On the afternoon of September 23rd, the sixth graders participated in a special youth development class about friendship.

Among the students who have just graduated from elementary school and entered sixth grade, some are from the Puxi campus, some are from the Pudong campus, and some are new studentsentirely. Since the beginning of the school year, the students have met many newpeopleand made many new friends.With all of these changing relationships, it’s important for us to ask the question:what is friendship? How shouldwemake friends in a new environment, and howdo we bestcommunicate withthem in the healthiest way? Thiswasthe subject of ouryouth developmentlesson.

Thelessonbegan with an interesting videothat asked, “What materials can be used to make a pot of ‘friendship soup?’”It turns out that some of the main ingredients includekindness, trust, integrity, andfun,as well asconflict resolutionandcommunication.

The majority of the class focused on teaching students how to effectivelycommunicate with friends andresolve disagreements in a healthy way. Thestudents learned fourmain communication stylesinthisclass. The firsttypewas passive communication,oragreeing to something but not consideringone’sown feelings,which can makethepersonfeel uncomfortableand even resentful.The second isaggressive communication, or angrilyopposingsomeone and loudly voicing one’s frustration.The thirdtypeis passive-aggressivecommunication, whichinvolves agreeing on the surface but adding a sly or subtle insult to show that you are not content with the arrangement. Often,oneexpressesdissatisfactionand annoyancewithsilence, whispering, or eye-rolling.The lasttypeis the bestcommunication style, known asassertivecommunication. This is where you stand up for yourselfwhile stilllistening toothers so that you can find amutually beneficialsolution.After taking notes about the different styles,studentsparticipated in a gallery walk activity where theydiscussed and analyzed which of theaforementionedcommunication methodswas present in each scenario.

During this time, some classmates made postersto showcase their own “friendship soup” recipe. Everyone tried their best to add therelevantingredients thatwould make the best “friendship soup.”Many groups included ingredients such asunderstandingandcommunicationto form a pot of healthy andnutritioussoup.

Through watching videos, taking notes, reading case studies, participating in discussions, and creating posters, the students learned that it’s important to find healthy ways to communicate with others, especially during conflicts. This is also consistent with the “Empathy” of LEAD, the core value of middle school. They also learned how to be a good friend to one other by reflecting on what qualities are most important to them in friendships. We hope that in the days to come, all sixth grade students can make lasting friendships and develop healthy relationships using the information they learned in this lesson!

(Written by 6(9) Mya Supervised by Hannah Bush Pictures by G6 Teachers Edited by Huang Shiyuan, Brie Polette)