Lesson Plan
Empathy Explorers Lesson Plan
Students will practice recognizing and naming emotions, take others’ perspectives, and express caring actions, building social awareness skills in real-life scenarios.
Developing empathy helps 2nd graders form positive relationships, manage conflicts kindly, and create a supportive classroom community where everyone feels understood.
Audience
2nd Grade
Time
30 minutes
Approach
Hands-on emotion activities and scenario discussions
Materials
Prep
Prepare Materials
10 minutes
- Review Emotion Cards, Perspective Scenario Cards, and Empathy Reflection Worksheet.
- Print and cut the Emotion Cards and Perspective Scenario Cards.
- Post the Feelings Wheel Poster where all students can see it.
- Prepare a quick checklist to track student understanding during activities.
Step 1
Introduction to Empathy
5 minutes
- Gather students on the rug and display the Feelings Wheel Poster.
- Define empathy: understanding and caring about how someone else feels.
- Model: “If Mia is sad because she dropped her ice cream, I feel sad for her.”
- Ask: “Can you think of a time you helped someone who was upset?”
Step 2
Emotion Recognition
7 minutes
- Distribute one Emotion Card to each student.
- Say each emotion aloud; students hold up and name theirs.
- Prompt: “Share a quick one-sentence story: When have you felt this way?”
- Differentiation:
• Support: Provide sentence starters: “I felt ___ when ___.”
• Challenge: Describe physical cues (face, body) that match the emotion.
Step 3
Perspective-Taking Practice
10 minutes
- Form pairs and give each a Perspective Scenario Card.
- Partners read the scenario and discuss: 1) How is the person feeling? 2) Why? 3) What could you do to help?
- Circulate, prompting deeper thinking: “What else might they need?”
- Differentiation:
• Support pairs: Use simpler scenarios with visual cues.
• Advanced pairs: Invite them to create and share a new scenario.
Step 4
Reflection & Assessment
8 minutes
- Hand out the Empathy Reflection Worksheet.
- Prompt students to draw or write about a time they showed empathy today.
- Use a quick checklist to assess:
• Recognized the emotion correctly
• Described another’s perspective
• Suggested or took a caring action - Collect worksheets for review and to inform future support.
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Slide Deck
Empathy Explorers
Building social awareness skills through empathy and perspective-taking.
Welcome, everyone! Today we're starting our Empathy Explorers journey. Get students excited about learning how to understand and care about each other’s feelings.
Our Objectives
• Recognize and name different feelings
• Take another person’s perspective
• Practice caring, helpful actions
Read each objective aloud. Emphasize that these are our goals for today’s lesson.
What Is Empathy?
Empathy = understanding and caring about how someone else feels.
Use the Feelings Wheel Poster to see lots of different emotions.
Display the Feelings Wheel Poster. Point to different emotions and explain that empathy means paying attention when someone else feels that way.
Modeling Empathy
Scenario Example:
“Mia dropped her ice cream and looks sad.”
“I feel sad for Mia because her treat fell. What could we say to help her feel better?”
Read the scenario slowly and model your own empathetic response. Encourage students to notice how you name the feeling and show you care.
Emotion Recognition
- Hold up your Emotion Card.
- Say the emotion’s name aloud.
- Share one-sentence story: “I felt ___ when ___.”
Support: Use starter “I felt ___ when ___.”
Challenge: Describe how your face or body shows this feeling.
Hand out one Emotion Card to each student. Walk through the steps and use sentence starters for students who need extra support.
Perspective-Taking Practice
- In pairs, get a Perspective Scenario Card.
- Read your scenario together.
- Discuss:
• How is the person feeling?
• Why do they feel that way?
• What could you do to help?
Advanced: Create your own scenario to share.
Organize students into pairs. Circulate and ask guiding questions to deepen thinking. Offer simpler scenarios to some pairs and advanced creation tasks to others.
Reflection & Assessment
• Hand out the Empathy Reflection Worksheet.
• Draw or write about a time you showed empathy today.
Checklist:
– Correctly named the emotion
– Described someone else’s perspective
– Suggested or took a caring action
Explain how to use the worksheet. Collect them afterward and note who may need extra help or praise.
Let’s Show Empathy!
What’s one thing you will do today to show empathy?
Think about how you can help friends, family, or even a classmate you don’t know well.
Invite volunteers to share one way they’ll show empathy today. Praise all responses and remind students to use these skills all day long.
Activity
Emotion Cards
Description: Printable cards featuring a clear emotion word and a simple, kid-friendly illustration. Students hold up and name their card, then share a quick story about when they felt that way.
Cards Included (print on cardstock, cut along lines):
- Happy: Smiling face with raised arms
- Sad: Tearful face and drooping shoulders
- Angry: Furrowed brows, clenched fists
- Scared: Wide eyes, hands near mouth
- Surprised: Open mouth, raised eyebrows
- Excited: Jumping with wide grin
How to Use:
- Shuffle and deal one card to each student.
- Teacher calls out each emotion; students hold up their card and say the word.
- Invite volunteers to share a quick one-sentence story (“I felt ___ when ___.”).
Printing Tips:
- Print two pages per sheet to save paper.
- Laminate cards for durability.
- Store in a labeled envelope or ring for easy access.
Activity
Perspective Scenario Cards
Description: Printable cards featuring brief, real-life situations. Students read each scenario, identify how the person feels, explain why, and suggest caring actions.
Cards Included (print on cardstock, cut along lines):
- Recess Fall: At recess, Alex trips and spills his snack. He looks sad.
- New Student: Sofia is new and stands alone by her locker, looking lonely.
- Block Tower: Michael’s tower of blocks fell down. He looks frustrated.
- Lost Toy: Lily sees her friend crying because they lost a favorite toy. The friend looks upset.
- Forgot Homework: Jordan forgot his homework and looks embarrassed.
- Broken Pencil: Taylor’s pencil broke during a test. She looks anxious.
How to Use:
- Shuffle and deal one card to each pair or small group.
- Students read their scenario and discuss:
- How is the person feeling?
- Why do they feel that way?
- What could you say or do to help?
- How is the person feeling?
- Invite groups to share their ideas with the class.
Printing Tips:
- Print two pages per sheet to save paper.
- Laminate for durability.
- Store cards in a labeled envelope or ring for easy access.
Worksheet
Empathy Reflection Worksheet
Name: ____________________________ Date: ___________
Directions:
Draw a picture and write about a time you showed empathy today.
- Draw your picture here:
- Fill in the sentences below:
My friend was feeling ______ when ______ happened.
I showed empathy by ______.
It made me feel ______.
- Think about someone else you could help this week. Write one way you will show you care:
I will help ________________ by ________________.
Great job being an Empathy Explorer! Keep noticing others’ feelings and showing you care every day!
Reading
Feelings Wheel Poster
Description: A colorful, child-friendly wheel illustrating a variety of common feelings. Hang this poster in your classroom as a visual reminder that all emotions are okay and help us understand ourselves and others.
How to Read the Wheel
- The wheel is divided into four main sections (core feelings): Happy, Sad, Angry, and Scared.
- Each core feeling is paired with two related emotions:
- Happy: Joyful, Excited
- Sad: Lonely, Disappointed
- Angry: Frustrated, Annoyed
- Scared: Nervous, Worried
- Each emotion has an easy-to-read word and a simple, expressive icon showing a child’s face demonstrating that feeling.
Using the Feelings Wheel
- Introduce: Point to each section and name the core feeling and related emotions.
- Reference: During Emotion Recognition and Perspective-Taking Practice, ask students to find the matching feeling on the wheel.
- Reflect: After activities, revisit the wheel. Ask: “Which feeling did we use when…?”
- Normalize: Encourage students to share which section of the wheel matches how they feel at the start and end of each day.
Printing & Display Tips
- Size: Print on a large poster or tile onto multiple sheets and assemble.
- Lamination: Laminate for durability and marker use.
- Placement: Hang at student eye level near meeting areas.
Keep this wheel visible as a gentle reminder that noticing and naming feelings is the first step in showing empathy and caring for each other.