Free Teacher Resources

The My Friends and I book is a wonderful tool to help students connect, express themselves, and build lasting friendships in a fun and meaningful way. As a teacher, you can use this book to foster a sense of community in your classroom, encourage students to share about themselves, and celebrate the unique qualities that make each student special. Below, you’ll find engaging activities and creative ways to integrate this book into your lessons, making friendship the heart of your classroom.

 

Fill out your class's 'My Friends and I' book

Start by filling out your own My Friends and I book! Share it with your students so they can learn more about you—your favorite hobbies, what you like, and how you spend your free time. It’s a great way to connect with your class and make them feel comfortable.

 

Have your students fill out your class's 'My Friends and I' book

After completing the first two pages of your book, let each student take it home, fill it out, and bring it back to class. This way, everyone gets a chance to share about themselves!

Once all students have completed their pages, read their responses aloud to the class, or let each student share their answers themselves. This activity helps students quickly learn more about one another and builds a sense of community.

 

How well do you know your classmates?

Turn the My Friends and I book into a fun classroom game!

Pick one student’s answers from the book and read them aloud to the class.

Hand out the How Well Do You Know Your Classmates? questionnaire and have each student try to guess the correct answers.

Award 2 points for every correct answer. At the end, have students add up their points to see who remembers the most.

Tip: Adjust the points to teach different counting skills, like counting by twos, fives, or tens.

Download the How Well Do You Know Your Classmates Template.

 

Explain!

Go through your My Friends and I book, pick an interesting answer of one of your students, and ask the child to explain their answer in more detail. 

Examples:

Favorite Activity

Ask one of your students to explain or demonstrate their favorite activity to the rest of the class. Examples: playing an instrument, woodworking, chess, crochet/knitting, etc.

Favorite Food

Have the student bring a recipe or a photo of their favorite food. If possible, they could even bring a small sample! Ask them to describe how it tastes, looks, and feels using descriptive adjectives like “sweet,” “spicy,” or “round.”

Use these activities to teach your class about different tastes, shapes, and colors.

Discuss the recipe with your class, exploring the ingredients, where they come from, and how they grow.

Incorporate the recipe to introduce measurements like teaspoons, tablespoons, and cups.

 

Future Profession

Ask students to write about what they want to be when they grow up. Have them explain their dream job, why they chose it, and what it involves. Encourage them to bring props, pictures, or share stories.

 

Friend of the Day!

Celebrate each student by playing this fun classroom game once everyone has completed the My Friends and I book.

How to Play:

1. Secretly choose a student to be the 'Friend of the Day.'

2. Have all students stand up at their desks.

3. Use clues from the selected student’s pages to narrow down the group:

  • “If you’re not a girl, sit down.”
  • “If you don’t have brown hair, sit down.”
  • “If your favorite food isn’t pizza, sit down.

4. Continue until only one student remains standing—the 'Friend of the Day.'

5. Let the chosen student wear a special Friend of the Day Hat (template available below) and allow them to pick a prize from the class treasure box.

 Download the 'Friend of the Day Hat' template here: Friend of the Day Hat Template.

 

Tell us about…

Another fun way to get to know each other is our 'Tell us about…' printable.

Once all students have completed the My Friends and I book:

  • Write each student’s name on slips of paper and place them in a hat.
  • Have every student draw a name.
  • Allow each student to take the My Friends and I book home one at a time.
  • Using the information their assigned classmate provided in the book, have them fill in the blanks on the 'Tell Us About…' printable.
  • Each student reads their findings to the class.

Download the 'Tell us about…' template here: Tell Us About Template.

 

Who am I?

Put your students’ memory to the test with this guessing game!

  1. Once all students have completed the My Friends and I book, pick a student and read their answers aloud one by one.
  2. After each answer, let the class guess who it is.
  3. The first student to guess correctly wins a prize.

 

Need a My Friends and I book for your class? You can find it  here and on Amazon.

Know a teacher who would love to use the My Friends and I book in their classroom? Use the promo code TEACHER to save 20% on orders of 10 books or more!