Friendship Fix-Up Crew Lesson Plan Friendship Fix-Up Crew!
Lesson Plan • Social Skills Tier 2
Time
30 Minutes
Audience
1st Grade Small Group
Focus
Empathy & Conflict Resolution
The Big "Why"
Developing strong social skills helps students build positive relationships, understand others' feelings, and manage disagreements peacefully, leading to a more harmonious classroom and personal life.
Learning Objective
Students will learn and practice strategies for being good friends, showing empathy, and resolving conflicts kindly.
Materials Needed
Whiteboard & Markers
Ball of Yarn (for Warm-up)
Friendship Starters Reading
Scenario Cards for Discussion
Kindness Catcher Supplies
Empathy Charades Game Cards
Teacher Prep
• Print and cut Scenario Cards and Charades Cards .
• Prepare square paper for Kindness Catchers.
• Review the Friendship Chat Script for pacing.
• Set up the Friendship Fun Slides .
The Fix-Up Plan
1
5 MIN
Warm-Up: Friendship Web
Teacher Script Reference: Our Friendship Chat Script
Sit in a circle. Use yarn to create a "web" by stating qualities of a good friend and tossing the ball to peers, keeping hold of the string.
2
8 MIN
Reading: Friendship Starters
Slide Deck & Reading Reference
Read "The Day Lily and Tom Learned to Share." Discuss how Lily and Tom felt and how empathy helped them solve their conflict.
3
7 MIN
Activity: Kindness Catcher
Activity Guide Reference
Fold and create "Kindness Catchers." Fill them with kind words or actions. Pair up to practice giving and receiving kindness.
4
5 MIN
Game: Empathy Charades
Game Guide & Cards Reference
Act out emotions and social scenarios. Peers guess the feeling and suggest kind responses to build perspective-taking skills.
5
5 MIN
Reflection & Quiz
Worksheet & Quiz Reference
Complete "My Friendship Tools" worksheet. Administer the "Friendship Check-Up Quiz" to assess understanding.
Differentiation Tips
Support:
Provide sentence starters for the worksheet. Use visual emotion cards for the charades game.
Challenge:
Encourage students to write a short story or comic strip about using their "friendship tools" in a real situation.
Friendship Fun Slide Deck Welcome to the
Friendship Fix-Up Crew!
Let's build better friendships together!
What Makes a Good Friend?
What else makes a good friend?
Friends Can Disagree!
It is okay to not always agree! Good friends use their "Fix-Up" skills:
Listen
Share Feelings
Find Solutions
What is Empathy?
Empathy means understanding how others feel.
If your friend is sad, you might feel sad too.
If your friend is happy, you can be happy with them!
Catching Kindness!
We are going to make a Kindness Catcher to help us remember:
Ways to be kind
Nice things to say
Friendship actions
Get ready to fold!
Empathy Charades!
1
Pick a card & act it out!
2
Friends guess the feeling!
3
How can we help them?
My Friendship Tool Kit
Kind Words
Listening Ears
Helping Hands
Which one is your favorite?
You are a Friendship
Fix-Up Star!
Remember to be kind, show empathy, and solve problems together!
Keep Being Amazing!
Our Friendship Chat Script Our Friendship Chat Script
Instructional Facilitation Guide
Fix-Up Crew
Warm-Up: Friendship Web (5 Minutes)
"Hello, Friendship Fix-Up Crew! Welcome! Today, we're going to talk about something super important: being amazing friends and how to solve problems when they pop up. Does anyone know what a good friend does?"
[Pause for student responses]
"That's right! Good friends are kind, they share, they listen, and they help each other. We are all connected in our classroom, just like a giant friendship web!"
Facilitator Instructions:
"I have a ball of yarn here. I'm going to hold one end and say one thing that makes a good friend. Then, I'll gently toss the ball to one of you. When you catch it, you'll say another thing that makes a good friend, and then toss it to someone else. Remember to hold onto your string! We'll keep going until we've made a big 'Friendship Web.'"
"Look at our amazing friendship web! Each string shows how we are all connected and how each of us contributes to our classroom friendship!"
Reading: Friendship Starters (8 Minutes)
"Fantastic job, everyone! Now, sometimes even the best friends might have a little disagreement. That's okay! It happens. The important thing is how we handle it. I have a special reading for us called 'The Day Lily and Tom Learned to Share.' This story will give us some great ideas on how to be kind and solve problems."
Facilitator Instructions:
Read the story aloud. Use the Friendship Fun Slides to reinforce key terms like "Empathy."
"Wow, what a great story! What did our friends in the story do when they disagreed?"
[Guide towards 'listening' and 'talking']
"Yes, they talked it out. It's like having a superpower! The superpower of Empathy . Empathy means understanding how someone else feels. If your friend is sad, you try to understand why they're sad. If they're happy, you share their happiness!"
Activity: Kindness Catcher (7 Minutes)
"You all are becoming such great friendship experts! Now, we're going to make something special to help us remember all these kindness ideas. We're going to make a 'Kindness Catcher'! Has anyone ever made a cootie catcher before?"
Facilitator Instructions:
Follow the folding steps on the Kindness Catcher Activity page. Help students write kind messages inside.
"Once you've made your Kindness Catchers, pair up with a friend and try them out! Ask each other questions and share kind messages."
Game: Empathy Charades (5 Minutes)
"Alright, Friendship Fix-Up Crew, get ready for a game! This game is called Empathy Charades. I have some cards with different feelings or friendship situations. One of you will pick a card and act it out without talking. The rest of us will guess what feeling or situation it is."
Friendship Starters Reading The Day Lily and Tom Learned to Share
A Story About Friendship & Empathy
Lily loved her bright red ball. It bounced higher than any other ball in the playground! One sunny afternoon, Lily was bouncing her ball when her friend, Tom, came over. "Can I play?" asked Tom, pointing at the ball.
Lily hugged her ball tight. "No, it's my special ball!" she said. Tom's face fell a little. He really wanted to play too.
Ms. June, their teacher, saw them. She walked over with a kind smile. "What's happening here, friends?" she asked.
Lily explained, "I don't want to share my ball." Tom added, "But I want to play too!"
Ms. June nodded. "It's okay to have something special, Lily. And it's also understandable, Tom, that you want to join the fun. How do you think Tom feels right now, Lily?"
Lily looked at Tom's sad face and thought, "He looks like how I feel when I can't play." "Maybe... maybe he feels a little sad?" Lily said softly.
"That's showing empathy, Lily!"
said Ms. June. "Understanding how others feel is a big part of being a good friend."
Lily thought about it. She loved her ball, but she also loved playing with Tom. "Okay," she said, "I'll bounce it five times, and then you bounce it five times, Tom!"
Tom's face lit up. "Yay!" he cheered. They took turns, laughing and bouncing the ball together. It was even more fun than playing alone.
Later, Lily and Tom were still smiling. "Thank you for sharing, Lily!" said Tom. Lily smiled back. "Thank you for playing, Tom! Sharing made it even better."
Friends think about feelings and talk things out!
Friendship Problem Solvers Discussion Friendship Problem Solvers
Discussion Guide & Scenario Cards
Discussion Guidelines
Listen carefully to others.
Be respectful of all ideas.
Take turns sharing.
Think about your words.
SCENARIO 1
Sharing Toys
You and your friend both want to play with the same building blocks. What could you say or do so you both get to play?
SCENARIO 2
Hurt Feelings
Your friend accidentally knocked over your tower. You feel mad. They say, "I'm so sorry!" How do you respond with kindness?
SCENARIO 3
Someone is Sad
You see a friend sitting alone at recess with a sad face. What could you do to show empathy and make them feel better?
SCENARIO 4
Different Ideas
You want to draw a robot, but your friend wants to draw a rainbow. How can you work together and be kind?
SCENARIO 5
Joining a Game
You want to join a game that classmates are already playing. What is a kind way to ask if you can play with them?
Facilitator "Fix-Up" Prompts:
• "How do you think the other person feels in this story?"
• "What tool from our kit (Kind Words, Listening, Sharing) would work here?"
• "What would happen if we used kindness instead of being mad?"
Kindness Catcher Activity Kindness Catcher!
Actionable Friendship Activity
Supplies Needed:
Square Paper
Markers
A Friend!
How to Build Your Catcher:
1
Make an 'X'
Fold your paper in half both ways and unfold to see the center cross.
2
Corners In
Fold all 4 corners into the very center point.
3
Flip & Repeat
Turn it over. Fold the new corners into the center again.
4
The Final Pop
Fold in half to crease. Slide fingers into the flaps and pop it open!
What goes inside?
Kind Words:
• "You are a great builder!"
• "I like your drawing!"
• "Thanks for being my friend."
Kind Actions:
• Give a high-five!
• Share a toy for 1 minute.
• Say 'sorry' with a smile.
How to Play!
Ask a friend to pick a Color. Spell it out while moving the catcher!
Ask them to pick a Number. Count it out!
Pick one more number and open that flap.
Read the Kindness Challenge and do it together!
Empathy Charades Game Empathy Charades
Act, Guess, and Understand!
How to Play:
ACT
Pick a card and show the emotion without talking!
GUESS
Friends raise their hands to guess the feeling.
FIX-UP
Talk about how a friend can help in that situation.
Emotion Cards:
HAPPY
SAD
ANGRY
SCARED
SURPRISED
CONFUSED
EXCITED
SHY
PROUD
FRUSTRATED
Scenario Cards:
Sharing a toy
Asking to join a game
Helping a friend who fell
Celebrating a friend
Saying sorry
Comforting someone crying
Someone taking your turn
Friends wanting different games
Offering a snack
Inviting a new friend
Empathy Questions:
? "How do you think their face looks?"
? "What could you say to help them feel better?"
? "Have you ever felt this way before?"
Friendship Warm-Up Friendship Web
Warm-Up Activity
Goal: To see how we are all connected by kindness!
A Ball of Yarn
1
Everyone sit in a big circle on the floor.
2
The teacher starts by holding the yarn and saying one good friend quality (like "Sharing").
3
Hold onto your end of the string and gently toss the ball to a friend across the circle.
4
The next person catches it, says a new quality, and tosses it again while holding their string!
Look at our Web!
What does this web show us about our friendships?
My Friendship Tools Worksheet My Friendship Tools!
Fix-Up Crew Worksheet
Name: _________________________
Date: _________________________
Part 1: Good Friends
Draw or write three things a good friend does:
Part 2: Being Kind When We Disagree
You and a friend both want the same toy. What can you do to be kind?
Part 3: Show Empathy!
Draw a picture of you helping a friend who feels sad or celebrating a friend who feels happy.
Part 4: My Favorite Friendship Tool
What is one new tool you learned today? (Kind words, listening, sharing, talking about feelings)
I will use this tool: __________________________________________________________________
Friendship Check-Up Quiz Friendship Check-Up
Quick Quiz
Name: _________________________
Date: _________________________
1
What is one thing a GOOD friend does?
Takes all the toys
Listens to you
Always gets their way
Never shares
2
What does it mean to show empathy?
Only care about yourself
Understand how someone else feels
Always be mad
Ignore your friends
3
If you and your friend disagree about a game, what is a kind way to solve it?
Yell at them
Stop playing forever
Talk about it and take turns
Tell them they are wrong
4
Name two ways you can be a kind friend today.
Friendship Check-Up Answer Key Answer Key
Friendship Check-Up Quiz
1
What is one thing a GOOD friend does?
Correct Answer: Listens to you
Explanation: Good friends pay attention and listen when others are speaking, making their friends feel heard and valued. The other options describe actions that are not kind or cooperative.
2
What does it mean to show empathy?
Correct Answer: Understand how someone else feels
Explanation: Empathy is about putting yourself in another person's shoes and trying to understand their emotions. This helps us respond to them with kindness and care.
3
How can you kindly solve a disagreement?
Correct Answer: Talk about it and take turns
Explanation: When friends disagree, talking calmly and finding a solution together, like taking turns, is a kind and respectful way to solve the problem.
4
Name two ways you can be a kind friend today.
Example Open Responses:
• Share my toys
• Give a compliment
• Help a friend
• Listen to my friends
• Invite someone to play
• Offer to take turns