Respect Hero Training

Year Level

Year 3 and Year 4

Duration

60 minutes

Learning Area

Health and Physical Education

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Unit Context

This lesson is Lesson 1 of 10 in the unit "Understanding Relationships" and is designed as a foundational introductory lesson. The focus is on building skills and understanding respectful friendships, rights, responsibilities and foundational social skills aligned to the NSW Health curriculum for Years 3 and 4.

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NSW Curriculum Links

Content Descriptions

• Recognise how identities are influenced by relationships and respectful behaviours (ACPPS033 - Yr 3/4)
• Explore and practise skills to establish and maintain respectful relationships (ACPPS034 - Yr 3/4)
• Recognise emotional responses in themselves and others and apply strategies to interact respectfully (ACPPS035 - Yr 3/4)
• Investigate actions that promote health, safety, and wellbeing (ACPPS036 - Yr 3/4)

Achievement Focus

By the end of Year 4, students apply skills and strategies to interact respectfully with others, describe influences that strengthen identity and apply fundamental social skills including inclusive language and active listening.

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Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

• Identify key qualities that make someone a good friend.
• Define rights and responsibilities within friendships.
• Demonstrate respectful behaviours including active listening and use inclusive language.
• Reflect on their personal rights and responsibilities in relationships.
• Begin to draft a simple Friendship Code collaboratively.

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Lesson Outline

Materials Needed

• Rights and Responsibilities sorting cards (printed)
• Scenario role-play cards
• Large chart paper or whiteboard for Friendship Code creation
• Reflection journals or notebooks for students
• Pens, markers

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Lesson Procedure

1. Launch: Think-Pair-Share (10 minutes)

• Pose the question: "What makes someone a good friend?" to the class.
• Give students 2 minutes to think quietly, then 3 minutes to discuss with a partner.
• Invite pairs to share their ideas with the class.
• Teacher records key respectful qualities (e.g., kindness, listening, honesty) on the board.

Purpose:

Engages students' prior knowledge and focuses their thinking on respectful qualities essential in relationships.

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2. Rights and Responsibilities Sorting Activity (15 minutes)

• Introduce the concept of rights (something everyone should have in friendships) and responsibilities (what we should do as friends).
• Provide each pair or small group with sorting cards listing statements/actions (e.g., "Everyone should be listened to", "I should include others in games").
• Groups sort cards into Rights or Responsibilities.
• Whole class discussion: Groups report their sorting choices with explanations.
• Teacher clarifies and reinforces respectful behaviours linked to rights and responsibilities.

Purpose:

Students critically explore and categorise respectful actions in friendships, providing foundation for relationship skills.

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3. Role-Play Scenarios: Practising Respectful Skills (20 minutes)

• Explain and briefly demonstrate concepts of active listening and using inclusive language.
• Provide role-play cards with short friendship scenarios (e.g., handling disagreement, welcoming a new classmate).
• In small groups, students role-play scenarios incorporating:
• Active listening (making eye contact, nodding, summarising what is said)
• Using inclusive language ("Let's all play together," "What do you think?")
• After each role-play, groups reflect on what respectful skills were used.
• Optionally, some groups present their role-play to the class.

Purpose:

Provides experiential learning through practising interpersonal skills linked to respect and inclusion.

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4. Personal Reflection and Friendship Code Draft (10 minutes)

• Students individually write or draw in their journals about one right and one responsibility they think is important in friendships.
• Teacher invites volunteers to share ideas.
• Brainstorm as a class ideas for a Friendship Code — a set of simple rules or statements on how to be a Respect Hero and good friends.
• Teacher records ideas on a chart to refine over the unit.

Purpose:

Fosters personal connection to rights/responsibilities and collaborative ownership of class friendship agreements.

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5. Conclusion and Recap (5 minutes)

• Summarise key points: important qualities of friends, rights and responsibilities, and respectful behaviours practiced.
• Set expectations for next lessons building on these foundation skills.
• Positive reinforcement: praise students for participation and respectful contributions.

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Assessment for Learning

• Observation of student participation in discussions, sorting activity, and role-plays demonstrating understanding of respectful behaviours.
• Review of written/drawn reflections in journals assessing understanding of rights and responsibilities in relationships.
• Teachers collect and keep draft Friendship Code ideas to develop progressively through the unit.

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Differentiation Strategies

• Provide sentence starters for reflection for students who may need support (e.g., "One right I have in a friendship is...").
• Allow verbal sharing instead of writing if preferred.
• Pair EAL/D learners with supportive buddies during group tasks.
• Use clear, visual rights and responsibilities cards for comprehension.

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Teacher Notes and Tips

• Use simple and clear language appropriate for Year 3-4 students when explaining rights, responsibilities, and respectful behaviours.
• Model active listening explicitly before role-plays.
• Encourage empathy-focused discussions when exploring friendship qualities.
• Keep role-plays short and structured due to attention span of students this age.

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This lesson blends engaging discussion with hands-on sorting and role-plays to empower students as budding Respect Heroes who understand the foundations of positive relationships, directly aligned with NSW Health and Physical Education curriculum standards for Years 3 and 4.