Lesson+week+one

Teaching Social Skills to Enhance Friendship Session 1: What Does it Mean to Be a Friend?

//ASCA Personal/Social Standard A//: Students will acquire the knowledge, attitudes, and interpersonal skills to help them understand and respect self and others.
 * Goal:**


 * Objective:** Students will be able to identify friendship qualities and discuss basic friendship concepts.


 * Materials:** 1 skein of yarn.

//Ice Breaker Activity: The Spider Web// //Discussion:// Have students continue to talk about friendship qualities. Some questions to ask include: //Homework:// Introduce the idea of homework and explain its purpose in helping to transfer the things discussed in the group to their everyday life. Have students pay attention to interactions that they have with their peers until the next session. What friendship qualities do they already exhibit? Are they happy with their friendships? What is missing (from what they do and from what others do) Have students write self observations down and keep observations in friendship folder to discuss at next meeting.
 * Procedure:**
 * Begin by explaining that the group will be doing an activity to get them thinking about what friendship means to them.
 * Give the ball of yarn to one student and ask him or her to name one quality that they consider as important in a friendship. Have the student pass the ball of yarn to another student to continue the “web” until everyone has identified one quality that is important to her or him. Before “cleaning up” web connect the image of a web to friendship (interconnected, reliant upon many parts, etc.)
 * Is your view of friendship the same as everyone else in the group? What is different?
 * Why is a certain quality more important to you than others?
 * Are there different ways to act with different friends? (ex: acquaintances, close friends)
 * What are some easy/difficult things about maintaining friendships?
 * Do they have friends that have some of these qualities?
 * What do they think makes them a good friend?


 * Evaluation:** Students evaluated based upon their ability to identify and discuss friendship skills.

Emily Worsnopp- author Hulse, C. M. (2004). Lesson 38: The spider web. //New York// //State// //school counselor// //association comprehensive school counseling program: Middle level activity book (pp. 88-89)//.New York:New YorkStateSchool Counselor Association. ||
 * Ice Breaker Activity adapted from:

Conversation and Listening Skills

//ASCA Personal/Social Standard A//: Students will acquire the knowledge, attitudes, and interpersonal skills to help them understand and respect self and others. Students will learn how to communicate with friends.
 * Goals:**
 * Objective:** Students will be able to effectively initiate and maintain a conversation and understand how conversation skills are important to friendship development and maintenance.


 * Materials:** Conversation and Listening Skills worksheet

//Discuss what is a friend. What qualities does a friend have? How do you talk to a friend?// Additional instruction for continuing group: Expanding your social network and communicating effectively with others: //Homework:// Waksman, S. & Waskman, D.D.(1998). Conversation Skills. //The waksman social skills curriculum for// //adolescents: An assertiveness behavior program// (4th ed.) (pp. 31-35).Austin,TX:Pro-Ed., Emily Worsnopp ||
 * Procedure:**
 * Begin by having students talk about their best friend and what they like about that person.
 * Describe what activities they do with their friend.
 * List all the qualities of friend that the group described.
 * Role model with a student two friends carrying on an appropriate conversation.
 * Begin by discussing why being able to effectively start conversations and communicate with others is essential to developing successful relationships. It is important to know how to start, continue and end conversations for success.
 * Ask student to discuss what is scary/easy about starting new conversations, and what is challenging for them about having conversations, especially with new people.
 * Pass out “Conversation skills and Listening Skills” worksheet and discuss.
 * Have group member’s role play conversation skills (ask for volunteers). Encourage all students to participate. Ask members to come up with situations that might be challenging for them. Examples might include meeting a new person, asking for help, pairing up with someone for a class project.
 * Have student reflect on role-play. How did it feel to be the one initiating the conversation? Responding?
 * Ask students to initiate at least one conversation with a new peer over the next week. Have them write down the results of the conversation, including how they felt, about the interaction.
 * Session adapted from:
 * Evaluation:** Students are evaluated based upon their contributions to the group and their ability to demonstrate effective communication skills.