making
Lesson 8:
Me to we
Lesson Summary
In this lesson, students explore the shift from ME to WE. They learn that everyone has strengths — qualities that can help make friendships stronger. Through creating puzzle pieces that represent their strengths, students see how individual contributions fit together to form a sturdy “Friendship Bridge.” Pair sharing and debrief questions help students appreciate differences, celebrate commonalities, and understand that friendships thrive when we bring our best.
Purpose
Purpose: To help students understand that friendships become stronger when we bring our strengths into them. Recognising and sharing personal strengths turns “ME” into “WE” building sturdy connections and friendships between people.
Process
Time Needed: 25 to 30 minutes
Intro (5-10 mins)
Teacher Talk: Me to We (5 mins)
Activity: Successful Me or Successful We? (10 mins)
Debrief and Reflection (5 mins)
Materials & downloads
For this lesson, you will need the following:
Please see the activity for resources needed.
Optional: Student workbook / notebook.
intro (5-10 mins)
Welcome back to Friendship Fitness! Today we’re taking the next step, moving from ME to WE. Friendships are like bridges. My side of the bridge is built with the blocks I bring, my strengths. Your side is built with the blocks you bring. When both sides are strong, the bridge between us is sturdy.
So today, we’re going to think about our strengths, the good things we bring, and how we can use them to help make our friendships stronger.
Question: What’s one strength or good thing you think you bring to a friendship?
Teacher Tip:
If no one answers straight away, offer examples: kindness, helping others, sharing, listening, making people laugh, taking turns, honesty, trust, etc.
Every person has their own strengths — things they are good at. Some people are great at drawing, some are good at explaining ideas, some are kind and supportive, and some are great at organising or leading others.
Friendships are not just about us though, they are about the other person too! Our friends also have their strengths, which could be different to our strengths, and that’s okay!
Ask students:
What is a strength someone else might bring to a friendship?
No two people or friends are the same. We all have different strengths and we need to remember to not compare ourselves and feel upset at the strengths our friend might have that we don’t. Instead, we can celebrate each other’s strengths, and when we do, we move from ‘me’ to ‘we’.
Teacher Talk: me to we (5 mins)
In this lesson, we are learning about moving from ‘me’ to ‘we’ in our friendships.
When we are thinking about ‘Me’, it means we are only thinking about ourselves.
When we start thinking about ‘We’, it means we are thinking about ourselves and others, such as our friends, classmates and family members.
Give students some examples of ‘Me’ and ‘We’ behaviours and then ask students to share some of their own ideas.
Teacher tip: When discussing me/we actions and behaviours, remind students that moving to ‘we’ is a new skill they are learning, instead of something they are doing wrong.
Examples:
Me:
I only think about what I want to do
I don’t listen to others
I only want to play my game
I try to be first in line all the time
We:
I think about how other people are feeling and what they like to do
I listen to other people’s ideas
I have a go at playing someone else’s game
I let other people play with me
Debrief:
We will find it tricky to make new friends when we think about only ‘me’. We have an easier time making friends when we think about others and move from ‘me’ to ‘we’. When we include others, listen, and share, we show others that we are thinking of them and not just of us.
Activity: Successful Me or successful we? (10 mins)
Divide students into small teams (3–5 per group).
Explain to students that they will each have a simple task to complete. (suggestions: build a paper tower, complete a puzzle, stack a set of cups, draw a picture).
Round 1:
Explain that for the first round, the students are to think about themselves. They are not allowed to talk to or help anyone in their group and they are not allowed to share ideas.
Give students 1-2 minutes to complete their task.
Quick Debrief:
Ask students how they felt when they completed the first round:
Was that easy or hard?
Did you feel competitive?
How did you feel when you were not allowed to talk to your group?
Round 2:
For the second round, explain that the students now must think about their group when completing the task. They need to talk to and help their team and encourage them to share ideas.
Give students 1-2 minutes to complete their task.
Debrief:
Ask students to reflect on their experiences of Round 2.
What strengths did you bring to your team?
What were some strengths other people in your team?
What was different in Round 2?
How did you feel when you could help everyone in your team?
Which round did you enjoy more?
Activity Debrief:
This activity helps us to understand that whilst we can do things by ourselves, it is easier and a lot more fun to work together with others. When we moved from ‘me’ to ‘we’, we enjoyed helping others and receiving help from our team. When we stay thinking about ‘me’, we only use our strengths. But when we move to ‘we’, we get to use everyone’s strengths together. This makes our team stronger and together, we achieve more and have lots more fun!
Sometimes, we might notice that someone else is really good at something we find tricky. That can make us feel a bit jealous — and that’s a normal feeling we might have. What we need to remember is that the strengths our friends share with us help us too! Instead of comparing or feeling upset, we can choose to appreciate the strengths they have and learn from them.
Ask the students to share their answers to this question:
When else at school can we think of ‘we’ instead of just ‘me’?
Lesson Debrief
So let’s bring this all together. Every one of us has strengths. Some are easy to see, like being sporty or funny. Others are quieter, like being a good listener or noticing when someone needs help. But every strength matters.
Strengths aren’t just for us. They’re meant to be shared. A strength you bring can help a friend, your class, and even your family.
And when ME becomes WE, our strengths join together like blocks in a bridge. If I bring kindness and you bring fairness, together our bridge is even stronger.
So remember this — when you bring your strengths and I bring mine, we don’t just make ourselves better, we make our friendships sturdier and stronger.
