Our Unit

How do you know who you friends are? 

Concepts:                                                Friendship:  Values and Interdependence

Overarching Essential Question:              How do you know who your friends are?

Focused Essential Questions:                  What is a friend? 

                                         What is the difference between an acquaintance and a friend? 

    Are having friends necessary?

    Are friends forever?

    What do you value in a friend?

Understandings:                               People are friends because they either help each

Other, have fun together or have the same values.           

Being a friend is an interdependent relationship.

There are degrees of friendship, and many

Friendships change over time as people change.

A friend who shares your values has a better

Chance of remaining your friend over time.

Having friends is important for mental health.

Introduction of unit:

• Hook:  Ask students to write down the name of a good friend/best friend.  Then have them describe the person and why they are friends.
• Volunteer group share, while starting a class chart:  Friends:  What makes one?
• Introduce the overarching EQ
• Share personal friend story
• Ask them for questions they have about friendship (the focused EQ)
• Homework:  Are they friends? Ditto (agree/disagree)

 First lesson:

• Do Now:  Write the names of up to 5 friends in your notebook.

• Share homework answers.
• Tell students we are going to explore “What is a friend?”
• Mini-lesson on Aristotle’s definition of a friend (Nicomachean Ethics) See Aristotle section of this site.
• Ask students to return to list of 5 friends and categorize them as to type (U=usefulness, P=pleasure V=moral goodness ala Aristotle)(briefwrite to answer question and reaction)
• Create a class graph of the types of friendships kids have.
• Homework:  Do the same activity for an adult, so we can graph the results and compare kid and adult friendships.
• Ask for prediction they have regarding the adult responses and differences that might occur.

 Day Three:

• Collect data from homework re: adult friendships and add to the graph (bar graph to show the differences)
• In notebook, ask students to respond to what they think the data suggests OR their general reaction to the data.
• Whole group:  share their reactions, questions, and comments.

• Ask small group question:  Do you agree with Aristotle’s definition or not?  What issues or questions do you have?  Is there anything about friendship that he doesn’t address?
• Report out to whole class, making a list of questions not addressed by Aristotle.
• Homework:  Write the Definition of a Friend

  Day Four:

• Ask for a “working definition” of a friend from the homework.  Use one student response as the bones, and add to it from others.
• Students write the working definition on the What is a Friend split page.
• Talk about using what something ISN’T to define something and give an example:  Is a rock a friend?
• Small group focus question:  What ISN’T a friend.
• Report out to class and complete that section of the split page.
• Ask, do we need to revise our definition?  After discussion, put appropriate definition on handout.
• Homework:  What is an acquaintance then?

  Day Five:

• Briefly share the responses to the bottom of the homework. Collect.
• Remind the class that someone asked “Should race or religion affect friendship?” and “Can a friend betray you?” and that today we will have a Socratic seminar addressing those issues.
• Hand out and read “Seventh Grade” by Lynda Barry.
• Ask:  Are Lynda (narrator) and Bona friends?  If so, what kind?
• Conduct Socratic seminar…asking a follow-up question of:  Which affects friendship more, race or peer pressure?
• Homework:  Socratic Seminar reflection.

  Day Six:

• Do now:  In notebook, have students return to their “best friend” from day one and tell a little about the “history” of the friendship.  When did they meet?  How did they become friends?  How long have they been friends?
• Small group share
• Teacher will write generalities overheard on the board.
• Explain that today we will explore:  What is the difference between an acquaintance and a friend (or at what point does a friend become a friend?)
• Small group task:  Using the “friendship scenarios” they are to classify the relationships on a continuum from acquaintance to friend, then color code where the break is from acquaintance to friend along the continuum.
• Small groups will share their findings
• Whole class will discuss similarities and differences, with special regard to why they all didn’t come up with the same continuum.
• Homework:  In notebook, respond to:  what is the difference between an acquaintance and a friend?

  Day Seven:

• Do now:  In notebook, respond to this:  “Where did your concept of friend come from?”
• Whole class share.
• Explain that today we will explore how the media may or may not affect our concept of friendship.
• Show video clip #1 (from Shrek)
• Students will complete a split page:  depicted concept of friend/my thinking
• Students will see video clip # 2 (from another appropriate movie such as Winnie the Pooh)
• Complete split page, and
• Students will see video clip #3 (from another appropriate movie such as Bambi)
• Complete split page.
• Small group focus question:  What is the media’s message about friends?  How do you think it affects your perception of a friend?
• Whole group share.
• Homework:  Media example of Friendship handout

  Day Eight:

• Students will complete a mini-assessment to show their thinking about friendship to this point.   If you are interested in the mini-assessment for our unit, contact my teacher, Mrs. Simon at simons@prsd.lhric.org.

  Day Nine:

• In notebook, write if you think your current best friend and you will be friends forever?  Why or why not?
• Whole group share and discussion.
• Introduce the next essential question:  Are friends forever?
• Small group focus question:  What factors do you think lead to “changing” friendships?
• Small groups report out—make a list.
• Have individuals place the factors on a continuum from strongest affect to least affect and give reasons. 
• Homework:  Interview a parent/adult about a friendship that HAS changed as to why and write a brief description. (In notebook)

  Day Ten:

• Small group share homework
• Report out to whole class.
• Select one example to focus on re: how the factors could have been different to “keep the friendship alive.”
• Allow students to work in small groups by “factor” and come up with other possible solutions given the factor.

  Day Eleven:

• Mini-assessment:  Chose one of the letters (situational) and write an “advice column” style response.   Similar to our advice column on this site.
• Students who chose like letters share what they wrote with each other, discussing similarities and differences in their solutions.

  Day Twelve:

• In notebook, have students respond to “How would your life be different if you didn’t have friends?”
• Small group share, teacher writes general comments on the board.
• Introduce the next essential question: Is having friends necessary?
• Look at “Hello, My Name is Scrambled Eggs.” Tuan and Harvey.  Was it necessary for Tuan to have a friend in America?  Complete a cause and effect “what if” in small group.
• Report out.

  Day Thirteen:

• Do now:  Respond to:  Does the hermit need friends?  Why or why not?  Why might he not want them?
• Whole class share.
• View select scenes from Shrek.
• Students complete before and after sheet and evaluate if Shrek is better off before or after the movie.

  Day 14:         What do you value in a friend?  Students will write want ads for a friend and they will be distributed anonymously (with students assigned a number)

  Day 15:     Visit by school psychologist

  Days 16-? Performance task:  Create a web site about what you learned about friendship and what is valuable to share with others.