Being a Good Friend
How and why do we make friends?
We make friends to have people to play with, talk to, and rely on.
It is more fun to have friends to play with and do things with.
We make friends by being kind, finding common interests, initiating & maintaining conversations, demonstrating active listening, being flexible, compromising, and treating others how we want to be treated.
Show the group what Whole Body Listening looks like. Then tell us about 3 body parts you used to listen.
Eyes
Ears
Mouth
Hands
Feet
Body
Brain
Heart
Name 2 ways we can use non-verbal language to let people know how we are feeling or what we are thinking.
Eye Movement
Facial Expressions
Body Language
Tone of Voice
Name 2 steps we should take when joining a group.
1. Look for a group who appear friendly and are doing something you might enjoy
2. Stand near the group to show you are interested. Put on your friendly face (smile) and make eye contact
3. Listen for a pause before you speak. Don’t interrupt.
4. Ask questions or make comments about what they are doing/talking about. You can also make You can say, “Pikachu is my favorite, who’s your favorite?” or “I don’t know that Pokemon character, tell me about him!”
5. Ask politely to join in
6. If they say no, try steps 3, 4, & 5 again. If that doesn’t work, try another group.
Name 2 strategies we can use to be flexible thinkers.
1) Think of ideas
2) Add Ideas Together
3) Let it go
4) Try another way
What does it mean to be a friend?
To be a friend means you pay attention to others’ thoughts and feelings and you show interest in them by taking the time to talk to them and do things with them.
Take turns putting each of the 8 body parts used for WBL on Listening Larry. Tell the group how we use each body part to listen.
velcro visual will be shown
Eyes- look at the person talking to you
Ears- both ears ready to hear
Mouth- quiet (no talking, humming or making sounds)
Hands- quiet in lap, pockets, or by your side
Feet- quiet on the floor
Body- faces the speaker
Brain- thinking about what is being said
Heart caring about what the other person is saying
Act out an emotion of your choice and have your peers guess what it is!
Answers will vary
Use your topic radar to start a conversation with a peer.
Options:
Thinking about the other person’s interests
Remembering what you know about them (this could be their family members, hobbies, or favorite things)
Looking for clues in your surroundings (something a friend is holding or wearing)
Remembering what you both have in common
Why is it important to be flexible?
Why is friendship important?
Making friends and spending time with others help us to feel good about ourselves. Hanging out with friends can also be fun and exciting!
Why is it important to use Whole Body Listening?
Demonstrating WBL shows our friends that we are interested and care about what they are saying, and people want to be friends with others who listen and have a calm body.
Why is non-verbal language important?
We can use non-verbal language to determine how someone is feeling or what someone is thinking about. We use non-verbal language to help support what we are talking about and show others that we are listening.
Why is it important to take turns in conversation?
It is important to take turns when we talk to someone because it makes others feel good, it shows that we are interested in hearing what they have to say, and helps us make friends.
Name 2 strategies we can use to help us calm down when we experience a strong or uncomfortable feeling. Why is it important to use these strategies?
Possible Strategies: taking a break, talk to someone, deep breaths, count to five, etc.
It makes our bodies and brains more comfortable when we are calm. When we are comfortable it makes others around us feel comfortable. If we yell at a friend instead of using a strategy to calm down and using our words to explain that we feel upset, our friend may not want to play with us again. Our friends may feel confused as to why we are having a big reaction. It is important to use a strategy to calm down so we can control our strong emotions and take time to think of ways to respond and react. Everyone will feel happy and have good thoughts about us when we use a strategy to calm down!