Empathy & Compassion Script

Introduction: What Are They? (2 minutes)

"Good morning, wonderful girls! I'm so excited to spend a few minutes with you today exploring some really important feelings. We're going to talk about how we understand each other and how we can be kind to one another.

Let's start with a quick thought: How do you know when a friend is happy? What about when they're sad or frustrated?

It can sometimes be hard, right? We often look at their faces, listen to their words, or even notice their body language. Today, we're going to learn about two special words that help us be good friends and understand others better: empathy and compassion.

First up, empathy. Empathy means really understanding and sharing the feelings of another person. It's like you're feeling with someone. Imagine your friend's favorite pencil breaks. You might think, 'Oh no, I know how sad I would be if my favorite pencil broke!' That's empathy. You understand their feeling.

Can anyone think of a time they felt empathy for someone?

Now, compassion builds on empathy. Compassion is when you feel empathy for someone, AND you also want to help them. It's understanding their feelings and then acting with kindness. So, if your friend's pencil breaks and you feel empathy, compassion would be offering them one of your extra pencils or helping them tape it back together. You're not just understanding; you're doing something to help.

So, empathy is understanding, and compassion is understanding plus wanting to help and act kindly."

Role-Play Activity: Step into Their Shoes (5 minutes)

"Alright, let's put these ideas into practice! We're going to do a quick role-play activity called Empathy Role-Play Activity. This is a great way to practice stepping into someone else's shoes. I need two volunteers for our first scenario. Who would like to help?

(Select two volunteers. Hand them a scenario card or briefly explain the scenario.)

Okay, here's our first scenario:

• Scenario: Your friend brought a new, handmade art project to school, but another student accidentally bumped into them in the hallway, and it fell and got a little smushed. Your friend looks really upset.

(To the student playing the friend): "You are the friend whose art project got smushed. How do you feel?"

(To the student playing the empathetic friend): "You are the friend who saw what happened. How would you show empathy and compassion? What would you say or do?"

(Allow students to role-play for about 1-2 minutes. Guide them if needed, asking questions like: "What are you feeling right now?" or "How could you show your friend you understand?")

"Great job! Let's give them a round of applause.

(To the class) How do you think the friend with the smushed project felt?

And how did our empathetic friend show they understood and cared? What specific things did they say or do?

That was a perfect example of both empathy and compassion in action!"

Discussion & Wrap-Up: Being Kind (3 minutes)

"Now, let's connect this to our everyday lives. I have a few questions for us to think about together using our Empathy & Compassion Discussion Prompts.

• Why is it important to try and understand how others are feeling, even if their feelings are different from ours?
  
  
  
• Can you think of a time when someone showed you empathy or compassion? How did that make you feel?
  
  
  
• What's one small thing you can do today, or this week, to show empathy or compassion to someone in your family, your class, or even someone you don't know very well?
  
  
  

Remember, girls, practicing empathy and compassion makes our classroom, our school, and even our homes much happier and kinder places. You have the power to make a big difference just by trying to understand how others feel and offering a helping hand or a kind word.

Thank you for being such thoughtful listeners and participants today! You're all empathy stars!"

Empathy Role-Play Activity: Step into Their Shoes!

Objective: To practice showing empathy and compassion in different social situations.

Instructions for the Teacher:

1. Introduce the activity as a way to "step into someone else's shoes" and understand their feelings.
2. Explain that one student will play the person experiencing a challenge, and another will play the empathetic/compassionate friend.
3. Present one of the scenarios below to the group.
4. Ask for volunteers to act out the scenario. Guide them through the role-play, prompting them with questions like: "How do you feel?" or "What could you say to show you understand and care?"
5. After each role-play, facilitate a brief discussion with the whole group about what they observed: How did the person in need feel? How did the empathetic friend show their understanding and offer help?

Role-Play Scenarios:

Scenario 1: The Broken Art Project

• Situation: Your friend brought a new, handmade art project to school, but another student accidentally bumped into them in the hallway, and it fell and got a little smushed. Your friend looks really upset, almost like they might cry.
• Role A (Friend with smushed project): Express sadness, frustration, or disappointment.
• Role B (Empathetic Friend): Show understanding, offer comfort, and suggest a solution (e.g., help fix it, tell the teacher, offer a hug).

Scenario 2: Left Out at Recess

• Situation: You see a new student sitting alone during recess, looking a little sad while other groups are playing together.
• Role A (New Student): Look lonely, hesitant, or a little sad.
• Role B (Empathetic Friend): Notice the new student, understand how they might feel, and approach them to invite them to play or chat.

Scenario 3: Lost Lunchbox

• Situation: Your friend realizes at lunchtime that they left their lunchbox at home and now they don't have anything to eat.
• Role A (Friend with no lunch): Express hunger, worry, or disappointment.
• Role B (Empathetic Friend): Show understanding of their hunger/worry and offer a solution (e.g., offer to share part of your lunch, suggest asking the teacher for help, offer to walk them to the office).

Empathy & Compassion Discussion Prompts

Objective: To encourage reflection and deeper understanding of empathy and compassion.

Discussion Questions:

1. Understanding Feelings: Why is it important to try and understand how others are feeling, even if their feelings are different from your own?
   
   
   
2. Impact of Kindness: Can you think of a time when someone showed you empathy or compassion? How did that make you feel? How did it change the situation?
   
   
   
3. Recognizing Emotions: What are some clues that can help us figure out how someone else is feeling (e.g., facial expressions, body language, words)?
   
   
   
4. Taking Action: What's one small thing you can do today, or this week, to show empathy or compassion to someone in your family, your class, or even someone you don't know very well?
   
   
   
5. Challenging Situations: Is it always easy to show empathy and compassion? Why or why not? What makes it difficult sometimes?
   
   
   

Empathy Role-Play Activity: Step into Their Shoes!

Objective: To practice showing empathy and compassion in different social situations.

Instructions for the Teacher:

1. Introduce the activity as a way to "step into someone else's shoes" and understand their feelings.
2. Explain that one student will play the person experiencing a challenge, and another will play the empathetic/compassionate friend.
3. Present one of the scenarios below to the group.
4. Ask for volunteers to act out the scenario. Guide them through the role-play, prompting them with questions like: "How do you feel?" or "What could you say to show you understand and care?"
5. After each role-play, facilitate a brief discussion with the whole group about what they observed: How did the person in need feel? How did the empathetic friend show their understanding and offer help?

Role-Play Scenarios:

Scenario 1: The Broken Art Project

• Situation: Your friend brought a new, handmade art project to school, but another student accidentally bumped into them in the hallway, and it fell and got a little smushed. Your friend looks really upset, almost like they might cry.
• Role A (Friend with smushed project): Express sadness, frustration, or disappointment.
• Role B (Empathetic Friend): Show understanding, offer comfort, and suggest a solution (e.g.,

Empathy Role-Play Activity: Step into Their Shoes!

Objective: To practice showing empathy and compassion in different social situations.

Instructions for the Teacher:

1. Introduce the activity as a way to