A hands-on social-emotional learning lesson that guides elementary students through essential friendship skills: making warm greetings, introducing themselves, and joining play respectfully. Includes an interactive slide deck, instructional teacher guide, student activity worksheet, and printable roleplay scenario cards.
Grouping: Pair students into A/B partners. Distribute one cut scenario card per pair.
Round 1 (6 Minutes) Partner A acts as the "New Friend Initiator" and uses the 3 Steps (Smile, Introduce, Ask/Join). Partner B responds warmly. Swap roles and repeat.
Round 2 (6 Minutes - Resilience Challenge) Partner B practices giving a polite boundary ("Our game is full right now"). Partner A practices responding with resilience: "That's okay! Maybe later!"
Teacher Circulates: Award "Friendship Badges" (verbal affirmations) for clear eye contact and respectful voices.
Students complete the Friend Quest Worksheet independently or in quiet table pairs.
Recess Goal Commitment: Have each student circle or write one specific action they will try today on the playground (e.g., "Invite someone sitting alone", "Ask to join a kickball game").
Debrief Circle Prompt (3 min):"Who can share one friendly phrase you're going to try at lunch or recess today?" Praise concrete phrasing.
Differentiated Support Strategies
English Learners (ELL)
Provide visual sentence strip cards with icons for: "Hi, my name is ___" and "Can I play?" Pair with bilingual peers.
Shy / Anxious Learners
Allow silent or low-verbal steps first (friendly wave, holding a jump rope, offering a crayon) before requiring full verbal dialogue.
Early Finishers / Extension
Challenge students to create a "Friendship Poster" or act as "Recess Ambassadors" who look out for classmates sitting on the buddy bench.
Common Roadblocks & Quick Fixes
Roadblock: Student invades games without asking and gets rejected.
Coach: "Press your pause button. Let's do step 1: stand back 3 steps, watch what they are doing, and say our ask-word together."
Roadblock: Student feels crushed if a peer says "no."
Coach: "Remember, sometimes games are already in the middle of a round. You asked kindly, which makes you a champion friend. Let's find our next buddy!"
Friendship Builders • Instructional Sequence Page 2 of 2
A. What should Marcus do first? Circle the best choice:
Stand in line and ask: "Can I be next in line?"
Grab the ball in the middle of a bounce.
B. If a classmate says, "The line is closed right now," what can Marcus say back kindly?
Write his polite response on the lines below:
6
My Friendship Goal for Today
Write one specific way you will practice being a great friend today:
Friendship Builders • Student Worksheet Page 2 of 2
Friendship Builders • Roleplay Scenario Deck Card Set A (1–6)
