Friendship Teaching Resources
Browse free friendship activities for kids, printable worksheets and more teaching resources designed to help students build relationships and improve social awareness in your primary classroom.
This collection of friendship teaching resources was created by the teachers of the Teach Starter team for teachers like you to help you cut time on your lesson planning so you can spend more time doing what you love: Actually teaching!
We know that teaching kids about friendship is an important part of their social and emotional development. So whether it's International Friendship Day or a random Tuesday, each resource in this collection has been designed with primary students' needs in mind and undergone careful review by our expert teachers to ensure it is classroom-ready!
Looking for tips to make teaching friendship a success this school year? Read on for a primer from our teacher team!
Friendship Definition for Kids
What is friendship? It's a question that would seem easy to answer, but breaking down the meaning for our young learners can get complicated.
Here's a kid-friendly definition of friendship that we like to use:
Friendship is liking someone a lot and enjoying spending time with them. Friends are people who are always there for you, who make you feel happy and supported, and who share things with you like toys and games and even their feelings.
Good friends listen to each other and help each other when they need it. In a friendship, you also respect each other's differences and learn from each other.
How to Teach Friendship to Students — Tips From Our Teacher Team
While we can't force all our students to get along — human nature simply doesn't work that way! — there are ample ways to teach this important social skill. Along with the activities, worksheets and more in this teaching resource collection, consider these ideas for teaching friendship to your students:
- Role Modelling – We have said it before, and we are going to keep on saying it! Our own behaviour has an impact on how our students behave. Showing kindness, empathy, and respect to our colleagues isn't just important for our own health and well-being. It's helping our students see how to do the same.
- Friendship Pledge — Ask your students to create a friendship pledge, where they commit to treating each other with kindness and respect. Display the pledges in the classroom as a reminder of their commitment to being good friends.
- Role-Playing — Practising social skills and learning how to handle challenging situations with friends can make a real difference in the classroom. For example, students can act out scenarios where a student might feel left out or hurt by a friend's behaviour.
- Friendship Book Club — Choose a book about friendship to read as a class — Charlotte's Web and The One and Only Ivan are favourites among our teacher team. As you read the book together, stop periodically to discuss the characters' friendships and what the students can learn from them. You can also have students work in small book clubs to read and discuss books about friendship on their own.
Why Is Teaching Friendship Important?
The friendships our students develop in primary school may not last forever, but they will certainly impact their lives for years to come. As teachers, explicitly teaching how to be a good friend and what it means to find a good friend is part of helping our students develop important social skills and emotional intelligence.
It's through learning what it means to be a friend that kids are also learning how to form positive relationships with others, how to manage conflict in a healthy way, and how to navigate the complexities of social interactions.
These are all skills that will last them long into their futures, but more immediately they're also an important part of creating a positive classroom environment where students feel safe and supported.
Friendships can help our students:
- Build self-esteem and confidence
- Learn to communicate effectively
- Understand empathy and kindness
These are all key components of a positive classroom culture.
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Recess Rules: True Friends – Worksheet
Learn about being a good friend while also brushing up on those reading comprehension skills with this comic strip activity.
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Find a Friend Who…Worksheet
Encourage students to engage with different classmates and learn about others with this whole-class activity.
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How To Be a Good Friend – Teaching Slides
Learn how to form healthy and long-lasting friendships with this set of teaching slides.
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How to Be a Good Friend – Mini-Book
Encourage students to build relationships by learning how to be a good friend with this printable mini-book.
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Whole Body Listening – Poster and Worksheet
Use this poster and accompanying worksheet to teach your students about whole body listening.
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What Good Friends Do – Differentiated Friendship Worksheets
Sort verbs according to if they are friendly or unfriendly interactions with this friendship worksheet.
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Being a Good Friend – Mini-Book
A social story to develop social skills for being a good friend.
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Friendship Fun! – Board Game
Discuss characteristics of healthy friendships as well as how to repair relationships with a fun and engaging board game.
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How to Be a Good Friend Poster
Use this poster to teach your students how to be a good friend to others.
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Forgiving Friends – Social Emotional Learning Activities
Use these social emotional learning activities to encourage students to maintain and repair friendships by forgiving others.
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Grow a Friendship Garden – Friendship Activities
Encourage students to make a friendship garden grow with this activity bundle that includes friendship worksheets, writing templates, craft templates and scenario cards.
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Friendship Writing Prompts
Encourage positive relationships by using our friendship writing prompts in your classroom.
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Asking My Friends to Play Mini-Book
Learn about appropriate social skills when asking friends to play with this printable mini-book.
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Being a Good Listener Mini-Book
Develop and reinforce appropriate listening skills with this printable social skills mini-book.
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Good Listener Posters
Use this poster to teach your students how to be good listeners.
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Sharing with My Friends – Mini-Book
Develop skills and strategies for sharing with others with this printable mini-book.
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My Forgiveness Journal – SEL Worksheets
Teach students about the importance of forgiving others with this printable forgiveness journal.