Lesson Plan
Empathy Engine Framework
Students will practice active listening and perspective-taking by engaging in interactive scenarios, cooperative game play, and personal reflection to strengthen their relationship skills.
Empathy fosters stronger relationships, reduces conflict, and supports mental health. Developing empathy equips students to collaborate and connect across differences in school and beyond.
Audience
11th Grade
Time
45 minutes
Approach
Interactive scenarios, games, and reflective journaling
Materials
Empathy Engine Framework, Empathy in Motion Slide Deck, Emotion Charades Game Kit, Putting Myself in Your Shoes Journal Prompt, Printed Scenario Cards, and Pens or Pencils
Prep
Preparation
10 minutes
- Review the key scenarios and discussion prompts in the Empathy in Motion Slide Deck
- Print and cut the emotion cards from the Emotion Charades Game Kit
- Make copies of the journal prompt from Putting Myself in Your Shoes Journal Prompt
- Gather pens or pencils and arrange desks for small-group interaction
Step 1
Set the Stage
5 minutes
- Welcome students and introduce the lesson’s objective: building stronger relationship skills through empathy
- Display the definition of empathy on slide 1 of the Empathy in Motion Slide Deck
- Prompt a quick Think-Pair-Share: “Recall a time someone truly understood how you felt. What did they do?”
Step 2
Empathy in Motion Discussion
10 minutes
- Show 3–4 scenario slides from Empathy in Motion Slide Deck
- After each slide, have students discuss in pairs:
- What emotions are involved?
- How could you respond to show you understand?
- Invite 1–2 pairs to share insights with the class
Step 3
Emotion Charades Game
15 minutes
- Divide the class into groups of 4–5 and distribute emotion cards from the Emotion Charades Game Kit
- Students take turns silently acting out the emotion while teammates guess
- After each correct guess, ask the group:
- “If a friend felt this way, what could you say or do to show empathy?”
- Differentiation: Allow students who need extra support to draw the emotion instead of acting
Step 4
Journal Reflection
10 minutes
- Hand out the Putting Myself in Your Shoes Journal Prompt
- Students write about a recent situation where they practiced or witnessed empathy
- Guiding questions:
- What happened?
- How did it feel?
- What did you learn about connecting with others?
- Provide sentence starters for students who prefer more structure
Step 5
Share and Wrap-Up
5 minutes
- Invite volunteers to share one insight or takeaway from their journal
- Summarize the importance of active listening and perspective-taking
- Encourage students to observe or practice one empathetic act before the next class
use Lenny to create lessons.
No credit card needed
Slide Deck
Empathy in Motion
A 45-minute workshop to strengthen relationship skills through empathy.
Audience: 11th Grade • Tier 1 (Classroom)
CASEL Competency: Relationship Skills
Welcome students and introduce today’s session: Empathy in Motion. Explain that over the next 45 minutes, they’ll explore what empathy is, practice seeing situations from others’ perspectives, and plan how to use empathy in daily life.
Lesson Objectives
• Practice active listening
• Engage in perspective-taking
• Build stronger relationships through empathy
Read each objective aloud. Emphasize that active listening and perspective-taking are skills they can practice and improve.
What Is Empathy?
Empathy is the ability to understand and share another person’s feelings.
Includes:
• Perspective-taking
• Recognizing emotions
• Communicating understanding
Present the definition of empathy. Explain each bullet: perspective-taking (stepping into someone else’s shoes), recognizing emotions (identifying how they feel), and communicating understanding (showing you care).
Think-Pair-Share
Recall a time someone truly understood how you felt.
Discuss with your partner:
- What happened?
- How did they show empathy?
Introduce the Think-Pair-Share. Give students 1 minute to reflect, 2 minutes to discuss in pairs, then invite 2–3 pairs to share highlights.
Scenario 1
You notice a classmate, Alex, who usually participates, has been quiet and has now missed an important test deadline.
Discussion Questions:
• What emotions might Alex be feeling?
• How could you respond to show empathy?
Display Scenario 1. After reading, ask students to turn to their partner and discuss the questions. After 3 minutes, call on a few pairs to share.
Scenario 2
During lunch, you see Emma sitting alone looking upset as she scrolls through messages on her phone.
Discussion Questions:
• What might Emma be feeling?
• What could you say or do to help?
Move to Scenario 2. Encourage students to consider both emotional cues and possible underlying causes before responding.
Scenario 3
Your younger sibling returns from an argument with a friend, slams the door, and refuses to talk.
Discussion Questions:
• What emotions are involved?
• How could you respond in an empathetic way?
Present Scenario 3. Highlight that empathy applies in family contexts as well as school.
Journal Reflection
Write about a time you practiced or witnessed empathy.
Guiding Questions:
• What happened?
• How did it feel?
• What did you learn about connecting with others?
Explain that students will now write their reflections. Distribute journals or prompt sheets. Give them 5–7 minutes to write.
Wrap-Up & Next Steps
Empathy starts with listening and perspective-taking.
Your challenge:
- Notice one opportunity to show empathy today.
- Practice active listening in a real conversation.
- Reflect on the experience before our next session.
Summarize key takeaways: empathy is a skill to practice daily. Challenge students to notice one chance to show empathy before the next class.
Game
Emotion Charades Game Kit
Overview
A fun, interactive charades-style game that helps students identify and act out emotions non-verbally and then brainstorm empathetic responses. Ideal for reinforcing relationship skills and active listening.
Materials
- Pre-printed Emotion Cards (see Sample Cards below)
- Timer or stopwatch
- Optional: drawing paper and markers for students needing alternative expression
Setup
- Divide students into groups of 4–5.
- Shuffle the deck of Emotion Cards and place face down in each group’s center.
- Assign a timekeeper for each group (rotates each round).
How to Play
- On their turn, a student draws one Emotion Card but does not show it to teammates.
- The student silently acts out the emotion (no words or sounds) while the rest of the group guesses.
- Once the emotion is guessed correctly (within 1 minute), the actor reads the card aloud and the group discusses:
- “If a friend felt this way, what could you say or do to show empathy?”
- Rotate and continue until each student has acted out at least one card or until time is up.
Sample Emotion Cards
- Overwhelmed
- Excited
- Anxious
- Frustrated
- Embarrassed
- Grateful
- Lonely
- Confused
- Proud
- Sad
Reflection Prompts
- Which emotion was easiest/hardest to guess and why?
- Which empathetic response felt most natural?
- How does understanding non-verbal cues help in real conversations?
Differentiation & Extensions
- For students who struggle with acting: allow them to draw the emotion on paper instead of pantomime.
- For advanced groups: after guessing, role-play a short empathetic conversation.
- To extend: have students create their own Emotion Cards based on complex feelings (e.g., “betrayed,” “hopeful”).
Journal
Putting Myself in Your Shoes
Use the prompts below to reflect on a real-life empathy experience and plan how you’ll practice empathy in the future. Write in complete sentences and do your best to elaborate on each question.
1. Describe the situation.
Who was involved? What happened? Why did you choose to put yourself in their shoes?
2. Explore emotions.
a. How did you feel in that moment?
b. What emotions do you think the other person was experiencing?
3. Actions and responses.
What words or actions did you use to show empathy? How did the other person respond to your approach?
4. Lessons and future practice.
a. What did you learn about connecting with others through empathy?
b. When a similar situation arises, what specific strategies will you use to show you understand?
Sentence Starters
- I noticed that…
- I felt…
- I imagined they felt…
- To show I cared, I…
- Next time, I will…