Teach Your Students to Be Empathetic

“Empathy” and “empathetic” are big words for little learners but represent an important social skill. While it may be challenging for students to grasp this concept, understanding what empathy truly means will help you explain it to your students!

Understanding how someone else is feeling is a powerful skill that comes from the heart and mind. Empathy allows us to put ourselves in their shoes and experience their emotions as if they were our own. It’s a gift that helps us connect with others on a deeper level and build stronger relationships. Being empathetic is important when it comes to being a good friend. It allows you to demonstrate kindness and provide encouragement, especially during difficult moments. 

Social Stories To Encourage Classroom Discussions

This teacher-created resource provides scenario-based questions and situations to help learners recognize empathetic behaviors. These scenarios are great for classroom discussions and morning meetings. The interactive activity presents a scenario to students and asks if it exhibits empathy. If they answer correctly, they move on to the next scenario. If not, they are redirected to try again after discussing the scenario further.

Download Your Interactive Activity

If you are ready for your students to sharpen their understanding of empathy, head on over to the green download button to access the interactive Google Slides activity. To complete this activity, please direct your students to open the slideshow in present mode and click the correct answers. Each of the answers are linked to the appropriate page.

This resource was created by Lindsey Phillips, a teacher in Michigan and a Teach Starter Collaborator. 

Looking for More SEL Activities for Your Lesson Plans?

If you are looking to spruce up the activities in your classroom, or perhaps you are new to teaching a particular grade level, check out some of our suggested empathy-related resources below! 

teaching resource

Responding With Empathy Matching Activity

Guide your students to identify emotions in others and select appropriate ways to respond with empathy with this matching activity.

teaching resource

Piecing Together Emotions – Puzzle Activity

Guide your students to identify the feelings and emotions of others with this social emotional learning puzzle activity.