Help students build positive friendships, develop communication skills and navigate everyday social situations with this engaging, neuroaffirming friendship skills and social-emotional learning (SEL) resource.
Friendship Skills: Building Connections, Joining In and Navigating Friendships is a ready-to-teach, 10-mission social skills program designed for Grades 3–6. It provides structured opportunities for students to explore conversations, inclusion, perspective-taking, friendship problems, repairing relationships and collaborative problem-solving.
Unlike social skills activities that focus on rigid social rules, this resource recognises that there is no single "right" way to communicate, connect or build friendships.
Each mission includes a colourful teacher lesson guide and black-and-white student activities. Two printable student formats are included, allowing teachers to select the worksheets that best suit their students and classroom needs.
Perfect for whole-class SEL lessons, friendship groups, learning support, school counselling and small-group social skills intervention.
WHAT'S INCLUDED
✔ 10 structured friendship skills lessons
✔ Colourful teacher lesson guides with learning intentions and success criteria
✔ Step-by-step teaching instructions, discussion prompts and differentiation suggestions
✔ Illustrated black-and-white student activity worksheets
✔ Simplified, low-ink printable student workbook
✔ Real-life friendship scenarios and social problem-solving activities
✔ Writing, drawing, discussion and reflection opportunities
✔ Activities suitable for whole-class, small-group and individual learning
TWO PRINTABLE STUDENT FORMATS
Option 1: Illustrated Student Activity Pages
Black-and-white worksheets featuring friendship characters, illustrated scenarios and structured activities. These pages support explicit teaching, guided discussion and practical skill development.
Option 2: Simplified Print-Ready Student Workbook
Clean, black-and-white worksheets with fewer illustrations, clear layouts and more space for student responses.
The workbook can be printed as individual activities or combined into a complete 10-mission student workbook.
THE 10 FRIENDSHIP SKILLS MISSIONS
Meet the Friendship Crew – Explore what helps make friendships positive and supportive.
Starting Conversations – Practise conversation starters, listening and ways to keep conversations going.
Including Others – Explore ways to include others while respecting personal choices and boundaries.
Understanding Feelings and Perspectives – Consider different perspectives without assuming what another person is thinking or feeling.
Being a Supportive Friend – Identify practical ways to show kindness, care and respect in friendships.
Joining In and Inclusive Friendships – Explore different ways to join activities while recognising that joining in is always a choice.
Solving Friendship Problems – Use the Friendship Fix-It process to explore choices and work through everyday friendship challenges.
Repairing Friendships and Making Amends – Explore apologies, taking responsibility and ways to repair relationships after something has gone wrong.
Collaborative Problem-Solving – Practise listening, sharing ideas, considering different perspectives and finding respectful solutions.
Friendship Challenge – Apply friendship skills to a real-life situation and reflect on the experience.
A NEUROAFFIRMING APPROACH TO SOCIAL SKILLS
This resource recognises that children communicate, connect and experience friendships in different ways.
Rather than teaching students to follow rigid social expectations, these friendship activities encourage flexible thinking, personal choice, understanding and respect.
Students explore the understanding that:
People may communicate and connect in different ways.
Eye contact is not required for positive communication.
Joining an activity is always a choice.
People have different interests, comfort levels and boundaries.
We cannot always know what another person is thinking or feeling.
Friendship problems may have more than one possible solution.
Repairing a friendship does not mean someone must immediately be ready to reconnect.
These activities support respectful communication and authentic connection without expecting every student to socialise in the same way.
SKILLS STUDENTS WILL DEVELOP
Friendship and relationship-building skills
Communication and conversation skills
Joining in and including others
Empathy and perspective-taking
Flexible thinking
Respecting personal boundaries
Social problem-solving
Managing friendship disagreements
Repairing friendships and making amends
Collaborative problem-solving
Confidence and belonging
PERFECT FOR
✔ Social Skills Groups
✔ Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Lessons
✔ Friendship Groups and Friendship Week
✔ Upper Elementary and Primary Classrooms
✔ Learning Support and Special Education
✔ School Counselling and Wellbeing Programs
✔ Small-Group Social Skills Intervention
✔ Neurodivergent Learners
✔ Individual Friendship Skills Support
✔ Classroom Discussions and Morning Meetings
WHY YOU WILL LOVE THIS RESOURCE
Ready to teach: Ten structured lessons with teacher guidance, learning intentions, discussion prompts and student activities.
Flexible and differentiated: Choose between illustrated student worksheets and a simplified printable workbook.
Low-prep and print-friendly: All student worksheets are black and white, making classroom printing and photocopying easy.
Real-life application: Practical friendship scenarios help students explore situations they may encounter at school and beyond.
Neuroaffirming and inclusive: Encourages different communication styles, personal boundaries, choice and flexible thinking.
Use it your way: Teach all 10 missions as a complete friendship skills program or select individual lessons to address particular learning needs.
PRINT, TEACH AND PRACTISE
No complicated preparation required.
Choose a mission, use the teacher lesson guide to introduce and explicitly teach the skill, then select the student worksheet format that best suits your learners.
Students can discuss, write, draw, reflect and practise their friendship skills in meaningful ways.
