Activity
Building Relationships
The text and pictures for this activity are taken from Steve Korpa’s booklet, "Building Relationships that Help Us Learn and Grow Together"” available from the Heartwood Shop.
Objective:
Students understand the basics of forming relationships and explore the need for rules and boundaries in classroom relationships.
Level: Elementary
Activity: As a class, read and discuss the text and color the picture. (2 sessions)
Level: Intermediate
Activity: Materials are for two sessions. With partners or in small groups, read and discuss the text and color the picture. Share your responses with the rest of the class.
IF YOU WANT A FRIEND, BE A FRIEND
All relationships start the same way. One person makes an INVITATION, a first move, sort of a friendship test to see if the other person is willing to be friendly in return. The other person’s RESPONSE is a signal back that says YES, NO, or MAYBE. How the invitation is extended has a lot to do with how it is received and then returned.
Long-term relationships depend on knowing this simple ancient truth, then practicing it again and again with the people you care about and the new people you meet. Sometimes you are the person who makes the INVITATION, and sometimes you are the person who RESPONDS. Either way, when it comes to BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS, WE ARE CREATING COMMON GROUND
BOUNDARIES
When we gather together in a classroom, we can experience the same process involved in organizing a baseball or football game—the concept is the same.
If we think of the classroom as an empty field on which we will do the work of learning together, we can easily see the need to discuss and agree on the boundaries and rules before we begin. With the social skill “BE THE FRIEND YOU’D LIKE TO HAVE” in mind, discuss the following ideas with your study group.
- What boundaries and rules do you need to organize a game of tag football?
- How should we agree to treat each other when we are together in a class?
- What should we agree not to do when we are working together?
- What behaviors do you most admire in your friends and the older people you know?
