minding
lesson 16:
seasons of a friendship: autumn
Lesson Summary
As students experience a range of different friendships, they may notice that some change and start to feel different. This lesson helps students to understand that this change is normal and is part of another season friendships can experience: Autumn. In autumn friendships, things may start to change. Friends might drift apart, have disagreements, or spend time with others. Students will explore how to respond with honesty, kindness, curiosity, and effort to keep friendships healthy or let them change respectfully. Students will learn how to respond to these changes and different feelings they may be experiencing in a kind and respectful way.
Purpose
Purpose: This lesson supports students in navigating changing friendships. By being able to name the emotions they are feeling, students can better understand how to respond in a calm and respectful way.
Process
Time Needed: 25-30 minutes.
Activity: Switch (5 mins)
Intro: (2 mins)
Activity: How can I respond? (10-15 mins)
Debrief and Reflection (5 mins)
Materials & downloads
For this lesson, you will need the following:
Optional: Student workbook/notebook
Activity: switch (5 mins)
How it works:
Students stand to spread out around the room.
When the activity begins, the students are to sensibly walk around the classroom (or activity space).
Read out different scenarios and explain that if a student agrees with the statement you have just read, they have to change the direction they are walking in.
Examples:
Switch if you like pizza
Switch if you have a pet
Switch if you like to play new games
Switch if you’ve ever tried a new food
Switch if you’ve ever made a new friend
Switch if you’ve ever played a different game than usual
Switch if you’ve had a friendship change
Switch if you like trying new things
Debrief:
Great job! Did you notice that when I said ‘Switch if…’, different people moved at different times? Some of you moved a lot, some only a little. That’s because we all have different experiences, interests, likes and dislikes.
This shows us something really important: people change, and that’s completely normal. What we like, who we spend time with, and how we feel can all change over time. Our friendships are the same! Sometimes you might not play the same games you used to, or you might start spending time with different people as you continue to meet new people and make new friends. That doesn’t mean the friendship you have is bad, or that someone has done something wrong, it just means the friendship is in a different season. In this lesson, we are going to explore what that season is!
intro (2 mins)
So far we have learned two seasons of a friendship: Spring (making new friends) and Summer (maintaining great friendships). Today, we are looking at another season we can experience in our friendships: Autumn. Just like the leaves of a tree turn orange as we move into autumn, a friendship can also experience autumn when something starts to change. This change might be not playing together as much, disagreeing more, or one of you starts spending time with different people. Experiencing autumn in our friendship is natural and doesn’t mean someone has done something wrong.
Activity: How can I respond? (10-15 mins)
Autumn friendships are about noticing change and choosing how we respond. We can’t always control what happens, but we can control how we act.
Teacher Instructions:
Divide students into small groups (3-4 students depending on class size).
Give each group 1–2 autumn friendship scenarios (read aloud or written).
“Your friend doesn’t want to play the same game anymore.”
“Your friend sits with different people at lunch.”
“You and your friend keep arguing.”
Ask the groups to write or draw their answers to the following questions:
What might be happening?
How might this situation make you feel?
What is a kind and respectful response?
Possible responses to guide students:
Talk honestly and calmly - not being angry or yelling at the person, even if we feel upset or frustrated
Stay curious and ask questions to understand the other person, instead of assuming or deciding for ourselves.
Give the other person space - we need to respect other people’s boundaries
Be kind to yourself and others - we might suddenly think we have done something wrong or that we
Encourage students to share their ideas with the class.
“ If my friendship changes, I can be kind and…”
“One feeling I might have in an autumn friendship is…”
Debrief:
Great work! In this activity, we have learned that we can experience different feelings when a friendship changes and the positive, kind and respectful ways we can respond. We noticed that feelings like sadness, confusion, frustration, loneliness, worry, and curiosity are all normal when friendships go through changes. By noticing how we feel and deciding to respond in a way that is calm and kind, we take care of ourselves and our friendships. All feelings are okay, and the way we respond can make our friendships stronger, even during times of change.
Lesson Debrief:
This lesson has helped us to understand that autumn is another season our friendships may experience. Just like spring and summer, autumn is a time to stay curious, kind, and thoughtful, so our friendships can continue to grow. We can experience feelings of sadness, confusion and loneliness when we notice our friendships changing and we can choose to respond in ways that show respect and kindness to the other person.
