Building Positive Friendships

Lesson Overview

A 60-minute PSHE session designed for Year 2 students (ages 6-7), focusing on understanding friendship, recognising qualities of a good friend, and exploring ways to build and maintain positive friendships. Activities are interactive and inclusive, encouraging empathy, communication, and cooperation in line with the National Curriculum for England PSHE learning objectives.

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Curriculum Links

PSHE Association Programme of Study (Key Stage 1):

• Health and Wellbeing – To recognise what is fair and unfair, kind and unkind, and to understand the importance of friendships.
• Relationships – To recognise and respect similarities and differences; to recognise what makes a good friend.
• Social and Emotional Skills – Develop skills to communicate feelings appropriately and to resolve conflicts.

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Learning Objectives

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

1. Identify qualities that make a good friend (e.g., kindness, sharing, listening).
2. Understand how to show care and respect in friendships.
3. Recognise ways to include others and resolve simple conflicts.
4. Express their feelings and listen to others in conversations about friendships.

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Resources Needed

• Friendship storybook (e.g., a short picture book about friendship)
• Large paper heart-shaped cutouts (one per child)
• Coloured pens and stickers
• Scenario cards portraying simple friendship dilemmas
• Soft ball or 'talking' object for discussion
• Whiteboard and markers

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Lesson Plan Structure

Starter (10 minutes) — Friendship Brainstorm Circle

• Gather students in a circle; use the soft ball as a ‘talking object.’ Only the holder can speak.
• Ask: “What do you think a friend is? What do friends do for each other?”
• Record keywords and ideas on the whiteboard in a ‘Friendship Web’ diagram.
• Emphasise listening skills, encouraging turn-taking and respect.

Main Activity 1 (15 minutes) — Storytime and Reflection

• Read a short friendship story with clear examples of good friendship behaviours and challenges.
• After reading, ask children to recall and discuss:
  • “What made the friend(s) in the story special?”
  • “How did they show kindness?”
  • “What problems did they have and how did they solve them?”
• Link back to the whiteboard ‘Friendship Web.’

Main Activity 2 (20 minutes) — My Friendship Heart

• Give each pupil a large paper heart.
• Ask them to decorate it with drawings or words that describe qualities they value in a friend or how they can be a good friend (kindness, sharing, helping, etc.).
• Pupils then pair up and share their friendship hearts with their partner.
• Regroup and invite some volunteers to explain their hearts to the class.
• Emphasise recognising and celebrating similarities and differences in friendships.

Main Activity 3 (10 minutes) — Friendship Scenarios Role-Play

• Divide the class into small groups (4-5 pupils).
• Give each group a scenario card depicting a simple friendship problem (e.g., “Someone in your group feels left out,” “Two friends want the same toy,” “A friend is sad and doesn’t want to play”).
• Groups discuss and role-play how to be a good friend and solve the problem kindly.
• After performances, facilitate a quick class discussion on what they learned from the role-plays about kindness and fairness.

Plenary (5 minutes) — Friendship Promise

• In a circle, invite each pupil to say one thing they will do to be a good friend this week.
• Write key promises on the whiteboard to create a ‘Class Friendship Promise.’
• Close with a positive affirmation: “Friendship helps us all grow happy and strong!”

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Assessment and Evaluation

• Observe participation during circle discussion and role-plays, noting understanding of friendship qualities.
• Review each pupil’s decorated friendship heart for insight into their grasp of kindness and inclusion.
• Use the ‘Friendship Promise’ as a formative assessment to check personal intention towards positive friendships.
• Optional: Teacher to reflect if pupils can articulate thoughts about friendship and apply social skills appropriately.

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Differentiation

• Support less confident students with sentence starters during discussions (e.g., “A good friend is…”, “I can be a good friend by…”).
• Extend learning for more able pupils by encouraging them to suggest ways to help friends who are feeling sad or lonely.
• Use visuals, gestures, and repetition to support EAL learners.

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SMSC and British Values

• Spiritual: Reflecting on feelings involved in friendships.
• Moral: Understanding right and wrong in social interactions.
• Social: Sharing, listening, and cooperating with others.
• Cultural: Celebrating diversity in friendships.
• Promotes respect, tolerance, fairness, and kindness.

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This lesson offers a rich, interactive experience on friendship that stimulates emotional literacy and practical social skills in line with the National Curriculum for England for Year 2 PSHE.