Lesson Plan
Empathy Role-Play Guide
In six 60-minute sessions, students practice empathy through guided role-plays and perspective-taking activities, aiming to boost social awareness and strengthen peer connections.
Empathy skills help students understand peers’ feelings, reduce conflicts, and create a supportive classroom community by fostering perspective-taking and reflection.
Audience
6th Grade Group
Time
6 × 60 minutes
Approach
Guided role-play, scenario analysis, and reflection prompts.
Prep
Prepare Materials and Space
30 minutes
- Print and assemble scenario cards for the Scenario Swap Activity
- Review the Walk in Their Shoes Slide Deck and note key talking points
- Familiarize yourself with the Empathy Performance Rubric criteria
- Arrange seating into small groups to facilitate role-plays
- Queue any audio/video clips or prompts in advance
Step 1
Session 1: Introduction to Empathy
60 minutes
- Present definition and importance of empathy using the Walk in Their Shoes Slide Deck
- Lead a Think-Pair-Share: recall a time someone showed empathy to you
- Model a short role-play scenario and discuss observations
- Close with a journal prompt: “How did you feel when someone listened to you?”
Step 2
Session 2: Perspective-Taking Skills
60 minutes
- Review last session’s reflections
- Introduce perspective-taking strategies via slide deck examples
- In pairs, students practice describing a situation from two viewpoints
- Regroup and debrief key challenges and insights
- Assign a reflection exit ticket: “One new insight I gained”
Step 3
Session 3: Scenario Swap
60 minutes
- Explain rules of the Scenario Swap Activity
- Distribute scenario cards; small groups prepare role-plays
- Groups perform for each other, swapping roles mid-performance
- Use the Feelings Debrief Discussion prompts to guide peer feedback
- Summarize common themes as a full group
Step 4
Session 4: Advanced Role-Play
60 minutes
- Recap feedback from Scenario Swap
- Introduce more complex scenarios (e.g., conflict resolution)
- In new pairs, students plan and perform both roles
- Peers rate each other using the Empathy Performance Rubric
- Reflect: “What strategy helped you most?”
Step 5
Session 5: Collaborative Debrief
60 minutes
- Start with a mindfulness breathing exercise
- Facilitate the Feelings Debrief Discussion on how empathy practice feels now
- In small teams, identify strategies they’ll use in real life
- Create a group poster of “Empathy Pledge” statements
- Share posters and commit to one actionable step
Step 6
Session 6: Performance Showcase & Reflection
60 minutes
- Students choose their strongest role-play scenario
- Perform for peers and invite audience feedback via the Empathy Performance Rubric
- Conduct a whole-group reflection circle: “How has your empathy grown?”
- Close with individual goal-setting: write two ways to practice empathy this week
Slide Deck
Walk in Their Shoes
A guided exploration of empathy: what it is, why it matters, and how to practice it.
Welcome students! Today we’ll begin our journey into empathy. Explain that “walking in someone else’s shoes” means understanding how they feel and why.
What Is Empathy?
Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person.
• Noticing emotions in others
• Imagining yourself in their situation
• Responding with care and understanding
Define empathy clearly. Illustrate with a quick anecdote: e.g., noticing a friend looking upset and asking how they’re doing.
Why Empathy Matters
• Builds trust and connection
• Reduces misunderstandings and conflict
• Creates a positive, supportive community
Highlight the group benefits of empathy: stronger friendships, fewer conflicts, supportive classroom. Invite a student example if time allows.
How to Practice Empathy
- Observe nonverbal cues (facial expressions, tone)
- Listen actively (focus, don’t interrupt)
- Reflect back (“It sounds like you’re feeling…”)
- Ask open questions (“How did that feel for you?”)
Introduce 4 key strategies. For each, give a one‐sentence example: e.g., “Active listening: look them in the eye and nod.”
Think-Pair-Share Activity
- Think: Recall a time someone showed you empathy.
- Pair: Share your story with a partner.
- Share: Select one pair to tell their story to the whole group.
Explain the Think‐Pair‐Share structure: students jot thoughts, then share with a partner, then volunteers report out. Use a timer to keep pace.
Your Empathy Goal
Write down one specific way you will practice empathy today:
"I will…"
Wrap up the slide with a personal application. Encourage students to set a simple, achievable goal.
Activity
Scenario Swap Activity
Objective:
To strengthen students’ ability to understand and act on others’ feelings by role-playing realistic scenarios and swapping roles to practice perspective-taking.
Materials:
- Printed scenario cards
- Timer or stopwatch
- Reflection note sheet
- Copies of Feelings Debrief Discussion prompts
Prep (15 minutes):
- Print and cut scenario cards (see Scenario Cards below)
- Make enough sets for each group of 2–3 students
- Prepare reflection sheets and discussion prompts
- Set up a timer for role-play rotations
Instructions (60 minutes total):
- Introduction & Group Setup (10 minutes)
- Introduce the purpose of the activity: practice empathy through role-swapping.
- Divide students into groups of 2 or 3.
- Explain that each pair will act out a scenario twice, switching roles the second time.
- Introduce the purpose of the activity: practice empathy through role-swapping.
- Round 1 Role-Play (15 minutes)
- Distribute one scenario card to each group.
- Give students 5 minutes to read and plan their roles: Person A and Person B.
- Each group performs their first role-play (3 minutes per group).
- Observe silently and note points for feedback.
- Distribute one scenario card to each group.
- Round 2 Role Swap (15 minutes)
- Instruct groups to swap roles (Person A becomes B and vice versa).
- Allow 3 minutes for quick planning.
- Groups perform the same scenario again (3 minutes per group).
- Encourage students to draw on insights from the first round.
- Instruct groups to swap roles (Person A becomes B and vice versa).
- Peer Feedback & Reflection (15 minutes)
- Hand out the Feelings Debrief Discussion prompts.
- In groups, discuss:
- How it felt to play each role
- What they learned about the other person’s perspective
- How it felt to play each role
- Each student notes one key insight on the reflection sheet.
- Hand out the Feelings Debrief Discussion prompts.
- Whole-Group Share (5 minutes)
- Invite volunteers to share their insights with the class.
- Highlight common themes and reinforce empathy strategies.
- Invite volunteers to share their insights with the class.
Scenario Cards
- Someone sits alone at lunch looking sad while others chat nearby.
- You forgot to invite a classmate to your group project and realize they feel left out.
- Your partner on a homework assignment didn’t submit their part and you’re worried about the grade.
- A friend is anxious about a big performance and doubts themselves.
- You see a student being teased in the hallway and they look hurt.
- You accidentally broke a friend’s art project and need to make amends.
- A classmate feels left out when the rest of the class understands a game’s rules and they don’t.
- A new student seems nervous about finding their locker and asks for help.
Discussion
Feelings Debrief Discussion
Purpose:
Guide students in reflecting on their emotional experiences and perspective-taking during role-play activities. Helps solidify empathy strategies and connects the activity to real-life interactions.
Guidelines:
• One speaker at a time.
• Listen with attention and respect.
• Be honest but kind—focus on learning, not judgment.
• Everything shared stays within our classroom community.
Discussion Prompts:
- Which role (Person A or Person B) felt more challenging to play, and why?
- What emotions did you notice in yourself when playing each role? How did your body language or tone of voice change?
- What new insights did you gain about how the other person in your scenario might feel?
- Which empathy strategy (observing cues, active listening, reflecting back, or asking open questions) did you use most? How did it help?
- How can you apply what you learned today to real situations at school or home?
Follow-Up Points for Teachers:
- Highlight recurring themes (e.g., common challenges or successful strategies).
- Reinforce vocabulary: empathy, perspective-taking, active listening.
- Encourage students to set one concrete empathy goal for the week.
- Suggest journaling or peer check-ins to continue building empathy skills.
Rubric
Empathy Performance Rubric
| Criteria | 1 – Beginning | 2 – Developing | 3 – Proficient | 4 – Exemplary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emotional Expression | Minimal or unclear display of emotion; struggles to convey feelings. | Conveys basic emotions but may be inconsistent or lack clarity. | Clearly expresses emotions in most moments, helping the audience understand the character’s feelings. | Consistently conveys authentic, nuanced emotions that enrich the role-play and invite strong audience connection. |
| Perspective-Taking | Has difficulty recognizing or responding to the other character’s feelings. | Recognizes another’s feelings but offers limited perspective or insight. | Accurately interprets and responds to the other’s point of view in most scenarios, demonstrating solid perspective-taking skills. | Demonstrates deep understanding of others’ viewpoints, adapting behavior with insightful nuance and fostering empathy in others. |
| Communication | Speech is unclear or disjointed; may interrupt or ignore peers. | Communicates clearly at times but may miss cues or speak over others. | Listens attentively, speaks clearly, and uses respectful tone—engaging in give-and-take with peers. | Exhibits active listening, clear articulation, and empathetic responses that promote thoughtful dialogue. |
| Reflection & Insight | Reflection is missing or too brief, showing limited grasp of empathy. | Reflection shows some awareness of empathy but lacks depth or examples. | Provides thoughtful reflections with clear examples of empathy strategies used and lessons learned. | Offers deep, specific insights, connects role-play to real life, and sets clear, actionable empathy goals for future practice. |
Scoring Guide:
- 1 (Beginning): Needs significant support to develop empathy skills.
- 2 (Developing): Growing awareness but still inconsistent in practice.
- 3 (Proficient): Demonstrates reliable empathy behaviors in role-play.
- 4 (Exemplary): Models outstanding empathy and encourages it in others.
Use this rubric during Sessions 4 and 6 to guide peer feedback and self-reflection. Use the descriptors to assign a score for each criterion and highlight areas for growth.