From the Teacher's Desk:
Making Friends
An interesting “getting to know you” activity
is called Friendship Salad
 Students all participate in the preparation of making a large fruit salad for the entire class to share. Each child is responsible for providing a piece of fruit (cleaned and cut into pieces) to contribute to the communal salad bowl. Students each add their fruit and stir the bowl. When the fruit salad is complete, the teacher holds up some rotten bananas and asks the class if the rotten fruit should be added to the salad. Students discuss how the addition of the bad fruit would spoil the rest of the salad. The fruit salad is then compared to the classroom setting and students make the connection that bad relationships can spoil the climate of their entire classroom. After the discussion, it is decided that the rotten bananas will not be added and everyone enjoys some delicious fruit salad.
In order for students to thrive academically in the classroom setting, they need to know how to develop and sustain positive relationships with teachers and peers. Students who have established friendships, generally have higher self-esteem. They also tend to be more flexible and resilient and they are capable of problem-solving in a more effective and creative manner.
For some children, social skills come easily and they pass through the expected stages of social development with ease. However, for other children, social skills need to be taught.
An excellent on-line resource is a ready-to-use reproducible activity book: 101 Ways to Teach Children Social Skills by Laurence Shapiro. This book addresses important topics such as: How to Introduce Yourself, Personal Space, Verbal and Nonverbal Communication, Understanding Cliques, and Emotional Control.
For student support with bullying issues, this resource is very helpful:
This link provides anti-bullying activities and lesson plans that help students to understand and eliminate bullying behavior. Story cards, role-playing scenarios, group activities, and discussion topics are included. Students will gain valuable insight and learn many important social skills.
When students feel confident in their abilities to make positive social bonds and are able to deflect unwanted behaviours, they will become confident and able classroom learners.
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