Friendships
Your best friend starts hanging out with a new group, and you feel left out.
What should you do?
Talk to your friend about how you feel and express your desire to spend time together.
Your parents are arguing about something, and it's making you uncomfortable.
How should you handle it?
Respectfully express your feelings, let them know you're uncomfortable, and suggest taking a break or talking later when things are calmer.
You are in a small breakout room with three classmates to work on a group presentation. One student keeps leaving their microphone unmuted while playing music and talking to someone in their house. Every time you try to share an idea, their background noise drowns you out. You feel annoyed and want to leave the breakout room immediately without saying anything.
What should you do?
Use Polite Assertiveness: Unmute your microphone and speak directly to the classmate in a calm, neutral tone:
"Hey, we're having a little trouble hearing you over the background noise. Could you put yourself on mute until it's your turn to speak?"
You are working on a tricky multi-step math problem during independent work time. After trying twice and getting the wrong answer both times, you feel your face get hot and think, "I'm just bad at math. I'll never get this right."
What should you do?
Reframe the Thought: Change "I can't do this" to "I can't do this YET, but my brain grows every time I try something hard."
You receive a friend request from someone you don't know.
What should you do?
Investigate their profile first to ensure they are trustworthy.
A friend shares a secret with you, but you accidentally let it slip to someone else.
How do you handle the situation?
Apologize sincerely to your friend, explain it was unintentional, and assure them it won't happen again.
You overhear a family member making a hurtful comment about someone else in the family.
What do you do?
Approach the person privately, express how the comment made you feel, and encourage open and respectful communication within the family.
A classmate forgets to mute their microphone or accidentally shares their screen, showing a funny mistake, a silly drawing, or their pets. A few students in the class start laughing out loud, typing jokes in the chat, and recording the screen. The student who made the mistake looks visibly embarrassed and turns off their camera.
What should you do?
Choose Kindness: Refuse to join in on the laughing, chatting, or taking screenshots.
While reading a paragraph aloud to the class, you stumble over a long word and pronounce it wrong. A few classmates giggle. You feel embarrassed, your heart races, and you want to shrink into your chair and stop reading entirely.
What do you do?
Quietly repeat a positive phrase to yourself: "It's okay to mess up. Everyone makes mistakes."
You see a friend post something mean about another student.
What should you do?
Report the post and talk to a trusted adult about it.
You notice a friend is acting differently and seems upset but hasn't said anything.
What can you do?
Approach your friend privately, express concern, and let them know you're there to listen if they want to talk.
: Your family is planning a vacation, but you feel your interests aren't being considered.
How do you address this?
Initiate a family discussion, respectfully share your preferences, and suggest compromises or activities that everyone can enjoy.
During a live online science lesson, a few classmates start using the main chat box to post silly emojis and tell jokes to each other. The chat notifications keep popping up on your screen, making it really hard for you to focus on what the teacher is explaining.
What do you do?
Pause and Refocus: Take a deep breath to manage your frustration. Raise Hand" button to let the teacher know you're having trouble hearing/focusing.
You spend twenty minutes drawing a picture or building a model, but the final result doesn't look like the image in your head. In frustration, you crumple up the paper or knock down the blocks, feeling like a failure.
What should they do?
Reframe the Thought: Tell yourself, "First drafts are supposed to be messy. Progress matters more than perfection."
You're about to post a photo from a friend's birthday party.
What should you consider first?
Ask your friend for permission before posting.
: A close friend is making choices you don't agree with, and it's affecting your relationship.
How do you address this?
Have an honest conversation about your concerns, listen to their perspective, and discuss how to maintain the friendship while respecting each other's values.
You and your sibling are fighting at home everyday. You both have the same friends and it's difficult to be around each other.
What do you do?
Talking it out with/ tell trusted adult.
During a group project, one member isn't contributing.
How do you handle it?
Talk to the group member privately to understand their concerns and encourage participation. If the issue persists, discuss it with the teacher.
During a quiet writing time, you look up and notice that the student sitting next to you has already filled an entire page with neat handwriting, while you've only written three sentences. You feel inadequate and start thinking, "I'm so slow compared to everyone else. Their ideas are way better than mine."
What do you do?
Use the Coping Skill: Give yourself a quiet palm-tap and acknowledge the progress you've made so far, no matter how small.
You notice a classmate is being left out of a group chat.
What can you do?
Invite them to join the chat and include them in conversations.
Your friend is being excluded by others, and you want to help without making things worse.
What steps can you take?
Stand up for your friend by speaking out against exclusion, invite them to join activities, and encourage others to be inclusive.
A family member is going through a tough time and seems distant.
How can you support them?
Reach out with empathy, offer a listening ear without judgment, and let them know you're there for them whenever they're ready to talk.
You and all the other students find out that the teacher will not be in today. A substitute teacher shows up, however they do not know any of the class rules. Your friends tell the teacher that they are allowed to do what they want in class.
What do you do?
Be honest.
Respect the teachers decision.
You have been placed in lunch detention for breaking a school rule. You are upset that you have to now serve lunch detention.
what do you do?
Accept the discipline and reflect on behavior.
You come across a post that makes you feel uncomfortable.
What steps should you take?
Report the post to the platform, block the user if necessary, and discuss it with a trusted adult.