Lesson Plan
Empathy for a More Just World
Students will be able to explain the connection between empathy and social justice, proposing one way empathy can address an issue of unfairness in their community.
This lesson is important because it helps students understand how their capacity for empathy can be a powerful tool to address real-world problems and create positive change in their communities.
Audience
8th Grade Students
Time
30 minutes
Approach
Through discussion, examples, and project ideation, students will explore empathy's role in social justice.
Materials
A More Just World Slide Deck, Project Idea: Community Justice Project, and Discussion: 'What Can We Do?'
Prep
Teacher Preparation
15 minutes
- Review the Empathy for a More Just World Lesson Plan and all linked materials.
- Ensure access to the A More Just World Slide Deck for presentation.
- Print or prepare digital access for the Project Idea: Community Justice Project and the Discussion: 'What Can We Do?'.
- Consider local community issues that might resonate with students as examples for the discussion and project.
Step 1
Connect & Introduce: What is Social Justice?
5 minutes
- Begin by asking students what 'social justice' means to them. Facilitate a brief class share.
- Introduce the concept of empathy as understanding and sharing the feelings of others.
- Pose the central question: "How can empathy lead to a more just world?"
Step 2
Model & Explain: Empathy in Action
10 minutes
- Use the A More Just World Slide Deck to present key concepts: social justice, fairness, equity, and empathy.
- Provide 2-3 concrete examples of how empathy has driven social change (e.g., disability rights, environmental movements, civil rights). Discuss how understanding others' experiences fueled these movements.
- Emphasize that injustice often stems from a lack of empathy for those affected by unfair systems.
Step 3
Guided Practice: Community Issues
10 minutes
- Facilitate a class discussion using the Discussion: 'What Can We Do?' prompts.
- Guide students to identify an issue of unfairness in their own community (e.g., homelessness, unequal access to resources, bullying).
- In small groups, have students brainstorm how empathy could be applied to understand and address this specific community issue. Encourage them to think about different perspectives involved.
Step 4
Independent Application: Project Idea
5 minutes
- Introduce the Project Idea: Community Justice Project as a way to further explore their ideas.
- Explain that this project will allow them to delve deeper into a chosen community issue and propose an empathy-driven solution.
- Assign the project, clarifying expectations and answering any initial questions. This can be an ongoing assignment beyond this single lesson.
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Slide Deck
Empathy for a More Just World
How can understanding others lead to real change?
Welcome students and introduce the day's topic. Ask students to think about the question on the slide and be ready to share their initial thoughts.
What is Social Justice?
Social justice means fairness and equality for everyone in a society.
It's about making sure:
- Everyone has the same opportunities.
- Everyone is treated with respect.
- No one is discriminated against because of who they are.
Define social justice for students. Encourage a brief class discussion on what this means in their own words or examples they've seen.
Fairness vs. Equity
Fairness
Getting what you need to succeed.
Equity
Ensuring everyone has access to the same opportunities and resources, regardless of their background.
Why is this important for a just world?
Introduce the idea of fairness and equity. Explain the difference: fairness is about getting what you need, equality is about getting the same. Use a simple analogy if helpful (e.g., different sized bikes for different sized people).
What is Empathy?
Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person.
It's about:
- Putting yourself in someone else's shoes.
- Trying to see the world from their perspective.
- Understanding their experiences, even if they are different from yours.
Introduce empathy. Ask students for their definitions first. Emphasize that empathy is not just feeling for someone, but understanding with them.
Empathy + Social Justice = Change!
When we feel empathy, we:
- Notice unfairness.
- Care about how others are affected.
- Are motivated to act and make things better.
Empathy is the fuel for social justice.
Connect empathy directly to social justice. Provide 2-3 brief, relatable examples of how empathy has led to positive change (e.g., a student standing up for another being bullied, a community organizing to help neighbors after a disaster).
Unfairness in Our Community?
Every community faces challenges.
What are some issues of unfairness or injustice that you see or hear about in our school, neighborhood, or wider community?
Think about access to resources, how different groups are treated, or problems that affect certain people more than others.
Transition to thinking about their own community. Ask students to consider issues they've observed or heard about.
How Can Empathy Help?
For the issues we just discussed, how could empathy guide us to find solutions?
- Whose perspectives do we need to understand better?
- What would it feel like to be in their situation?
- What actions might arise from that understanding?
Let's discuss this further!
Explain that they will now brainstorm solutions driven by empathy. Refer them to the discussion material.
Your Turn: Community Justice Project
You'll have the chance to become a Community Justice Champion!
Using empathy as your guide, you will:
- Choose a specific issue of unfairness in your community.
- Research and understand different perspectives.
- Propose a creative, empathy-driven solution.
(See Project Idea: Community Justice Project for more details!)
Introduce the project as a way to extend their learning and apply these concepts. Emphasize that this is a chance to make a real difference, even if it's just an idea for now.
Project Guide
Community Justice Project Idea
Objective
To deeply explore an issue of unfairness in your community and propose an empathy-driven solution.
Project Overview
This project challenges you to become a Community Justice Champion! You will choose a specific issue of unfairness or injustice that you see in your local community, research it through the lens of empathy, and then develop a creative idea to address it. Your goal is to show how understanding the experiences and feelings of others can lead to real, positive change.
Project Steps
Step 1: Identify a Community Issue (5-10 minutes)
Think about our discussions and identify an issue of unfairness or injustice in our school, neighborhood, or wider community. This could be anything from bullying and litter to unequal access to resources or lack of support for certain groups. Choose something you genuinely care about.
My Chosen Community Issue:
Step 2: Empathy Research (10-15 minutes)
Once you have your issue, think about all the different people affected by it. This is where empathy comes in! Imagine yourself in their shoes.
Consider the following perspectives:
- Who is directly impacted by this issue? (e.g., individuals experiencing the unfairness)
- Who else is involved, even if not directly impacted? (e.g., community leaders, business owners, witnesses, people who might contribute to the problem unknowingly)
- What might their daily experiences be like because of this issue?
- What feelings might they be experiencing? (e.g., frustration, sadness, anger, hope, resignation)
- What are their needs, hopes, or challenges related to this issue?
Whose perspectives will you explore, and what might you discover?
Step 3: Propose an Empathy-Driven Solution (10-15 minutes)
Based on your empathetic understanding of the different perspectives, brainstorm one specific, actionable way to address the issue. Your solution should clearly show how empathy is at its core – how it considers the feelings and needs you identified in Step 2.
Your Solution Idea:
How does your solution demonstrate empathy?
Deliverables
- A completed Community Justice Project Idea document with your chosen issue, empathy research, and proposed solution.
Discussion
"What Can We Do?" Discussion
Introduction
Today, we've talked about social justice and the power of empathy. Now, let's bring it closer to home. We're going to have an open and honest conversation about issues of unfairness that we see in our own community and how we, with empathy as our guide, might begin to address them.
Discussion Prompts
Prompt 1: Identifying Community Issues
- What are some issues of unfairness, inequality, or injustice that you have observed or heard about right here in our community (school, neighborhood, town)?
- These don't have to be huge global problems; they can be smaller, everyday situations that just don't seem fair to certain people.
Prompt 2: Understanding Perspectives (Choose one issue from Prompt 1 to focus on)
- For the issue we've chosen, who are the different people involved or affected by it? (Think broadly: individuals, families, groups, local organizations, etc.)
- If you could spend a day in their shoes, what might their experience be like? What feelings might they be experiencing?
Prompt 3: Empathy-Driven Solutions
- Knowing what you know about the different perspectives and feelings related to this issue, what's one way empathy could help address this unfairness?
- What kind of action or solution might arise from a deep understanding of others' experiences?