LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Students will describe how the Buddy Bench project helps reduce loneliness and build community, and explain how individual actions can inspire change. 

HEALTH ED STANDARDS

NHES 8: Advocate to promote health and well-being of self and others.

CASEL COMPETENCY: Social Awareness

COMMON CORE ELA: RI.3: Describe the relationships between ideas or events in a text. 

KEY VOCAB

anxious

empathy

manufacture

Lesson Plan: Everyone Deserves a Friend

Sammie Vance builds benches to help people connect when they need a buddy.

PREPARE TO READ

Write the word empathy on the board. Ask students what that word means to them. Then discuss as a class: Why can it be hard to approach someone new? Tell students that they are going to meet a teen whose idea helped her classmates feel included.

Show the video “Sammie’s Buddy Bench Project” to the class.

READ AND RESPOND

Divide students into small groups. Instruct them to take turns reading the article aloud, recording answers to the following questions as they read:

  • What inspired Sammie to start the Buddy Bench project?
  • What challenges did she face, and how did she overcome them?

After students finish reading, invite groups to share their findings for each question. Discuss: How did Sammie’s actions show leadership and caring?

Use the comprehension quiz and critical-thinking questions to check for understanding.

EXTEND

Use the Extension Activity to help students identify one way to make the school a more welcoming environment. Then have them design their own “Kindness Campaign.” Students should create a simple visual (poster, slideshow, or digital post) to share their ideas and inspire others to act.

Print the Lesson Plan

Text-to-Speech