Empathy

Learning Objective:

Build empathy for people with different perspectives and life experiences

Part 1: Introduction

1 minute

“Today we’ll explore what it means to be in someone else’s shoes, understanding how other people might feel in different situations. Everyone has their own struggles and experiences, but we can learn to understand and support each other better.”

Part 2: Main Activity: Perspective Taking

3 minutes

Present two contrasting situations to discuss:

1. “Imagine someone you know is dealing with anger issues. They often get into conflicts and people are starting to avoid them. From the outside, it looks like they’re just causing trouble.”
2. “Now imagine being that person: dealing with intense emotions you struggle to control, watching relationships slip away, and feeling like no one understands what’s really going on inside.”

Discussion prompts:

1. “What might be going on in that person’s life that others don’t see?”
2. “How might it feel to want to control your reactions but struggle to do so?”
3. “What could others do differently if they knew the whole story?”
4. “What would you want people to understand about having these struggles?”

Part 3: Closing & Application

1 minute

• Recap what empathy means: giving full attention, listening to both facts and feelings, accepting others’ feelings
• Ask: “What’s one way you could respond differently to someone who seems angry or hostile, knowing there might be more to their story?”
• Encourage them to consider what might be beneath the surface when they encounter difficult behavior in others