standard:                      Core Concepts (1)              Interpersonal Communication (5)

2.                  Why is this important for my students?

Students need to build positive relationships with classmates.  They also need to recognize important qualities about themselves that others take notice of as well.

3.                  What do I want my students to know and be able to do?

I want my students to know that they have important qualities that make them a good friend and to be able to recognize good qualities of classmates and others.  Also, students will be able to gain speaking skills by “selling their friend.”

4.                  How will I assess what my students learned?

I will listen to their responses and the reasoning behind each one.  Also, I will read their written responses to see that they have recognized some of the important qualities of themselves or others in the area of friendship.

5.                  What active learning strategies will I use?

Introduction:

-Ask students:

-What qualities does it take to make a good friend?

-What do you look for in a friend?

-Do you have any of those qualities as a friend?

-Pass-out half-sheet of paper and have students write a few sentences answering the question, “What are the qualities of a good friend?”

-After a few minutes, introduce the song to them.

-Ask students:

 -Have any of you heard of the song Lean on Me?

 -Looking at the title, what do you think the song is about?

 Learning Activity:

-Pass out the words to the song

-Play the CD and have students follow along with the music

-Ask students:

 -Did you hear any good qualities of a friend in the song?

 -What were some of them?

 -Is there anyone in the class who has the same quality?

 - Do you have any of these qualities?

-Partner up the students

-Tell them that they will be “Selling a Friend” to the class

-With their partner, they will share the qualities of a good friend sentences they wrote with each other and discuss which quality they feel is most important.

-Then they will tell each other what great quality each other has

-After a few minutes, each pair will come up and Sell their friend by saying, “If you’re looking for a friend who always lends a helping hand (listening ear, caring heart, etc.), then _________ is the one for you.”

-When everyone has had a turn, students will identify the three most important qualities (list them on the board)

 Closing:

Ask students:

-Was it difficult to identify qualities of a good friend?  Why or why not?

-How did you decide which qualities were the most important?  Is this how you choose your friends?  Do you have those qualities too?

 -How did it feel to have to sell your friend to your classmates?

6.           What materials will I need to have ready before the lesson?

-Lean on Me CD

-Pre-printed word sheets to the song

-Qualities of a good friend sheet

-Markers

-CD player