Lesson Plan

Building True Friendships

Students will identify and articulate key qualities of authentic friendships, share personal experiences, and reflect on ways to strengthen peer relationships through empathy and social awareness.

Understanding genuine friendship qualities builds empathy, social awareness, and a positive classroom community. This lesson empowers 5th graders to form strong support networks and handle peer relationships with kindness and respect.

Audience

Time

Approach

Materials

Prep

Prepare Lesson Materials

10 minutes

Step 1

Warm-Up: Quick Connect

5 minutes

Step 2

Main Activity 1: Friendship Qualities Visual Tour

10 minutes

Step 3

Main Activity 2: Circle Up: Friendship Stories

12 minutes

Step 4

Individual Reflection: Friendship Reflection Sheet

8 minutes

Step 5

Wrap-Up: Takeaways Share

5 minutes

Slide Deck

Friendship Qualities Visual Tour

Introduce the purpose of this visual tour. Explain we’ll look at three key qualities that help us build strong friendships. Encourage students to think about examples from their own lives as we go.

Trust

Define trust and prompt students to share moments when they trusted a friend or a friend trusted them. Emphasize that trust grows when friends keep promises and feel safe sharing their thoughts.

Kindness

Explain kindness as caring action. Invite students to think of a time they helped a friend or were helped. Highlight that small acts—like listening or offering help—show kindness.

Honesty

Discuss honesty and why telling the truth matters in friendships. Ask students how honesty builds trust and what happens when we’re not truthful. Encourage reflections on being honest even when it’s hard.

Summary & Discussion

Review the three qualities. Prompt students: “Which quality do you think is most important and why?” Explain that next they’ll share personal examples in small groups.