Developing Empathy

Creator: Equality and Human Rights Comission | visit site

Grade Range: 7 - 11

This high school level lesson teaches the development of empathy through role-play activities. The activities include slides and student worksheets to download as PDF documents. In addition to the lesson, extension activities include suggestions for examining your school’s anti-bullying policy and ideas to differentiate instruction based upon students’ literacy skills.

In the Classroom

Include this lesson with others as part of character education and empathy activities. The starter activity includes students sharing a time they experienced different feelings. Use AnswerGarden, <a href="/single.cfm?id=10937">reviewed here</a>, to post each question and ask students to share their response. This allows students to answer anonymously while still creating a visual word cloud with responses. Copy the embed code to include each of the word clouds on your class website or share using your AnswerGarden poll’s link. Include all of the polls within one collaborative Wakelet collection, <a href="/single.cfm?id=17619">reviewed here</a>, that includes students’ responses to the other lesson activities including written reflections, analysis of your school’s bullying policy, and discussions of how to recognize and encourage empathy in others.

At Home

This lesson includes several examples of role-playing as a method of putting yourself in someone else’s shoes. Use the ideas found in this lesson as inspiration to discuss and share ways for your student to develop empathy for others.

Tags

character education, emotions, social and emotional learning,

Subjects

Character Education, Current Events,