What Is a Friend?

Overview

This lesson is part of a larger Friendship Unit where students explore what it means to be a good friend. Building on prior lessons about sharing and kindness, students will discuss friendship meanings and identify key details from a read-aloud. They will ask and answer who, what, where, when, why, and how questions to deepen understanding of friendship behaviors and respectful communication.

Learning intentions

• Students will share ideas about what makes a good friend using personal experiences.
• Students will demonstrate empathy and respectful communication by asking and answering who, what, where, when, why, and how questions about a read-aloud.
• Students will identify key details that illustrate friendship behaviors in the story.
• Students will use grade-appropriate strategies to figure out the meaning of unknown words from the text.

Success criteria

• I can tell who the story is mostly about and what they do.
• I can answer why characters act the way they do in the story.
• I can use key details from the text to explain what friendship looks like.
• I can use reading strategies to figure out what a tricky word or phrase means.

Curriculum links

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.1 (and/or CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.1) — Ask and answer who/what/where/when/why/how questions to show understanding of key details.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.2.4a — Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding during partner/choral reading.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.2.4 — Determine or clarify meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words using flexible strategies.

Lesson structure (30 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Hook + anchor chart. Teacher shows a simple prompt: “A friend helps when ______.” Students quickly turn-and-talk, then volunteer one idea to add to a class word bank labeled “Friendship.”
2. 5–10 min · Mini direct teach (question words). Teacher models a few questions about a short, unrelated friendship picture (or teacher script): “Who is in the picture? What are they doing? Why might they be friends?” Students repeat the question words using a choral response and help decide which question word fits each sentence stem.
3. 10–20 min · First read-aloud (teacher model thinking). Teacher reads a short, grade-appropriate story about friendship (chosen for the unit), pausing at 2–3 key moments. Students listen for key details and silently mark which question word they think would help answer “What happened?” and “Why?”
4. 20–25 min · Guided Q&A about key details. Teacher asks 4–5 targeted questions, ensuring coverage of who, what, why, and how (and where/when if natural). Students answer using sentence frames: “In the story, ___ because ___.” Teacher prompts for evidence by restating or pointing to the part of the story they referenced.
5. 25–30 min · Quick personal connection + goal setting. Students write or draw a quick response: “One thing that makes a good friend is ___.” Then they set a goal for the next lesson in the Friendship Unit, focusing on friendship behaviors or respectful communication. Teacher collects responses as exit tickets.

Resources

• Short read-aloud text (1–2 pages or a concise chapter excerpt) focused on friendship behaviors
• Class anchor chart paper or board (Friendship Word Bank; Question Words: Who/What/Where/When/Why/How)
• Teacher sentence frames on a slide or chart
• Student exit ticket slips (one per student) with prompts and blank lines
• Sticky notes or small markers for “key detail” pauses
• Optional: picture prompt card for the hook

Assessment

• During guided Q&A, teacher listens for students’ ability to answer using key details (not just opinions).
• Teacher checks exit tickets for correct use of a question word and a response that includes at least one friend-related detail.
• Quick nonverbal check during read-aloud: students show thumbs up/down on whether they can name a key detail when prompted.

Differentiation

• Provide sentence starters and word banks for students who need support (e.g., “A friend is someone who…” “They helped when…” “I think the character felt ___ because…”).
• For students needing enrichment, require a “how” or “why” answer that connects two events from the story (e.g., “First ___, so later ___”).
• Offer small-group support during the guided Q&A by using a guided question ladder (start with who/what, then move to why/how).
• For EAL/SEN students, allow oral responses to the exit ticket prompt and model 1–2 examples before independent writing.