The goals of this module are

• to learn to identify qualities of a good friend and assess whether they are a good friend,
• to recognize different kinds of friendship and
• to list at least three ways to maintain a friendship.

How it’s done

Friendship Circles

1. Ask learners to describe what a friend is. (Answers may include: a person who you have a good relationship with, not a relative, share something in common). Have the group list the characteristics of a good friend and discuss.
2. Explain that not all friends are “best friends” or even very close friends. In fact, friends can range from very close to not-so-close. Ask learners if they can think of examples of different kinds of friends they have in their lives.
3. Display the large illustration of circles of friends (Handout). Explain that this represents circles of friendships, with closest friends in the circle closest to the centre, casual friends in the next circle and people they know in the outside circle.
4. Ask learners to copy the circles into their own notebooks and make their own friendship circles.
5. Read the following directions out loud to the group:
   • Write your name in the centre circle.
   • Write name(s) of your closest friend or friends in the innermost circle.
   • Write the names of casual friends – friends you know well enough to talk to, but not as well as your closest friends – in the middle circle.
   • Write the names of people you speak to sometimes, but do not consider your friends – in the outer circle.
6. Allow learners a few minutes to complete their circles.
7. Ask questions:
   • What did you learn about your own friendships from this activity?
   • What are the ages of your closest friends? Casual friends? People you know?
   • In which circles did you place friends of the same sex? Opposite sex? Why?

If you want to keep a friend, it helps to…:

• Ask the learners to complete the sentence, either in their notebooks or aloud.
• Let several learners share what they wrote.