Celebrate friendship, kindness, and empathy with the creative and reflective Friendship Zine Activity. This engaging resource encourages students to think deeply about what it means to be a good friend, while creating a personalised zine to keep, share, or display during R U OK? Day or other wellbeing-focused events.   Students will explore key friendship values such as kindness, empathy, and support as they write, draw, and design their very own zine. With opportunities for creativity and conversation, this activity promotes emotional literacy while fostering a positive classroom culture.   Whether used in health lessons, as part of your R U OK? Day activities, or during a kindness unit, the Friendship Zine Activity provides a fun, hands-on way to reinforce social-emotional learning and student connection.  

Key Learning Outcomes:

• ✅ Identify and reflect on the qualities of a good friend
• ✅ Build empathy and emotional awareness through creative expression
• ✅ Develop written and visual communication skills
• ✅ Promote classroom discussions around kindness and support
• ✅ Foster personal reflection through journaling and artwork

 

What’s Included:

• Double-sided Friendship Zine template (pages 2–3)
• Folding instructions to construct the mini zine
• Black-and-white layout for student personalisation
• Flexible format for upper primary and middle years

 

Materials Needed:

• Printed zine templates (preferably on white cardstock)
• Coloured pencils, markers, crayons, paint, or glitter
• Scissors
• Optional: glue, stickers, or collage materials

 

How to Use:

1. Print the double-sided zine template for each student (pages 2–3).
2. Provide a range of art and writing materials for decorating the zine.
3. Guide students through completing each section with reflections, drawings, poems, or comics.
4. Use the folding instructions to turn the sheet into a mini zine.
5. Invite students to share favourite pages to promote discussion around friendship and empathy.

 

Ideas for Classroom Use:

• 💡 Use during R U OK? Day to explore the role of friendship in supporting mental wellbeing.
• 💡 Integrate into a social-emotional learning unit on kindness, empathy, or inclusion.
• 💡 Display finished zines around the classroom or school to celebrate positive relationships.
• 💡 Turn it into a partner activity to encourage peer conversation and sharing.
• 💡 Combine student pages to create a collaborative class zine or hallway display.

 

Top Teacher Tips:

• 💛 Enlarge the template to A3 for students who need more space to write and draw.
• 💛 Model brainstorming with a class anchor chart of good friend qualities.
• 💛 Provide sentence starters or word banks for students who need writing support.
• 💛 Encourage students to gift a copy to someone who has been a good friend to them.

  Friendship Zine Activity is a meaningful way to explore connection, reflection, and kindness. Check out our other R U OK? Day resources to continue building a culture of care and support in your classroom.