The Making Friends Program: Supporting Acceptance in Your K-2 Classroom

Bullying prevention starts with helping young children understand and accept diversity--the earlier the better. That's why your school team needs this ready-to-use resource, a simple, fun, and effective way to promote social acceptance in the critical early years of attitude development. Perfect for K-2 classrooms, this book presents the field-tested, research-based Making Friends program, a toolbox of adaptable, practical strategies that fit right into your regular school day. You'll help students respect and accept each other's differences through three methods: (1) reading diversity-themed stories and conducting brief whole-class discussions; (2) forming small learning groups that encourage children from diverse backgrounds to play and interact; and (3) sharing the storybooks you read with families so they can continue discussions at home. Aligned with DEC/NAEYC recommended practices and the English Language Arts Common Core State Standards, this proven program will boost students' social and academic skills as you create a welcoming, inclusive, and culturally responsive classroom. Use this program to: (1) enrich your existing classroom activities--circle time, class discussion, cooperative play--with important lessons on social acceptance; (2) strengthen students' literacy skills while they learn to accept and celebrate differences; (3) support friendships among children of diverse abilities, backgrounds, and family structures; (4) lay the groundwork for bully-free school environments; (5) choose books, toys, and other materials that reflect our diverse world and give young children a sense of belonging; (6) implement a universal design for learning (UDL) approach to address the needs of diverse learners; (7) "think on your feet" to work lessons on acceptance into small teachable moments and everyday conversations; (8) increase the home-school connection with strategies parents can use with their children; and (9) strengthen understanding of how acceptance is developed through reflective activities for teachers and school-wide teams.