How to teach... making friends
A A long summer
stretches out invitingly before students
(and teachers), but when they return to school after the break, everything will
have changed. The new academic term means new groups and, for some, the start of
a new school.
B With this transition
comes the inevitable challenge of making friends. Children of all ages worry about
various things, from finding a partner to work with in science class to having
someone to eat lunch with on the first day. So, to prepare your students for their
next steps, and in time for the UN International
Day of Friendship on Thursday 30 July,
this week’s how to teach... includes a selection of ideas and resources to help
your students strengthen current friendships and make new ones.
C There is an old
adage that to love someone else you must
first love yourself, and the same is true of friendships. Children need to value
themselves before they can properly value others, so kick things off by building
self-esteem. Get your students to discuss their talents – dancing, running,
helping at home or drawing. Then share their ideas during a circle-time activity
or record their thoughts. Next, get children
to reflect on others’ qualities by thinking about what they look for in a friend
using a worksheet and game. Playing as a group or in pairs, students
must explain whether each of a variety of attributes is something a “good friend”
or “bad friend” would have. When you’ve gathered opinions on this, get creative
by making colourful friendship posters.
D Discover what
worries students have around making friends by answering the questions primary students
often ask. For example, why is friendship
important? What if a friend is mean to me? Do students agree that it’s impossible
to share a friend? Role play might be an interesting way to explore how to resolve
problems. Go beyond the classroom and get students thinking about the theme of friendship
around the world by focusing on relations between countries. Use this to encourage students to think about
what they can do to help create a more peaceful world. As a follow-up activity,
ask students to identify times when they could be a good friend to others. How would
they behave towards a new child in their class, for example?
E One of the most challenging times in terms of making friends
is moving to secondary school, and a little cinema magic is a great way to ease
the transition. A Back to School assembly
contains a whole section on making new friends at secondary school. It uses clips
from films such as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Skateboards and Spandex…
to tackle themes such as first days, making new friends, believing in yourself and
working together. This year the UN International Day of Friendship is focusing on
involving young people in community activities that include different cultures and
promote international understanding.
Adjusted to (1)
invitingly –
lákavě, svůdně
adage –
přísloví, rčení
1) Read the
article and match each of the headings to a paragraph.
1 Summer and
new school year
2 Self-respect
and friendship games
3 Secondary
school transition
4 Transition,
new friends and the Day of Friendship
5 Friendship
questions
2) Read the
article and answer the questions.
1 What
changes in the new school year for many students and teachers?
2 Why was
the old adage mentioned? What does it mean?
3 What is
important to make friends? Why?
4 What should
students ask? Why?
5 How can
films help solving relationships?
3) Explain
the following words and phrases.
1 science class
2 kick things
off by building self-esteem
3 circle-time
activity
4 it’s impossible
to share a friend
5 follow-up activity
4) Answer
the following questions.
What is relationship?
What are types of relationships? What is the difference between extroversion
and introversion? What is typical for introverts and extraverts? What do you
know about children and youth criminality prevention?
Video:
Tips, sources of information:
Source:
(1)
How to teach.. making friends. The
Guardian [online]. 2015 [cit. 2015-09-21]. Available at:
http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2015/jul/13/how-to-teach-making-friends-primary-secondary-school
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