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Playing Together

First graders build relationship skills by learning what helps everyone play well together — sharing, taking turns, using kind words, and including others — and what makes play go wrong.

Grade 1CASEL: Relationship Skills30 minutes1 class periodCASEL SELExplicit teaching4 StandardsCASEL
Start the Lesson
Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Explain playing together.
  • ✓Tell helpful from hurtful choices.
  • ✓Share and take turns.
  • ✓Include others.
Essential Question

Playing with friends is one of the best parts of the day! But sometimes it goes wrong. What helps us play well together, and what hurts our play?

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Lesson Phases
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Vocabulary Terms
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Standards Aligned
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Interactive Task
Sort It · Interactive

Helps or Hurts Our Play?

Project this and sort each action into one that helps us play together or one that hurts our play.

🤝 Sort each — helps or hurts our play?Try it
💛 Helps Us Play
💔 Hurts Our Play
Tap an action, then tap a bucket.
The Lesson · SEL Flow (Check-In · Learn · Practice · Apply · Reflect)

30 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Check-In — Playing With Friends

5 min

Playing together is fun — what helps it go well?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Do a check-in.
  • Ask what good play looks like.
  • Be caring.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Check in.
  • Share.
  • Get ready.
2

Learn — Play Skills

8 min

Children learn.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Explain sharing and turns.
  • Explain kind words.
  • Explain including others.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Learn sharing.
  • Learn kind words.
  • Learn including.
3

Practice — Helps or Hurts

8 min

Children practice.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send children to Helps or Hurts Our Play?
  • Sort each one.
  • Talk about them.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Sort them.
  • Talk.
  • Explain.
4

Apply — Playing Well

6 min

Children apply.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Practice sharing.
  • Practice asking to join.
  • Include a friend.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Share.
  • Ask.
  • Include.
5

Reflect — Reflect

3 min

Children close.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Name a play skill.
  • Say why it helps.
  • Complete the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Name one.
  • Say why.
  • Complete the exit ticket.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the CASEL 5 Social & Emotional Learning Competencies.

CASEL
Relationship Skills

Share, take turns, and cooperate.

CASEL
Relationship Skills

Use kind words with others.

CASEL
Relationship Skills

Include others in play.

CASEL
Social Awareness

Care about others in a group.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Helps/hurts picture cards.
  • Sentence frame: “A good friend ___.”
  • Role-play play skills.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Start with sharing vs. grabbing.
  • Sort one at a time.
  • Use pictures.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Role-play including someone.
  • Make a play-rules chart.
  • Explain teamwork.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Screen / board
  • 🤝Play pictures
  • 💻Helps or Hurts Our Play?
  • 🖍️Crayons
  • 🧸Toys to share
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

shareto give some to otherstake turnsto each have a turnkindfriendly and caringincludeto let others joinfriendsomeone you play withcooperateto work togethertogetherwith othersfairthe same for everyone
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
Name one thing that helps us play together.
Sharing, taking turns, saying nice things, or asking to join in.
QUESTION 2
Does grabbing toys help or hurt our play?
It hurts our play.
QUESTION 3
What can you say to a friend who wants to play?
“You can play with us!”

Reflect: a play helper.

Have children practice one play skill — like sharing or taking turns — with a friend or sibling. A printable playing-together sheet is in the SEL library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 Relationship Skills: Playing TogetherFlip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
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Nice work!

Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 Relationship Skills: Playing TogetherQuiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
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Nice work!

Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ Relationship Skills: Playing TogetherPrint
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: cooperate, fair, friend, include, kind, share, take turns, together
  1. to each have a turn
  2. with others
  3. to let others join
  4. to give some to others
  5. friendly and caring
  6. someone you play with
  7. to work together
  8. the same for everyone

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. Name one thing that helps us play together.
  2. Does grabbing toys help or hurt our play?
  3. What can you say to a friend who wants to play?
Answer key — Part A: 1) take turns · 2) together · 3) include · 4) share · 5) kind · 6) friend · 7) cooperate · 8) fair
Part B: 1) Sharing, taking turns, saying nice things, or asking to join in. 2) It hurts our play. 3) “You can play with us!”