Friendship Signals

Overview

This is Lesson 4 of 7 in “Building Strong Friendships”. Students will practise identifying traits of healthy versus unhealthy relationships and explore how these traits affect emotional safety, wellbeing, and inclusion.

Learning intentions

• WALT identify traits of healthy and unhealthy relationships (with a focus on self and others).
• WALT explain how unhealthy relationship behaviours can impact feelings, safety, and belonging.
• WALT practise using respectful, clear communication to respond safely to tricky situations.
• WALT recognise that handling tricky social situations involves managing emotions, setting boundaries, and resolving conflict in ways that protect wellbeing.

Success criteria

• I can list key traits of healthy relationships and unhealthy relationships.
• I can describe at least one impact on wellbeing for unhealthy behaviours (e.g., stress, fear, exclusion).
• I can choose a safe response that sets a boundary and protects relationships and emotional safety.
• I can justify my choices using examples from scenarios.

Curriculum links

• Health Education: Relationships (Self and others) — handling tricky social situations with boundaries, emotion management, and conflict resolution that protects wellbeing while keeping relationships intact.
• Stereotypes and respectful interactions — challenging disrespectful behaviour and pressure to protect emotional safety and relationships.
• Self and others — practising communication skills and understanding personal boundaries.
• Relationships (Years 1–10) — building empathy, inclusion, and emotional safety in interactions.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Entry routine. Teacher displays a one-sentence prompt: “A healthy friendship helps people feel…” Students complete it on a mini whiteboard, then hold up answers for a quick scan.
2. 5–15 min · Hook discussion: signals in friendships. Teacher introduces “signals” (behaviours we notice). Students do a quick think-pair-share: What signals might show a friendship is healthy or unhealthy? Teacher captures answers in two columns on the board (Healthy / Unhealthy).
3. 15–25 min · Mini-teach: traits and impacts. Teacher explains and models using brief examples:

• Healthy traits: respect, honesty, kindness, inclusion, listening, fair conflict resolution, supportive boundaries.
• Unhealthy traits: put-downs, exclusion, controlling behaviour, ignoring boundaries, repeated disrespect, pressure to act against values, intimidation, rumour-spreading. Teacher then asks: “How might someone feel? What happens to belonging and emotional safety?” Students copy a simple impact frame: Behaviour → Feelings → Safety/Belonging.

4. 25–40 min · Group sort: Healthy vs Unhealthy. Students work in groups of 4. Each group receives scenario cards (school-appropriate; no graphic details). They sort cards into Healthy / Unhealthy / “Needs more information” and write:

• One trait it shows
• One likely impact on wellbeing Teacher circulates, prompting accuracy and empathy (e.g., “What evidence in the scenario tells you that?”).

5. 40–50 min · Whole-class debrief: respectful responses. Teacher facilitates discussion using 2–3 scenarios only. After each, students practise a safe boundary response using a sentence starter displayed on the board:

• “I don’t like that because…”
• “I need you to…”
• “If it keeps happening, I will… (tell a trusted adult / step away / seek help).” Students role-play in pairs for 30–40 seconds, then swap. Teacher reminds: the goal is emotional safety and protecting wellbeing while keeping relationships respectful.

6. 50–58 min · Reflection: commitment to safer friendships. Individually, students complete a short written reflection: “One healthy trait I will look for is… One unhealthy trait I will watch out for is… If I notice it, I will…” Teacher collects as formative evidence.
7. 58–60 min · Exit ticket. Exit ticket prompt: “True or False: Unhealthy relationship behaviour is always ‘just a joke’.” Students answer and give one reason.

Resources

• Healthy vs Unhealthy trait cards (prepared by teacher)
• Scenario cards (school-appropriate friendship and group-work situations)
• Mini whiteboards and markers
• Impact frame handout (Behaviour → Feelings → Safety/Belonging)
• Sentence starter strip for safe boundary responses
• Reflection worksheet (short form)
• Exit ticket slips

Assessment

• Teacher observation during group sorting (checks for correct trait identification and realistic impacts).
• Listening check during role-plays (checks for respectful boundary language and safe help-seeking).
• Reflection worksheet and exit ticket (checks understanding of wellbeing impacts and whether students can challenge “just a joke” thinking).

Differentiation

• Provide sentence starters and an example model response for students who need support.
• Offer a “Needs more information” option explicitly, so students can reason without forcing uncertain judgements.
• Extension option built into the task: students can label one scenario with an additional trait (e.g., “coercion/pressure” or “exclusion”) and explain more than one impact.
• EAL support: provide key term bank on the board with simple definitions (respect, inclusion, boundary, pressure, emotional safety). Allow responses to be first drafted orally before writing.