Relationships & Friends - Social Emotional Learning Skills Lessons & Activities

This Relationships Unit is part of a complete social emotional learning curriculum to support kids and young adults learn critical SEL skills. Specific SEL skills targeted include friendship skills, healthy relationships, effective communication, working with others, negotiation and compromise, conflict resolution skills, repairing relationships, and more.

A total of 7 complete and detailed lessons are included, each with 5 unique activities. This means your purchase includes over 35 activities focusing on social emotional learning! Educator guides are included for every lesson, detailing the prep work required and specific verbiage for you to say to your learners. Activities include a wide variety of tasks: workbook pages, articles, task cards, discussion starters, hands-on crafts, center activities, role-play, games, essay-writing, and much more.

Table of Contents • UNIT 4: Relationships

Introduction: Understanding Relationships

• Pre-Assessment

• What are Relationship Skills?

Lesson 1: Friendship Skills

• 1-1: Understanding Friendships

• 1-2: A Perfect Friend

• 1-3: Benefits of Friendships

• 1-4: Friends vs. Acquaintances

• 1-5: My Friendship Skills

Lesson 2: Healthy Relationships

• 2-1: Understanding Healthy Relationships

• 2-2: Tools for Healthy Relationships

• 2-3: Relationship Quotes

• 2-4: Building and Maintaining Relationships

• 2-5: Relationship Maker or Breaker?

Lesson 3: Effective Communication

• 3-1: Greetings and Small Talk

• 3-2: Assertive Communication

• 3-3: Active Listening

• 3-4: Conversation Skills

• 3-5: Let’s Chat!

Lesson 4: Working with Others

• 4-1: Group Ground Rules

• 4-2: Working with Others

• 4-3: Teamwork

• 4-4: Scavenger Hunt Challenge

• 4-5: Newspaper Challenge

Lesson 5: Negotiation and Compromise

• 5-1: The Importance of Compromise

• 5-2: Learning to Compromise

• 5-3: Compromise: Let’s Practice

• 5-4: Sticking With Your Values

• 5-5: Make a Compromise

Lesson 6: Conflict Resolution Skills

• 6-1: Conflict Resolution

• 6-2: Let’s STAND Together

• 6-3: Conflict Choices

• 6-4: Pick Your Battles

• 6-5: Work It Out

Lesson 7: Repairing Relationships

• 7-1: Meaningful Apologies

• 7-2: Making Things Right

• 7-3: Let’s Fix It

• 7-4: Forgiveness

• 7-5: Moving On

Post-Assessment

Summative Project: Relationship Keys to Success

Vocabulary Slips

Digital And Print Versions

Besides the printable PDF versions, you also get access to digital pages for Google Drive! To access, open the PDF with "digital directions" in the title. Click on the blue links and you can open up your copy!

Note that the digital versions have been already split up for you! This means each lesson is easily ready to be assigned to your learners through Google Classroom or other digital means.

What is Social Emotional Learning?

Social emotional learning (SEL) is the process for acquiring necessary social and emotional skills for everyday success. These skills include understanding ourselves and our abilities, using self-control, setting goals, maintaining positive relationships, having empathy for others, making positive decisions, and much more. Essentially, social emotional learning skills are life skills, as these are abilities learners need in the classroom, at home, with friends, in future relationships, and beyond.

Why is teaching SEL important?

Social and emotional learning helps teach kids and young adults the skills they need to be successful. Having a foundation for SEL also supports a safe and positive learning environment where all students feel free to share their voices, accept challenges, take risks, and work towards finding their individual path to success.

Why Pathway 2 Success?

The lessons and activities in this curriculum are designed specifically for learners of all levels and abilities to learn, use, discuss, and generalize the social and emotional skills they need. The idea is simple: We want our students to find their individual pathway to success! They need to be able to understand themselves, recognize their strengths, work through their challenges, enjoy the benefits of positive relationships, and be the best they can be. We also want our students to be strong! Learners need strategies to manage their emotions, advocate for themselves, and make positive decisions throughout their lives. Through learning these skills, kids and young adults can work towards their individual potentials.

This curriculum is developed with kids and young adults in mind. The lessons and activities are designed to give learners time for discussions, hands-on learning, movement, art integration, and more.

Social Emotional Learning Research-Based Best Practices

This curriculum utilizes best practices for SEL instruction, including:

• Sequenced and connected activities to foster skill development.
• Active and varied forms of learning, including class discussions, journal writing, games, partner/group activities, and projects.
• Focused approach to emphasize the development of personal and social skills.
• Explicit instruction to target social emotional skills in an organized and specific way using the five core domains of SEL.

What Does the Research Say About SEL?

Research shows that social emotional learning skills are critical for the success of kids and young adults. A meta-analysis demonstrated that students who participated in SEL programs significantly improved their social emotional skills, behavior, academics, and attitudes (Durlak, Weissberg, Dymnicki, Taylor, & Schellinger, 2011). To have the biggest impact on success, these skills need to be explicitly targeted, taught, and integrated into the everyday classroom setting.

How Can I Implement These Lessons?

There are many different options, so it’s important to do what works for you and your learners. Depending on your schedule, you can choose to complete 1 activity per day or 1 full lesson per week. Of course, if time is short, you can always choose which specific activities you’d like to complete.

How Much Prep is Required?

Some activities include hands-on crafts and/or tasks cards, which require gathering of materials or cutting the cards out ahead of time. If this is a challenge for you, you can always elect to skip those specific activities. Another option is to have students do the cutting of materials like task cards right during your lesson time.

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Disclaimer: These resources and materials are for supplementary support/education purposes and not intended as a replacement for counseling, education, or other necessary supports. Educators, parents, counselors, and others who utilize these materials are encouraged to seek out additional support, as needed.

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