Making and keeping friends can be a big challenge for students, and this is especially true with all of the upheaval in our schools as a result of COVID-19.
Many students left their classrooms in the spring without any notice and have yet to in-return to person learning. These students are missing out on socializing with their classmates and may feel sad and isolated.
In this lesson, you will help your students complete a pen pal printable they can share with someone they are missing or with a new friend. This will help them learn how to develop and maintain friendships and feel connected even when they cannot see eachother in person.
You can use this as a one-time activity, or it can be the start of a longer term back-and-form between students.
Recommended Grade Level: Elementary and Middle
SEL Skill(s): Communication, Social Initiation
Duration: 45 minutes
Materials:
- Pen Pals printable
- Link to a list of Knock Knock jokes
Directions for Making and Keeping Friends Worksheet
Provide a worksheet to each of your students. You can send (or add to Google Classroom) the typable PDF to students working remotely or provide a printed copy.
IMPORTANT: You will want to make sure everyone is included, so every student creates a worksheet AND every student is the receiver of a completed worksheet. You may need to pair your students up to get coverage and/or, you can have students create worksheets to send to multiple people,
The worksheet has 5 areas for the students to complete:
- A statement: “The think I like the most about you is …”
- A would you rather question: “Would you rather eat ice cream or candy for an entire year?”
- A free-form message area that is formatted to look at a text message on a phone
- An area for a Knock Knock joke
- A prompt: “Next time I see you I would like to …”
Specifically for #4, the section for the Knock Knock joke, we have started the joke with the two standard phrases “Knock Knock” and “Who’s there?” And there are 3 text areas for them to add an actual joke. For example they might say:
“Boo”
“Boo who”
“Awww, don’t cry”
Or,
“Tank”
“Tank who?”
“You’re welcome”
If you need ideas for additional Knock Knock jokes, here is a list of 101 from Parade Magazine.
After your students complete their pen pal worksheet, please help faciliate the exchange.
Additional Resources
Related Lessons and Programs