Friendship Basics

Overview

In this first lesson of seven, students explore what friendship means, what healthy friendships look like, and why friendships matter for wellbeing. Students practise using respectful communication and reflection to begin understanding themselves and others.

Learning intentions

• WALT explain what a friendship is and name features of healthy friendships.
• WALT describe how friendships can affect feelings, safety, and wellbeing.
• WALT identify different situations that can happen in friendships and decide what respectful actions look like.
• WALT use simple strategies (reflection and discussion) to manage emotions and respond safely when dealing with others.

Success criteria

• I can define “friendship” in my own words.
• I can list at least 3 characteristics of healthy friendships (for example: respect, trust, kindness, fairness).
• I can explain why friendships are important for wellbeing.
• I can show respectful ways to respond when friendship situations feel tricky (using “I” statements and kind tone).

Curriculum links

• Health and PE — Self and others: handling tricky social situations involves managing emotions, setting boundaries, and resolving conflict in ways that protect wellbeing while keeping relationships intact.
• Health and PE — Self and others: developing skills to support safer, more confident decisions through strategies like reflective discussion and critical thinking.
• Health and PE — Self and others: self-awareness, assertiveness, emotional regulation, and respectful communication with self and others.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Welcome and expectations. Teacher greets students, sets the tone for safe discussion (listening, respect, “pass” is okay), and shares the lesson focus: “What is friendship?” Students quickly settle and note one word they associate with friendship in a personal notebook.

2. 5–15 min · Hook: Friendship word sort. Teacher shows a mix of friendship and non-friendship statements on the board (e.g., “plays fairly”, “shares secrets”, “laughs at someone”, “checks in”, “only talks when it benefits them”), and explains the task: sort into “healthy friendship signals” and “not healthy signals”. Students in pairs sort and justify their choices with one sentence each.

3. 15–25 min · Mini teach: What makes a friendship? Teacher leads a short discussion using guiding questions:

• What makes someone a friend?
• What behaviours help friendships feel safe and positive?
• How can friendships impact feelings and belonging? Teacher records student ideas on a class anchor chart titled “Healthy Friendship Characteristics”. Students copy the headings into their books and add two characteristics of their choice.

4. 25–35 min · Group activity: Friendship spectrum scenarios. Teacher gives each group 4 short scenarios (teen-friendly, Year 7 appropriate) such as:

• A friend includes you in games.
• A friend ignores you when you sit elsewhere.
• A friend shares a private message without asking.
• A friend says sorry and changes behaviour after a disagreement. Groups decide where each scenario fits on a spectrum: “supports friendship” → “mixed/tricky” → “hurts friendship”, then identify one respectful action someone could take. Students record group decisions on a simple table.

5. 35–45 min · Strategy practice: “Pause–Name–Choose”. Teacher introduces a simple routine for emotions and responses:

• Pause (notice feelings/body)
• Name (what’s happening for me?)
• Choose (what respectful response protects wellbeing?) Teacher models with one scenario using “I” statements (e.g., “I felt left out when… I’d like… Can we…?”). Students practise in pairs: one person reads the scenario, the other suggests a “Choose” response, then roles swap.

6. 45–55 min · Whole-class discussion: Importance of friendship. Teacher facilitates a respectful debrief:

• Why do friendships matter for wellbeing? (belonging, support, confidence, learning social skills)
• How do healthy friendships protect safety and respect? Teacher links back to self and others: emotions and communication affect how situations turn out. Students add one “importance of friendship” point to their notes and one “respectful response” example.

7. 55–60 min · Exit ticket. Teacher asks students to complete a brief prompt independently: “In my own words, friendship is… One healthy friendship characteristic is… When friendship feels tricky, I can use Pause–Name–Choose by…” Students submit their exit ticket before dismissal.

Resources

• Scenario cards (prepared teacher-made set of 12–16 short scenarios)
• Board/markers and a class anchor chart page (“Healthy Friendship Characteristics”)
• Student notebooks or worksheets
• “Friendship signal” sorting cards (or one board slide with statements)
• Exit ticket slips or a one-page worksheet
• Timer for each section
• Optional: printed spectrum table (supports learners who need structure)

Assessment

• Formative checks during the word sort: observe if students justify ideas using respectful, wellbeing-focused language.
• Monitor group work in scenario spectrum: listen for appropriate identification of “supports/mixed/hurts” and a respectful action.
• Exit ticket: confirm students can (1) define friendship, (2) name healthy characteristics, and (3) describe a respectful response using Pause–Name–Choose.

Differentiation

• Support: provide sentence starters for the scenarios (e.g., “This helps friendship because…”, “A respectful action could be…”), and allow students to “pass” in pair practice if needed.
• Support: pre-teach key words on the board (respect, trust, fairness, privacy) and model what “I felt…” and “I would like…” sound like.
• Extension: ask students to add one boundary statement (e.g., “I don’t like it when…”) and explain how it protects wellbeing while still being respectful.
• EAL/SEN: offer a visual spectrum template and reduce writing load by allowing a short verbal explanation recorded by the teacher or using a graphic organiser.