Empathy lesson

I recently taught a lesson on empathy in 5th grade classrooms. We discussed the definition of empathy using the quotes and poem below. I also had students complete an activity where they brainstormed things that are going on in their lives (both at home and at school). The purpose of this was to help them to see that everyone has "stuff" going on in their lives. For some people, their "stuff" can be overwhelming and often seems to weigh them down. For others, their "stuff" might be small and not as stressful. I asked the kids if they would treat others differently if each day other people walked around with signs on their back letting others know what they are going through. I used examples such as parents going through a divorce, coming to school hungry because their family didn't have enough money for food, losing a loved one, a pet being sick, getting bullied and feeling as if you don't have any friends. Every student replied that they would be nice to that person and try to make them feel better. I then asked students why they wouldn't just ALWAYS treat others with kindness and respect regardless of whether you know what their "stuff" is. We then discussed the quote below, "Be kind for everyone if fighting a hard battle." The final part of the lesson is having students color in paper shoes. I created this display as a way to remember that having empathy is being able to put yourself in someone else shoes to really understand how your words and actions would make them feel. The shoes are displayed on all the windows in our cafeteria.