What Makes a GOOD Friend? Video Lesson Idea

You don’t get to pick and choose what problems present themselves in your office, but most of us have one or two things that we specialize, like really love to deal with and usually there’s at least one thing that we absolutely hate to deal with.

For me, I’ve always loved working with the tough kids, the ones that were maybe seen as a little rough around the edges. I know most of these kids have experienced far more than they should have in life and that within still lies so much potential that I get particular joy out of helping those kids feel seen and make progress.

On the other hand, dealing with friendship issues (think frenemies/mean girls) was my absolute LEAST favorite thing of all.

But truthfully, issues around friendship are really important for all kids especially when we start to think about the holistic emotional development. Kids who feel connected to peers at school are less likely to drop out, more likely to have healthy coping skills and ultimately they tend to do better in life as a whole. I included several resources for making and keeping friends in my School Based Session Planner. These include general lesson plans, worksheets and even some specifically for kids who need extra support with social interactions due to special needs.

This video is a great discussion starter which can be used individually or for a group. Add some reflection questions or fun worksheet and you can round it out to a full session. I like to turn a worksheet into a group activity by putting the content on a large sheet of paper or white board. Some kids get a kick out of presenting their ideas and this gives everyone a chance to share while still letting the kids who don’t want to talk in front of the whole class get to be a little more incognito.