Starting and Keeping Friendships
Students learn to maintain friendships over time by checking in and remembering shared details, tell a friend an honest, kind truth rather than just agreeing, handle changes in friend groups without shutting anyone out, identify what each person contributed to a falling out and complete two-part repair (apology plus action), and recognize when a friendship feels one-sided and name one change to rebalance it.
Lesson Overview
What students will be able to do after this lesson: Students will be able to maintain a friendship over time by checking in on things they remember, sharing honest kindness instead of empty agreement, adapting when the friendship group shifts, completing a two-part repair after a falling out, and noticing when a friendship feels one-sided and proposing one concrete change.
Skill segments at a glance:
| Segment | Segment name | Primary standards |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Showing Up and Being Honest | RS-FRD-3-1 · RS-FRD-3-2 |
| 2 | When Friendships Change or Hit a Rough Patch | RS-FRD-3-3 · RS-FRD-3-4 |
| 3 | Noticing When a Friendship Feels One-Sided | RS-FRD-3-5 |
Supporting standards reinforced:
| Code | Why it connects |
|---|---|
| RS-COM-3-2 | Repairing communication mistakes is the foundation of RS-FRD-3-4 — students draw on this when naming exactly what they said and committing to a different approach going forward. |
| SA-VAL-3-2 | Keeping friendships authentic requires honesty about who we are — RS-FRD-3-2 and RS-FRD-3-5 both depend on students choosing honesty over performing agreement or hiding an imbalance. |
Key Vocabulary
- Check in — Asking a friend about something you remembered from a past conversation, rather than starting fresh every time.
- Honest kindness — Telling a friend what you really think in a way that still respects their feelings — not just agreeing, and not being blunt.
- Repair — What you do after a falling out: a real apology that includes naming what you did AND a specific action to show you mean it.
- One-sided — When one person in a friendship is doing most of the reaching out, adjusting, or giving — and the other isn’t matching it.
Materials
- Whiteboard or chart paper and markers
- 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 below has an I Do (teacher models the skill with a realistic scenario) and a We Do (class practices together with your guidance). Independent practice — the You Do — 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
- 3 quick set-ups before the I DoShowing up = pattern, not moments · Honest kindness = the middle path · Repair = two steps, not one
- Rescue planIf students are significantly behind
This section opens when Grade 3 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 3 launches.
Showing Up and Being Honest
- What’s inside
- I do: 3 teacher modelsTextbook example: checking in on something from last time (RS-FRD-3-1) · Wrong version → fix: agreeing vs. honest kindness (RS-FRD-3-2) · Non-conflict scenario: keeping a friendship strong in an ordinary moment (RS-FRD-3-1)
- We do: 4 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 3 launches.
When Friendships Change or Hit a Rough Patch
- What’s inside
- I do: 3 teacher modelsTextbook example: adapting when a friend group shifts (RS-FRD-3-3) · Wrong version → fix: the incomplete repair (RS-FRD-3-4) · Non-conflict scenario: welcoming a positive friendship shift (RS-FRD-3-3)
- We do: 3 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 3 launches.
Noticing When a Friendship Feels One-Sided
- What’s inside
- I do: 3 teacher modelsTextbook example: naming the imbalance specifically (RS-FRD-3-5) · Proposing a concrete adjustment to rebalance (RS-FRD-3-5) · Non-conflict scenario: recognizing when a friendship IS balanced (RS-FRD-3-5)
- We do: 3 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 3 launches.
Closing the Week
- What’s inside
- 3 partner-share roundsOne for each segment, with the frame students say together
- Closing prompt
- Round 1 — Segment 1
- Round 2 — Segment 2
- Round 3 — Segment 3
This section opens when Grade 3 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 3, ready to use today.
