After a long week of learning, who can blame teachers and students for thinking about the upcoming weekend on Friday? However, Friday is still an important part of the learning week. Why not use Fridays to help students reflect on the work they accomplished during the week? One of the most important tools educators can give their students is the ability to reflect on their learning to discover positives and negatives. That’s where “Friendly Fridays” come in.
Friendly Friday can focus on spreading positive concepts of kindness, friendship, social awareness, and self-reflection. Students might create art projects or engage in fun writing prompts that require them to mine the positive traits of themselves or even other students in the class.
A Friendly Friday activity can take many forms, depending on the teacher and the grade level of your students. You might have students write a note to someone telling them what they appreciate about that person. Maybe write a poem, or create a digital slideshow on positive character traits. The main objective is to learn to find and recognize positive traits in one’s self and others.
Friendly Fridays help foster a caring school community, where students feel comfortable to take risks in their learning. When students feel confident about themselves, and comfortable around their peers, they are in the best type of environment for learning. It’s worth the time away from the traditional curriculum to encourage students to pat each other on the back for a job well done.
How are you implementing Friendly Fridays in your classroom?