1. Bell Ringer Open your student workbook and turn to page 65.
Under the heading Journal Entry, Write a few sentences explaining what the term relationship means to you.
What does it mean to have a relationship with someone and what kinds of things do you think are important in a relationship?

2. Unit 1: Emotional & Mental Health
Lesson 9 – Building healthy relationships

3. Healthy Behavior Outcomes
Establish and maintain healthy relationships.

4. By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
Lesson Objectives
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
Analyze characteristics of healthy relationships.
Explain how to build and maintain healthy family and peer relationships.
Explain the connection between healthy relationships and positive emotional health.

5. Relationship Circles Turn to page 26 in Workbook.
Write your name in the small circle at the center.
Then, think about all the different relationships in your life – your family, close friends, boyfriend or girlfriend, other peers (people your age) or adults at school, and people in the community.
Write the names of these people in the different circles, based on how close you feel your relationship with each person is.

6. Which of the person’s answers surprised you?
Which answers pleased you?
How do this adult’s view and advice help support your emotional health?
What is one way your communication with this adult can be improved?

7. Where is the person you completed the survey with located on your relationship circle?
If the person was not listed, add his or her name to the appropriate circle.
Next to that person’s name, write a few words to describe your relationship, based on what you learned from doing the survey.

8. There was a time when a family was defined as a mother, a father, and their biological child or children.
Today, families have a much broader definition: a family is a group of individuals who live together as a unit.
Regardless of what the family looks like, each individual in a family has a relationship with the other members.

10. How do you think families influence and shape the emotional health of their members?
How might a person’s family help him or her develop these characteristics of positive emotional health?

11. Turn back to the Relationship Circles sheet on page 26 of your workbook.
Find the names of your family members on your relationship circles.
Next to each person’s name, write a characteristic of emotional health you think this person has or a characteristic he or she encourages in you.

12. What does a healthy relationship look like? What qualities does it have?
How do people who have a healthy relationship treat each other and communicate with each other?

14. How might these qualities be slightly different in different types of relationships?
Ex: between parents and children vs between friends
How might acceptance and respect be viewed differently in relationships between teens and adults versus relationships between peers?
How might standards of honesty and trust be different between friendship and a relationship between boyfriend or girlfriend?

15. Summary
A relationship between a parent and child is naturally going to be different in some ways from one between friends of the same age.
Different issues and feelings may arise in different types of relationships.

16. Relationship Circles
Turn back to page 26 in your workbook.

17. How can having healthy relationships contribute to positive emotional health?

18. Summary
Relationships give you a chance to practice resolving conflicts and communicating your thoughts and feelings in a healthy way.
Relationships give you people to turn to when you need help or advice, and also provide a chance to give support to others.

19. What are some unhealthy qualities you might find in a relationship?

20. Summary Relationships have both healthy and unhealthy qualities.
The most important thing is to identify and be aware of unhealthy qualities in your relationships so that you can work on improving them.

21. How can you build healthy relationships with others?
What are some things you could do to develop the qualities of healthy relationships or improve any qualities that might be unhealthy?

22. Summary
You have the power to create healthier relationships by paying attention and being willing to give to other people the things you want for yourself.
Acceptance, respect, support
Remember that having a healthy relationship takes effort from both people.

23. Which quality of healthy relationships is most important to you in your life right now and why?