Lesson video

Hi, I'm Ms. Lowe, and I'm so excited to be learning with you today.

Today's lesson is called "Friends Can Be Different," and it fits into our unit "Healthy Relationships: What Makes a Good Friend." Now, before we get started, I want everyone to make sure that they've got their thinking caps on, ready to do some learning.

Now, before we get started with our learning today, we're gonna start with some ground rules, and we have some friends here to help remind us of them.

Laura is reminding us to listen to others.

Andeep is reminding us to respect privacy.

Jacob is reminding us that in these lessons, there is no judgement.

And finally, Izzy is reminding us that in these lessons, you can choose your level of participation.

Here is what we're gonna be learning about during today's lesson.

So by the end of this lesson together, you're gonna be able to explain how friends can be different and how to value their unique qualities.

And here are our keywords for today's lesson.

I'm gonna say the word first and then I would like you to repeat it back to me.

Let's practise.

Friend.

Well done.

Different.

Unique.

Excellent work, everyone.

Now let's have a look at those definitions together.

Friend.

Someone who cares for you, helps you and makes you feel happy.

Different.

Not the same as something else.

Unique.

Being one of a kind or different from others.

And we're gonna see those keywords all the way throughout our lesson today, so try to remember those definitions.

Here is a look at what we're gonna be learning together in today's lesson.

We're gonna start by asking the question, why do differences make friendships special? Friends are wonderful.

They make life more fun, happy, and exciting.

They are the people who play with us, help us and make us feel good.

So to begin today's lesson, either just to yourself, with the people around you, or to me, I'd like for you to answer the question, why are your friends important to you? Friends come in all shapes and sizes.

They may be the same age as us, they may even be different ages.

They may be boys or girls, but friends are all different.

The number of friends that we have doesn't matter.

Some people may be friends with one person, other people may be friends with lots of people, but the number of friends that we have doesn't matter.

Now, we're gonna pause the video and have a think about what we've learned so far.

True or false.

Our friends are always the same age as us.

I'd like you to pause here and have a think about whether what I just said was true or false, and then we'll go through the correct answer together in just a moment.

A big well done if you said false.

Let's have a look at why that's false.

Well, friends can be different ages.

We can have friends that are any age.

I want to say a big well done again if you said false.

Great work so far, everyone.

Here, we can see Andeep and Sofia and they're talking about their likes and interests.

Andeep says that they both have pet rabbits.

Sofia says, "Our favourite subject is maths." Andeep says, "We both like to play football." And Sofia says, "We love to look at books together." Andeep and Sofia have got lots in common.

So what I want for you to do is, again, with the person next to you, to yourself or to me, I'd like for you to have a think about this question.

What do you and your friends have in common? Friends might look different from each other and they might like and dislike different things.

We can see Lucas and Izzy here, and they're talking about how they both like different things.

Lucas says that his favourite food is chicken stir fry.

Izzy says that her favourite food is roast dinner.

Lucas says that he likes to go swimming, and Izzy says that she enjoys gymnastics.

Now, let's have a think about what different interests you and your friends have.

Now let's check what we've learned so far together.

What can friends have that make them unique? There's three options on the screen.

I want you to pause the video here and have a think about which of them are the correct answer, and we'll go through the correct ones together in just a moment.

Really well done if you said different qualities and interests, that is what makes friends unique.

We're gonna check our understanding again here.

True or false.

Friends always wear the same clothes, eat the same foods, and have the same interests.

Is what I just said true or false? Well done if you said false.

Let's have a think about why that's false.

Well, friends can have different interests and qualities and they can look different.

And it's these differences that make friendships exciting and special.

Friends believe different things and celebrate in different ways, and this makes friendship exciting.

Some people shake hands to say hello.

Some people might bow or wave.

Some people light candles for special holidays like Diwali or Hanukkah.

And some people pray to God, some people don't, and some people believe in different gods.

Every friend that we have is unique.

It's nice to have friends that are different to us.

We can find out interesting things and even new things to do.

Sofia says that she started Brownies because her friend Izzy goes.

They play games, sing songs, and have lots of fun.

What different interests do you and your friends have? Now, let's have a think together about what we've learned so far.

Friends believing in different things and celebrating in different ways makes friendships boring, exciting, or scary? Pause the video and have a think about which of those is the correct answer.

Really well done if you said exciting.

Yes, our friends being different and unique to us makes our friendships really exciting.

Now, we're gonna put what we've learned into practise.

We are going to play a game of the Friendship Bingo.

I want you to move around the classroom, find classmates who match in each interest or quality and put their name in the box.

When you've completed your card, I want you to shout Bingo.

So you're move around the room and find people who have those qualities or interests.

I'm sure that was a very exciting game of Friendship Bingo.

Now, your card might look something like this.

When you found somebody who matched that interest or quality, you will have put their name in the box.

Well done if you won that round of Friendship Bingo.

Now we're moving on to the second part of our lesson where we're asking the question, how can I appreciate and celebrate differences? To begin, we're gonna look at the story of the lion and the mouse.

One day, a powerful lion was sleeping when a tiny mouse accidentally ran over his paw.

The lion caught the mouse in his sharp claws.

"Aha, I have caught you." "Please set me free.

I promise I will help you one day." "Ha, you're too small to help me." Later, hunters trapped the lion in a strong net.

"Help! I'm trapped," said the lion.

"I will nibble the nets and set you free," said the mouse.

"What a clever mouse," said the lion.

The lion realised that his great strength and the mouse's clever skills work together to make them a powerful team, proving that friends don't have to be the same to help each other.

Now, let's have a think about what we saw in that story of the lion and the mouse.

I'm going to read you a statement and I want for you to tell me if it is true or false.

The lion and the mouse were best friends from the very beginning.

Is that true or false? Well done if you said false.

Let's have a look at the next statement.

The mouse was too small to help the lion escape.

Is that true or false? Well done if you said false.

Of course, the mouse helped free the lion from the net that he'd been trapped in.

Finally, the lion and the mouse were very different, but still became friends.

Is that true or false? Well done if you said true.

The lion and the mouse were proof that friends can be different, but they can still make a powerful team.

So the lion and the mouse were very different, but they became great friends and it's because differences can make friendships stronger.

By celebrating our friends' unique qualities, we can make them feel valued and loved.

Let's have a think.

How can we celebrate our friends' unique qualities? There are lots of ways to celebrate your friends' unique qualities.

You could tell them, "You are so good at drawing Aisha," as Alex is saying.

Or Aisha says to Alex, "I love how you always make me laugh, Alex." You could do something that they love.

So Sam says, "Laura loves playing with puzzles, so I joined in and I helped her solve one." Laura says that Sam usually plays with cars.

"I appreciate when she joins in with something that I enjoy doing." We can see both of them are making a big effort to try something that their friend loves and it's making them feel valued and appreciated.

You could make them a card or a certificate.

Lucas said, "I made a certificate on the computer for Izzy.

It says an award for always being kind." How lovely is that? Izzy said that she made a card for Lucas with best friend ever written on the front.

I'm sure Izzy and Lucas both feel very appreciated and valued as friends.

You can also work together as a team.

Jacob says here that he's tall, so he reaches the toys on the high shelf.

Jun says that he crawls under the table to find lost toys and they are really working together as a team.

I want you to have a think now about how you work together with your friends.

Now let's have a think about what we've learned.

What is missing from the list of ways we can celebrate our friends' unique qualities? We've said we can make them a card or certificate and we've said we can tell them what you like about them, but what is missing from this list? Pause the video and have a think about your answers.

Well done if you said that what was missing is working together as a team or doing something that they love.

Let's do another check.

Making a card, working together, or doing something they love will make a friend feel? Happy and sad, valued and loved, or angry and upset.

Have a think about which of those is the correct answer.

Well done if you said valued and loved.

Now let's put what we've learned into practise.

Appreciate and celebrate your friends' differences.

Choose one of the following ways.

You could either tell them, do something that they love, make them a card or a certificate, or work together as a team.

You're gonna pause the video here, and I want for you to do one of those things that celebrates your friends' differences.

The way that you celebrated your friends' differences may have looked like, telling them, "You are my best friend because you always share your toys with me." Doing something that they love.

"My friend loves reading, so we read our favourite books in the reading corner together." Working together as a team.

"My friend and I worked together to put all the colouring pens away.

Our teacher was happy with our teamwork." Or your certificate or card might have looked like this.

I'm sure if you did any of the things on that list, your friends are feeling very valued and appreciated right now.

Now let's end today's lesson with a summary of everything that we've learned today.

Friends can look different and have different interests.

Unique qualities make each friend special.

The story of the lion and the mouse tells us that appreciating and celebrating differences makes friendships stronger.

We can celebrate our friends' unique qualities in many different ways, like telling them or doing things that they enjoy.

And finally, by celebrating our friends' unique qualities, we can make them feel valued and loved.

And I would like to end today's lesson by saying a huge well done for all of the fantastic learning you've done in today's lesson, and I look forward to seeing you in another RHE lesson soon.