Unit Plan 32 (Grade 5 Counselor): Friendship, Empathy, and Communication Review

Focus: Review empathy, inclusion, cooperation, respectful disagreement, assertive communication, and friendship repair. Students work through realistic upper-elementary scenarios involving changing friendships, group work, gossip, exclusion, and peer pressure. The counselor helps students identify the feeling, the problem, the best communication skill, and when adult support may be needed.

Grade Level: 5

Subject Area: School Counseling (Friendship Skills • Empathy • Respectful Communication)

Total Unit Duration: 1–2 weeks, 30 minutes per session

I. Introduction

This Grade 5 counseling lesson reviews important friendship and communication skills students have practiced throughout the year. As students prepare for middle school, friendships may change, peer pressure may increase, and group work may become more complex. Students need mature tools for listening, including others, disagreeing respectfully, setting boundaries, repairing harm, and knowing when to ask for help.

Students analyze realistic upper-elementary scenarios involving changing friendships, group work, gossip, exclusion, hurt feelings, peer pressure, and disagreement. The counselor helps students identify the feeling, the problem, the communication skill that fits, and whether adult support may be needed. The goal is for students to strengthen friendship skills that build trust, respect, belonging, and cooperation.

Essential Questions

• How can students show empathy and respect during friendship challenges?
• What communication skills help students handle disagreement, exclusion, gossip, or peer pressure?
• How can cooperation and leadership help groups work more fairly?
• When should students use friendship skills, and when should they get adult support?

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:

1. Identify how others may feel in situations involving changing friendships, exclusion, gossip, peer pressure, or group conflict.
2. Choose communication skills that fit different friendship situations, such as active listening, assertive communication, respectful disagreement, inclusion, repair, or adult help.
3. Explain how cooperation, shared responsibility, listening, and encouragement help groups succeed.
4. Practice respectful responses for peer conflict, group work problems, friendship changes, and disagreement.
5. Determine when a situation can be handled with communication skills and when adult support is needed.
6. (Optional Session) Complete a friendship and communication review challenge using realistic Grade 5 scenarios.

Standards Alignment — Grade 5 (ASCA-based Custom)

• C:S3.5a — Show Empathy and Respect for Others
  • Recognize how others may feel and respond with kindness, respect, care, and maturity.
  • Example: A student notices that a classmate is embarrassed after a mistake and responds with encouragement instead of laughter.
• C:S3.5b — Cooperate, Lead, and Contribute in Groups
  • Work cooperatively by sharing responsibilities, listening to ideas, accepting roles, encouraging others, and helping the group succeed.
  • Example: A student helps a group divide work fairly so that one person is not doing everything.
• C:S3.5c — Communicate Respectfully with Peers and Adults
  • Use respectful language, active listening, assertive communication, and connected responses during conversations, disagreements, group work, and peer conflict.
  • Example: A student says, “I understand your idea, but I think we should include everyone before we decide.”

Success Criteria — Student Language

• I can recognize how someone might feel during friendship or group problems.
• I can choose respectful words for disagreement, inclusion, boundaries, or repair.
• I can explain how cooperation helps groups work more fairly.
• I can use active listening and assertive communication during peer situations.
• I can identify when a friendship or peer problem needs adult support.