Lesson 9.3: Friendships

Overview

This lesson focuses on the importance of friendships and the different types of friends people have. Social media, jealousy, and drama will also be discussed regarding how they can cause problems in friendships.

Learning Targets

  • LO10: Differentiate your friends into the four types of friends discussed in the lesson.
  • LO11: Explain the four qualities a close friend needs to have.
  • LO12: Analyze how social media, jealousy, and drama can cause problems in a friendship.
  • LO13: Create a plan to work on a quality you need to improve on to be a better friend.
  • LO14: Use healthy ways to express love in a friendship.

Preparation

For the Warm-Up Activity: Write the Journal Question on the board or identify (and copy as needed) the worksheets you plan to use:

For the Content Focus: Open the Lesson 9.3 PowerPoint slides or make copies of the Lesson 9.3 Note-Taking Guide.

For the Lesson Focus: Copy the Lesson 9.3 Skill-Building Challenge Worksheet: Deciding to End a Friendship.

Warm-Up Activity

Select a warm-up activity to help get your class focused and on task.

  • Journal Question: High school is a time when your friends may be changing depending on the classes you are in and the activities you are involved in. Think about the qualities you want in a friend and write those down. Do your current friends have the qualities you want them to?
    • Option: Write or project the question and have students respond in their journal or on their “bell ringer” sheet as they enter class.
    • Option: Have students discuss the question with a partner or in a small group.
  • Vocabulary Review: Have students work individually, in pairs, or in small groups to complete the Lesson 9.3 Vocabulary Review Worksheet.
  • Quiz: Have students complete the Lesson 9.3 Quiz to assess their prior knowledge.
    • Option: Collect the quiz and use it alongside a posttest to demonstrate student learning.
    • Option: Have students share their answers with a partner and then go over the answers together as a class.

Lesson Content

Review the content from the textbook lesson.

Lesson Focus: Deciding to End a Friendship

  1. Provide each student with a copy of the Lesson 9.3 Skill-Building Challenge Worksheet: Deciding to End a Friendship.
  2. Students will read the scenario and use the decision making steps to help answer the questions.

Challenge Activity

Have students needing an additional challenge work on the following Thinking Critically task.

Think about two or three of your friends. For each friend, write down at least two qualities about them that make them a good friend. Make sure not to mention any quality or characteristic more than once. When you have your list, reflect on which qualities you have. Write a response to the statement: I am a good friend because ___________.

Reflection and Summary

Review the critical content from today’s lesson. Review the learning targets and ask students to answer each question posed.

Can you...

  • Differentiate your friends into the four types of friends discussed in the lesson?

    The four types of friends are acquaintances, people you barely know; casual friends, people you spend time with and with whom you have common interests; close friends, people with whom you have an emotional connection and share everything; and virtual friends, people you know only through online gaming or social media.

  • Explain the four qualities a close friend needs to have?

    A close friend must be loyal to be your friend even if you aren’t being a good friend back; honest to tell you what you need to hear, even if you don’t want to hear it; both a good communicator and great listener; and apologetic when wrong even when it isn’t easy to apologize.

  • Analyze how social media, jealousy, and drama can cause problems in a friendship?

    Social media can cause problems by making people feel left out, by publicly posting personal details that were supposed to be only between you and your friend, and by texting to try to solve problems because information may be taken in the wrong way, making things worse. Jealousy often results from competing for something. It is natural to have feelings of jealously sometimes, but you want to make sure what you say and do don’t hurt the person you are jealous of. Drama involves gossiping about another person, and often the gossip is untrue. Gossip usually causes pain and embarrassment for the person being talked about. Drama happens when a person is trying to make themselves feel better, to get attention, and often to get revenge.

  • Create a plan to work on a quality you need to improve on to be a better friend?

    Ask students to consider the following, Which of the four qualities of close friends do you need to work on: being loyal, being honest, being able to apologize when needed, or being able to communicate well?

  • Use healthy ways to express love in a friendship?

    Some healthy ways to express your love for a friend include being there for your friend when they need you; letting them know how much they mean to you; showing them social media love by posting a picture or memory of the two of you; celebrating their accomplishments; and being a loyal and caring friend every day.

Assessment

Complete one or more of the following assessment tasks for this lesson.

Take It Home

In this lesson, you learned about four types of friends: acquaintances, casual friends, close or best friends, and virtual friends. Ask a family member who is out of high school if they have friends who fit into these four categories. Ask the family member if their relationships with their friends are different now than when they were in high school and how the relationship has changed. If they are no longer friends with people from high school, ask them why they think that is.