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Relationship Skills: Healthy Relationships

Ninth graders build relationship skills by learning what makes relationships healthy — open communication, respect for boundaries, honesty, and support — and recognizing the warning signs of unhealthy ones.

Grade 9CASEL: Relationship Skills45 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 healthy relationships.
  • ✓Tell healthy from unhealthy.
  • ✓Respect boundaries.
  • ✓Communicate well.
Essential Question

Friendships, family, dating, teammates — relationships shape your high school years. What separates a healthy relationship from an unhealthy one, and how do you build the healthy kind?

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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

Builds or Damages a Relationship?

Project this and sort each behavior into one that builds a healthy relationship or one that damages it.

🤝 Sort each — builds or damages a relationship?Try it
💛 Builds a Healthy Relationship
💔 Damages a Relationship
Tap a behavior, then tap a bucket.
The Lesson · SEL Flow (Check-In · Learn · Practice · Apply · Reflect)

45 minutes, five moves

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

1

Check-In — Relationships Matter

5 min

Relationships shape your high school years — what makes one healthy?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Do a check-in.
  • Ask what healthy looks like.
  • Set the tone.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Reflect.
  • Consider.
  • Get ready.
2

Learn — Healthy vs. Unhealthy

12 min

Students learn.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Explain communication and boundaries.
  • Explain trust.
  • Name warning signs.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Learn it.
  • Learn trust.
  • Note signs.
3

Practice — Builds or Damages

13 min

Students practice.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send students to Builds or Damages?
  • Sort each behavior.
  • Discuss them.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Sort them.
  • Discuss.
  • Check.
4

Apply — Apply

10 min

Students apply.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Practice an “I” statement.
  • Set a boundary respectfully.
  • Name a support if a relationship feels unhealthy.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Practice it.
  • Set it.
  • Name it.
5

Reflect — Reflect

5 min

Students close.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Name a healthy behavior.
  • Explain boundaries.
  • Complete the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Name one.
  • Explain it.
  • 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

Communicate clearly and listen actively.

CASEL
Relationship Skills

Build and maintain healthy relationships.

CASEL
Relationship Skills

Set and respect boundaries.

CASEL
Relationship Skills

Resist negative social pressure.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Behavior picture cards.
  • Sentence frame: “A healthy relationship has ___.”
  • Role-play boundaries.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Start with honesty vs. lying.
  • Sort one at a time.
  • Use examples.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Explain consent and boundaries.
  • Role-play resisting pressure.
  • Identify support resources.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Projector / board
  • 🤝Behavior cards
  • 💻Builds or Damages?
  • 🗣️“I”-statement strips
  • ✏️Pens
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

relationship skillsskills for connecting with othershealthy relationshipone built on respect and trustboundarya limit you set for how you’re treatedcommunicationsharing thoughts and listeningtrustconfidence that someone is reliablerespecttreating others with carepeer pressureinfluence from friendssupporthelp from people you trust
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 sign of a healthy relationship.
Open communication, respect for boundaries, honesty, or mutual support.
QUESTION 2
What is a boundary?
A limit you set for how you want to be treated.
QUESTION 3
What is a warning sign of an unhealthy relationship?
Controlling behavior, broken trust, put-downs, or ignoring feelings.

Reflect: healthy connections.

Have students identify one thing that makes a relationship in their life healthy, and one respectful way to communicate a boundary. A printable relationships 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: Building Healthy RelationshipsFlip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
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Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

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

📝 Relationship Skills: Building Healthy RelationshipsQuiz
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: Building Healthy RelationshipsPrint
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: boundary, communication, healthy relationship, peer pressure, relationship skills, respect, support, trust
  1. confidence that someone is reliable
  2. influence from friends
  3. treating others with care
  4. help from people you trust
  5. one built on respect and trust
  6. sharing thoughts and listening
  7. skills for connecting with others
  8. a limit you set for how you’re treated

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. Name one sign of a healthy relationship.
  2. What is a boundary?
  3. What is a warning sign of an unhealthy relationship?
Answer key — Part A: 1) trust · 2) peer pressure · 3) respect · 4) support · 5) healthy relationship · 6) communication · 7) relationship skills · 8) boundary
Part B: 1) Open communication, respect for boundaries, honesty, or mutual support. 2) A limit you set for how you want to be treated. 3) Controlling behavior, broken trust, put-downs, or ignoring feelings.