Last week I visited fifth grade classrooms and we discussed friendship. Friendships change as we get older and fourth and fifth grades are about the time where we begin to notice that friendships aren't merely about who plays with you at recess. It's fun to talk with the older students about how they go about making friends as they get older. What worked for them in kindergarten, "hey, do you wanna play?" doesn't always work now.
We looked at four aspects of friendship and created a table on chart paper. We answered these questions as a group: What is friendship? Why is friendship important? How do you make a friend? How do you keep a friend?
After our discussion we wrote advertisements to share what we are looking for in a friend and what kind of friend we think that we can be to others. They completed their ads in class and I typed them up (to make them anonymous). A piece of paper covers the names at the bottom of the ads. They are displayed in the fifth grade hallways. The kids have had fun looking at the ads and seeing finding potential new friends.
We looked at four aspects of friendship and created a table on chart paper. We answered these questions as a group: What is friendship? Why is friendship important? How do you make a friend? How do you keep a friend?
After our discussion we wrote advertisements to share what we are looking for in a friend and what kind of friend we think that we can be to others. They completed their ads in class and I typed them up (to make them anonymous). A piece of paper covers the names at the bottom of the ads. They are displayed in the fifth grade hallways. The kids have had fun looking at the ads and seeing finding potential new friends.