Making Friends
Students learn to use a friendly joining script to start a connection with a classmate, keep a small promise to a friend and explain why it matters, tell a friend one specific thing they genuinely appreciate about them, cool down after a small argument and use a repair script, and invite someone outside their usual group to join in.
Lesson Overview
What students will be able to do after this lesson: Students will be able to use a friendly joining script to start a connection with a classmate, keep a small promise to a friend and explain why it matters, tell a friend one specific thing they genuinely appreciate about them, cool down after a small argument and use a repair script, and invite someone outside their usual group to join in.
Skill segments at a glance:
| Segment | Segment name | Primary standards |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Starting a Connection and Keeping Your Word | RS-FRD-2-1 · RS-FRD-2-2 |
| 2 | Showing Appreciation and Fixing a Falling Out | RS-FRD-2-3 · RS-FRD-2-4 |
| 3 | Widening the Circle | RS-FRD-2-5 |
Supporting standards reinforced:
| Code | Why it connects |
|---|---|
| RS-COM-2-2 | Speaking clearly is the tool for initiating friendship conversations |
| SoA-EMP-2-2 | Showing genuine interest in how others feel is what makes a friendship initiation feel real, not scripted |
| SA-IDN-2-2 | Finding similarities and differences is what makes early friendship conversations interesting |
Key Vocabulary
- Joining script — A friendly sentence or question you use to connect with someone: “Can I join?” “Want to work together?”
- Promise — Something you said you would do — and the friendship depends on you following through
- Appreciation — Noticing something real and kind about a person and telling them
- Repair — What you do to fix a friendship after a small fight or falling out
Materials
- Whiteboard or chart paper + marker
- Before the week begins: Post your unit anchor chart and I Can Statement where students can see them — you’ll reference both throughout the week.
How this lesson is structured: Each skill segment has an I Do (teacher models the skill) and a We Do (class practices together with your guidance). Independent practice lives in the practice resources that go alongside this lesson.
What Students Need Before This Lesson
- What’s inside
- What students should already be able to do
- Helpful to have in place
- 4 quick set-ups before the I DoA joining script is not begging — it’s an invitation · A small promise is a big deal in a friendship · Repair is not just “sorry” — it’s showing you mean it · Appreciating a friend means naming what they DO — not a general trait
- Rescue planIf students are significantly behind
This section opens when Grade 2 launches.
Introducing the Skill
- What’s inside
- Opening hook
- What we’re learning
- Why it matters
- Core sentence frameThe frame students use all week
This section opens when Grade 2 launches.
Starting a Connection and Keeping Your Word
- What’s inside
- I do: 4 teacher modelsThe joining script: using words instead of hovering · Wrong version → fix: joining by interrupting vs. asking · Keeping a small promise: what it looks like · Non-conflict: starting a connection just because
- We do: 5 guided scenariosWith sentence frames, pacing notes and what to watch for
- Coaching in the momentWhat to say when students get stuck
This section opens when Grade 2 launches.
Showing Appreciation and Fixing a Falling Out
- What’s inside
- I do: 4 teacher modelsSpecific appreciation: not “you’re nice” · Wrong version → fix: the generic compliment vs. the real one · Cooling down before repairing · What repair looks like in a calm moment
- We do: 5 guided scenariosWith sentence frames, pacing notes and what to watch for
- Coaching in the momentWhat to say when students get stuck
This section opens when Grade 2 launches.
Widening the Circle
- What’s inside
- I do: 4 teacher modelsNoticing who’s outside the usual circle · Wrong version → fix: including to be polite vs. including genuinely · Including someone you don’t know well: finding the first thing in common · Non-conflict: including someone during an ordinary good moment
- We do: 5 guided scenariosWith sentence frames, pacing notes and what to watch for
- Coaching in the momentWhat to say when students get stuck
This section opens when Grade 2 launches.
Closing the Week
- What’s inside
- 3 partner-share roundsOne for each segment, with the frame students say together
- Closing prompt
- Land the key idea
- Connect to daily life
- Optional — Quick check-in
This section opens when Grade 2 launches.
Practice for every skill segment
Each lesson comes with independent practice — the “you do” — for each of its 3 skill segments, in print and digital.
Printable practice
Ready-to-copy practice pages for each segment.
- View and print in your browser
- Answer keys for quick checking
Digital activities
Share one link — students open it on any device, and you see their answers.
- Works on Chromebooks, tablets and phones
- Students just type their name to start
While you wait: from the SEL Resource Library
Relationship Skills resources for Grade 2, ready to use today.
