The School of Play Curriculum
Primary School Grade 3 & 4
Respectful Relationships Outcomes – Grades 3 & 4
Communication and Empathy
Students in Grades 3 and 4 should be able to:
- Active listening: Listen carefully to others, ask questions, and show understanding through body language and responses.
- Respectful expression: Communicate their own feelings, needs, and ideas calmly, clearly, and respectfully.
- Understanding viewpoints: Consider other people's perspectives, recognise different feelings, and respond with empathy.
Cooperation and Social Skills
Students in Grades 3 and 4 should be able to:
- Teamwork: Cooperate and collaborate positively in groups, showing fairness whether they win or lose.
- Sharing and fairness: Share space, materials, and opportunities in a kind and considerate way.
- Showing appreciation: Notice and acknowledge others' positive actions, offering encouragement and gratitude.
Safety and Acceptance
Students in Grades 3 and 4 should be able to:
- Feeling safe: Understand that everyone has the right to feel safe, respected, and cared for in all interactions.
- Acceptance: Accept and respect others even when mistakes happen, recognising that everyone is learning.
- Equality: Understand that all people are equal and deserve to be treated with fairness and value.
Weekly Lessons
Roll & Respond: Friendship Fixers
Roll & Respond: Friendship Fixers turns everyday friendship dilemmas into a playful learning experience that helps students understand emotions, communication, and respectful problem-solving. Using a dice to select a scenario randomly, students explore common challenges such as feeling left out, disagreements, or hurt feelings. Working in pairs or small groups, they use their creativity to draw comic-style solutions, imagining calm conversations, thoughtful choices, and caring responses. By approaching conflict through story, students learn that challenges are normal, and that listening, kindness, and empathy can turn tricky moments into opportunities for growth.
The activity invites students to think deeply, talk openly, and support each other as they practise resolving problems in positive ways. Whether they are discussing how to apologise, finding compromises, or deciding when to ask for help, students build confidence in navigating real-life social situations. With no winners or points, the focus stays on learning how to repair friendships and communicate respectfully. Friendship Fixers leaves students feeling empowered to handle conflict with courage and care, reinforcing that strong friendships are built through understanding, patience, and thoughtful actions.
Respectful Relationships
Communication and Empathy
Roll & Respond: Friendship Fixers supports students to:
- Recognise emotions, both their own and others’, within friendship dilemmas, strengthening empathy and emotional awareness.
- Practise using kind, calm, and respectful language to repair friendship challenges.
- Listen to peers and consider different perspectives as they discuss and role-play solutions.
Cooperation and Social Skills
This activity helps students to:
- Work with partners or small groups to identify problems and brainstorm respectful, fair solutions.
- Practise compromise, sharing ideas, and supporting each other when navigating tricky social moments.
- Strengthen teamwork as they create comic strips or role-play scenarios that model positive friendship behaviours.
Safety and Help-Seeking
Roll & Respond: Friendship Fixers encourages students to:
- Identify when a problem needs adult help and who they can safely talk to.
- Understand that seeking support from a trusted peer or adult is a brave and healthy choice.
- Build confidence in using safe, respectful actions to manage conflict, protect feelings, and keep friendships positive.
Emotion Charades Showdown
Emotion Charades Showdown turns big feelings into a playful learning experience where students explore emotions through movement, expression, and storytelling. As they act out emotions like frustration, pride, embarrassment, or excitement, classmates practise recognising these feelings using body language, facial cues, and context. Each round opens the door for meaningful conversations about when these emotions might appear in real life and how they affect the way we interact with others. Through guessing, reflecting, and discussing, students build a stronger emotional vocabulary and learn that everyone experiences big feelings, and that it’s okay to talk about them.
The game also helps students create their own toolkit of healthy coping strategies by sharing examples, naming helpful responses, and listening to peers’ stories. Whether they talk about deep breaths, asking for help, taking a break, or using positive self-talk, students learn practical ways to manage emotions respectfully and safely. The focus isn’t on points or competition, but on empathy, understanding, and connection. Emotion Charades Showdown offers a joyful, supportive way for students to strengthen their emotional skills, celebrate each other’s insights, and build healthier, more respectful relationships.
Respectful Relationships
Communication and Empathy
Emotion Charades Showdown supports students to:
- Recognise a wide range of emotions through facial expressions, gestures, and body language, improving their emotional awareness.
- Understand how feelings influence behaviour and interactions, helping them respond with empathy and sensitivity.
- Share personal experiences in a safe environment, practising respectful listening and learning from peers’ emotional stories.
Cooperation and Social Skills
This activity helps students to:
- Work together as a team to guess emotions and discuss helpful coping responses, strengthening group collaboration.
- Use respectful turn-taking, encouragement, and positive communication during gameplay.
- Build social confidence as they act out emotions, support teammates, and share reflective stories that build class connection.
Safety and Emotional Regulation
Emotion Charades Showdown encourages students to:
- Develop healthy strategies for managing strong feelings such as frustration, worry, embarrassment, or excitement.
- Learn when and how to seek help from a trusted adult or friend when emotions feel overwhelming.
- Understand that all emotions are valid and that expressing them respectfully creates a safe and supportive classroom.
Strengths Snap
Strengths Snap is a joyful, connection-building game that helps students recognise and celebrate the strengths within themselves and their peers. As students flip cards and spot strengths like kindness, bravery, creativity, or teamwork, they learn to notice the positive qualities that make each person unique and capable. With every “Snap!” students pause to share real-life examples of when a classmate showed that strength, helping them link character strengths to meaningful moments in everyday life. This builds self-awareness, empathy, and an appreciation for the diverse abilities within the group.
The game also deepens friendships and strengthens respectful relationships by encouraging students to lift each other up through genuine compliments and shared stories. Each round becomes a celebration of what makes the group stronger together, reinforcing that strengths aren’t just personal, they help us solve problems, collaborate, and support each other. Strengths Snap transforms a simple card game into a powerful experience of gratitude, teamwork, and positive identity, leaving every student feeling seen, valued, and proud of who they are.
Respectful Relationships
Communication and Empathy
Strengths Snap supports students to:
- Notice and name strengths in themselves and in their peers, deepening empathy and appreciation for individual differences.
- Practise giving positive, specific feedback about others’ strengths, strengthening their ability to communicate kindly and supportively.
- Listen respectfully as classmates share examples and stories, helping build a culture of recognition and emotional safety.
Cooperation and Social Skills
This activity helps students to:
- Work together respectfully in a group game that values encouragement over competition.
- Celebrate each other’s contributions, promoting a positive class environment where everyone feels valued.
- Strengthen friendships and teamwork by recognising how different strengths help groups succeed and solve problems collaboratively.
Safety and Help-Seeking
Strengths Snap encourages students to:
- Identify personal strengths they can rely on when facing challenges, helping them feel more capable and confident.
- Recognise strengths in classmates that they can turn to for help, modelling healthy peer support and teamwork.
- Understand that celebrating strengths, both their own and others’, builds emotional safety, connection, and trust within the group.
Roll & Respect
Roll & Respect invites students into thoughtful, engaging conversations about how respect shows up in everyday school life. Each dice roll reveals a new scenario, welcoming a new classmate, handling a mistake, managing conflict, or responding to peer pressure, giving students a chance to explore what respectful and disrespectful behaviours look and sound like. As they talk through each situation, students practise empathy, fairness, and integrity, learning how their choices can uplift others and help everyone feel safe, supported, and valued. The simple game structure encourages honest discussion and helps students link respectful behaviour to real moments they recognise from their own lives.
By reflecting together on how respectful actions influence relationships, students strengthen their communication skills and deepen their understanding of kindness and inclusion. The group dialogue encourages them to think beyond themselves, appreciating how respectful choices create a positive classroom culture where everyone can thrive. Whether through conversation or the optional poster activity, Roll & Respect turns everyday scenarios into meaningful opportunities for connection, self-awareness, and social growth.
Respectful Relationships
Communication and Empathy
Roll & Respect supports students to:
- Discuss different social scenarios and explore how their words and actions can affect others, building emotional awareness.
- Practise explaining how someone might feel when treated with respect or disrespect, strengthening empathy and perspective-taking.
- Use clear, thoughtful language to share respectful solutions, supporting positive communication habits.
Cooperation and Social Skills
This activity helps students to:
- Work together in groups to identify respectful responses, promoting teamwork and shared decision-making.
- Recognise how kind and fair actions support positive relationships and help solve conflicts calmly.
- Understand how their choices contribute to creating an inclusive, supportive space where everyone feels valued.
Safety and Help-Seeking
Roll & Respect encourages students to:
- Identify behaviours that make others feel safe, included, and respected within the school environment.
- Recognise when disrespect is occurring and explain how seeking help from a trusted adult can support everyone involved.
- Understand that choosing respectful behaviour helps build a classroom culture where students feel comfortable sharing, learning, and asking for help.
.avif)
