Who Am I?

Overview

Lesson 3 of 8 helps students build self-awareness for healthy friendships by exploring identity and personal values. Students practise respectful communication and reflect on how values influence everyday choices and relationships.

Learning intentions

• WALT explore how identity and personal values shape behaviour, choices, and friendships.
• WALT use a decision-making framework to justify responses in a friendship scenario.
• WALT recognise how emotions affect communication and practise regulation strategies.
• WALT reflect on role models and how they influence attitudes and everyday behaviour.

Success criteria

• I can name 2–3 personal values that matter to me and explain why.
• I can describe how my values influence how I treat others in friendships.
• I can choose a response to a tricky friendship situation using a clear reason.
• I can use a strategy to manage strong feelings before speaking.

Curriculum links

• Te Mātaiaho Health and PE — Self and others: exploring how role models shape behaviour, values, and everyday choices.
• Te Mātaiaho Health and PE — Self and others: developing skills to support safer, more confident decisions using reflective discussion and decision-making frameworks.
• Te Mātaiaho Health and PE — Self and others: handling tricky social situations by managing emotions, setting boundaries, and resolving conflict while protecting wellbeing and relationships.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Welcome + aims. Teacher writes the lesson title on the board and shares the focus: “Who am I, and what values guide my friendships?” Students silently read the aim and write one personal question they want answered today.

2. 5–15 min · Hook: identity snapshots. Teacher shows a simple “identity snapshot” prompt: “I am the kind of person who…” (add stems: keeps promises, stands up for others, tells the truth, includes people). Students complete a quick values/identity set of 3 statements in their workbook, then choose one to share with a partner.

3. 15–25 min · Values mini-lesson + modelling. Teacher explains that values are beliefs about what matters, and they influence behaviour (what we choose, how we respond, what we tolerate). Teacher models a short think-aloud: “If I value fairness, I notice when someone is left out and I can check in.” Students highlight one value statement they wrote and add a “because…” sentence explaining how it shows up in friendships.

4. 25–38 min · Reflective discussion circles (structured). Teacher uses a “Reflect-Listen-Respond” routine with discussion norms: respectful tone, speaking from “I”, and no put-downs. Students rotate through two prompts:

• Prompt A: “How do your values help you build healthy friendships?”
• Prompt B: “When values clash (e.g., loyalty vs honesty), what can you do?” Students record one key idea from the discussion for their own reflection.

5. 38–50 min · Decision-making framework role-play. Teacher presents a friendship scenario (read aloud twice). Scenario example: “A friend laughs when someone drops their phone. Another friend says, ‘Don’t make it a big deal.’ What do you do and why?” Teacher introduces a simple framework for justifying choices:

• Think (values + impact on self/others)
• Choose (a response that protects wellbeing and relationships)
• Act (what you say/do)
• Review (how emotions and boundaries were handled) Students work in small groups to select one response using the framework, then practise a 30–45 second role-play.

6. 50–57 min · Whole-class share + teacher feedback. Teacher invites 2–3 groups to share their “Think–Choose–Act–Review” reasoning. Teacher gives specific feedback on value-based reasoning and emotion management (e.g., “You paused before speaking,” “You set a boundary respectfully,” “You repaired the relationship”).

7. 57–60 min · Exit ticket. Students complete:

• “My top value today is ___ because ___.”
• “In a tricky friendship, I will ___ (strategy/response) and my reason is ___.”

Resources

• Student workbook or reflection booklet
• Identity snapshot prompt sheet (printed or displayed)
• Scenario cards for the decision-making role-play
• Discussion norms poster (Reflect-Listen-Respond)
• Sticky notes (optional for quick values sharing)
• Timer and visual agenda slide/board
• Teacher checklist for formative assessment

Assessment

• Teacher observes during partner sharing and circle discussion for respectful communication and evidence of value-based thinking.
• Teacher checks group role-plays for correct use of the decision-making framework and for emotion-aware responses (pausing/regulating before speaking).
• Exit ticket used to assess whether students can (1) identify values and (2) connect values to friendship behaviours with clear reasoning.

Differentiation

• Provide sentence starters for “I value ___ because…” and “I would choose ___ because…”.
• Offer a simplified scenario option (fewer details) for students who need additional support; keep the framework headings visible.
• Challenge extension within the task: ask students to include a “repair” step in the role-play (how to restore relationships after a disagreement).
• For EAL or students needing support with language, allow responses to be planned with keywords or drawings before speaking.