Enhancing relationships - Relationships across the lifespan
Examine the wider cultural, social and community factors that inform how we understand ourselves and other people.
About this resource
This planning and teaching resource activity (years 5–10) is part of mental health education, one of the key areas of learning in health and physical education. Teachers can adapt and develop it to meet the identified learning needs of ākonga.
Enhancing relationships: Relationships across the lifespan
Relationships across the lifespan asks ākonga to examine the wider cultural, social, and community factors that inform how we understand ourselves and other people by thinking critically about, and describing, their roles in a variety of relationships and friendships.
Understanding ourselves and getting on together — Activity collection
This resource is part of the Understanding Ourselves and Getting on Together collection.
Possible learning activities
- Supply groups of two to three ākonga with a large sheet of paper and pens.
- Each group divides their paper into six sections and labels them with the following age groups: 0–4 years, 6–12 years, 13–19 years, 20–40 years, 50–65 years, and 65+ years.
- For each age group, ākonga brainstorm as many different types of relationships as they think people of that age might have with others, such as with parents, friends, workmates, or pets.
- Identify the important features of friendships and relationships for each of these age groups, for example, nurturing, sharing secrets, aroha, company, or love. Describe the changes and pressures that can affect friendships and relationships, for example, changing schools.
- Each group reports back a sample of their ideas. Try to establish an understanding with ākonga that, across our lifespan, we share similar needs but that the nature of these needs and who fulfills them in relationships will change. Discuss the pressures that can affect relationships, what support is available, and how we can all help meet the needs of more vulnerable groups, such as the very young and the elderly.
- Individually, ākonga identify qualities that they value in their friends. In small groups, ākonga share their ideas and each write a different quality on a separate slip of paper. These slips are shared out between group members.
- Ākonga take turns to place their card on a continuum labelled 'Very Important', 'Quite Important', and 'Not So Important', giving their reason for choosing that place. When it is their turn, other ākonga in the group can change the position of a card, explaining their reason for doing so. When the group has reached a consensus (or an agreement to disagree), all groups share their continuum with the whole class. After discussion, ākonga individually record those qualities that they most value in friends and reflect on any changes they have made as a result of this learning experience.
Cultural and diversity considerations
All ākonga are part of wider whānau, hapū, iwi, and other community groups. Culturally capable kaiako and tumuaki know, value, and integrate the cultural capital of their ākonga into the work of creating positive classroom communities. Classroom programmes dealing with mental health should be sensitively developed so that they respect and reflect the diverse values and beliefs of ākonga and the whole school community.
Links to the HPE underlying concepts
Hauora
Particularly taha whanau, taha hinengaro, and taha wairua – Identifying the features of successful friendships, enhancing emotional wellbeing, and strengthening self-awareness, identity, and self-worth.
Socio-ecological perspective
Exploring the changing features of friendship across the lifespan and exploring the need for mutual care and shared responsibility between self and society.
Read more about the underlying concepts.
Kaiako notes
Focus inquiry questions around the learning outcomes before and after the activities to support ākonga to reflect and think critically about the activities.