Friendship and Play with Starfish

If you're heading back to school after a break, you may like to remind students of some valuable social skills needed for school - like finding someone to play with at recess and lunch break. It seems easy for us, but for our sweet little ones in their first year of school - this can be particularly daunting and new.

We have a free animated rhyming text Starfish Day that has an underlying message helping students with a simple structure for finding a friend to play with. Play this story for your students and encourage them to read with the text.

Break down the steps (just a suggestion, of course you can make up your own for your particular school context) that will help students find a friend and play successfully.

Another stimulus text to share could be Starfish Where Are You? by Barroux. This book has virtually no text, but is image-rich and perfect for class discussion and engagement. Talk to students about how the playground/yard can feel like the pictures in this text sometimes - so many people, movement and we can feel lost in the crowd. Finding our friend in the crowd can also be hard. Here you can help students learn patterns to make sure they can find their friend after eating lunch and heading on to play.

Brainstorm with students a list of things they can do at recess and lunch. Use the time to review school rules. After a break, this is particularly important as some students will need support to remember school routines.

Expect students to have a little chat about what they will do today - this reminder will generate excitement for new and familiar play. Talk about how important it is for everyone in the class to have a sense of belonging and to include each other in play.

Create a class display to record all the play ideas! Each child can make a starfish and record one idea from the list you have modelled on the board. Once the display is made, point to the words in the sentence and read them together. Do this regularly over the coming days to reinforce reading skills.

Re-read all the play ideas regularly to remind students that they have choices. When students are able to make choices they build independence and resilience.