This document discusses exploring the qualities of good and bad friendships and different types of peer pressure. It provides discussion questions about the qualities students look for in friends, whether good friends can have both good and bad qualities, and ways friends may pressure each other to do things against their beliefs or values. Examples of peer pressure situations are given, such as a friend pressuring someone to exclude another person or pressure to smoke cigarettes or carry an illegal phone.

2. • • To examine the differences between good and bad
• friendship groups.
• • To examine the differences between good and bad
teasing.
• • To explore how far they may go in terms of loyalty to
their
• friends.
• • How to develop a plan of action when a friend or group
• teases/bullies you.
• • How to respond when a friend bullies another friend and
• they feel too scared to intervene in case they get bullied
too.

3. • Ask the students to sit in pairs and to exchange ideas
about what they perceive the term ‘friendship’ to mean. (5
minutes)

4. In your groups discuss
what are the qualities of
a friend. What qualities
do you look for in a
friend?
(10 minutes)

5. In your groups discuss
what are the qualities of
a friend. What qualities
do you look for in a
friend?
(10 minutes)

6. • it is possible to have a mixture
of good and bad qualities in a
good friend?

7. • Peer pressure can be defined as pressure by a peer
group to take a certain action, adopt certain values or
otherwise conform in order to be accepted as part of a
group.
• In your groups answer the following questions:
• What things might a friend ask you to do that may go
against your beliefs or values?
• Discuss different ways that friends may pressure you to
do thing that you don’t want to do, i.e. threats to withhold
friendship; start calling you names, threats of violence
etc.
• Explore how you could say no or get out of a situation
without causing offence?

8. • One of your friends wants you to exclude someone you
get on with. They have told you that if you don’t do what
they say, they will stop talking to you..
• You are asked by a group of your mates to have a
cigarette with them. You don’t smoke. They have told you
that nobody will find out.
• You are walking to the Hall when another pupil hands you
a mobile phone. They tell you to put it in your bag as they
don’t want to get caught with it. You say you don’t want
anything to do with it but they have told you that you have
no choice and if you don’t do it they will beat you up later.