Overview: This lesson asks students to consider their current friendships. Having true friends is important and learning what healthy and trusting relationships feel like is imperative for a teen’s social development.
Character Education Objectives:
Students will:
- read a poem about a true friendship.
- share the elements of a true friendship.
- reflect on their own friendships to consider if they have true friends.
Materials:
- Poem: Alabi , A. 2017. My True Friend. FamilyFriendPoems. FFP Inc. https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/my-true-friend-4
- Chart paper/markers or online wordcloud tool
Discussion:
Small Groups
- Read the poem My True Friend.
- Ask students to highlight key words from the poem that are needed in a friendship.
Whole Group
- Ask students to share the words they highlighted in the poem.
- Write the words on chart paper or in an online wordcloud tool.
Reflection
- Reflect on the words collected on the chart paper/wordcloud.
- Do you have any friendships that are not represented by the words we collected?
- What can you do about it?
- Think about the qualities of true friends. Do you represent the words on the chart?
- How will you change your behavior to improve or develop friendships?
My True Friend by Abimbola T. Alabi
You always answer when I call
And help me up if I should fall,
But you never complain at all,
My true friend.
You confront me when I am wrong
But will never scold me for long,
Instead, you try to keep me strong,
My true friend.
You know the funny things to say
To make me laugh my fears away.
Like the sun, you brighten my day,
My true friend.
You see in me gifts I deny
And urge me to give things a try.
You spread for me my wings to fly,
My true friend.
You always perceive what I need
And offer it before I plead.
Just like a book, my mind you read,
My true friend.
You value little things I do
But won’t brag of what you do too.
How can I ever repay you,
My true friend?
And greatest of all I have found
When times are tough and I’m down,
You are the one who sticks around,
My true friend.
Source: https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/my-true-friend-4