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Walk in Their Shoes

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ConceptX

Tier 1
For Schools

Lesson Plan

Walk in Their Shoes

Students will be able to identify different emotions in others and understand that people can have different feelings about the same situation.

Understanding different perspectives helps young children develop empathy, resolve conflicts, and build stronger friendships. It teaches them to consider others' feelings and promotes a more inclusive classroom environment.

Audience

Pre-Primary 1 & 2 Students

Time

1 hour

Approach

Through stories, interactive discussions, and hands-on activities, students will explore various perspectives.

Materials

Whiteboard or Projector, Walk in Their Shoes Slide Deck, Teacher's Script, Picture cards showing various emotions (happy, sad, angry, surprised), Storybook with clear emotional situations (e.g., 'The Rainbow Fish', 'Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse'), Perspective Puzzles Activity, How Do They Feel? Worksheet, Emotion Charades Game, My Feelings & Their Feelings Journal, Quiz Time!, Quiz Time! Answer Key, My Perspective Project Guide, Perspective Project Rubric, How Do We Feel Warm Up, and Cool Down Check-In

Prep

Preparation Steps

15 minutes

  • Review the Walk in Their Shoes Lesson Plan and all linked materials: Walk in Their Shoes Slide Deck, Teacher's Script, How Do We Feel Warm Up, Emotion Charades Game, Perspective Puzzles Activity, How Do They Feel? Worksheet, Quiz Time!, Quiz Time! Answer Key, My Perspective Project Guide, Perspective Project Rubric, and Cool Down Check-In.
    - Gather picture cards showing various emotions (happy, sad, angry, surprised).
    - Select an age-appropriate storybook (e.g., 'The Rainbow Fish', 'Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse') that illustrates clear emotional situations.
    - Print and cut out the pieces for the Perspective Puzzles Activity.
    - Print enough copies of the How Do They Feel? Worksheet for each student.
    - Prepare a space for students to move around for the Emotion Charades Game.
    - Ensure projector/whiteboard is ready for the Walk in Their Shoes Slide Deck.
    - Have drawing materials (crayons, markers) available for the worksheet and journal.

Step 1

Warm Up: How Do We Feel?

5 minutes

  • Begin with the How Do We Feel Warm Up to gauge students' current feelings.
    - Ask students to share one emotion they are feeling and why (if they feel comfortable).

Step 2

Introduction to Perspective Taking

10 minutes

  • Use the Walk in Their Shoes Slide Deck (Slide 1-3) to introduce the concept of perspective-taking using the Teacher's Script.
    - Show emotion picture cards and ask students to identify the emotion and suggest why the person might feel that way.
    - Discuss that different people can feel different ways about the same thing.

Step 3

Story Time & Discussion

15 minutes

  • Read an age-appropriate storybook that highlights different characters' emotions and perspectives.
    - Pause at key points to ask questions from the Teacher's Script such as: 'How do you think [character's name] feels right now? Why?' or 'If you were [character's name], what would you do?'
    - Facilitate a brief class Discussion about how characters in the story had different feelings or saw things differently.

Step 4

Activity: Perspective Puzzles

10 minutes

  • Distribute pieces for the Perspective Puzzles Activity.
    - Students work individually or in pairs to match scenarios with appropriate emotional responses or different viewpoints.
    - Circulate and provide support, encouraging students to explain their choices.

Step 5

Worksheet: How Do They Feel?

10 minutes

  • Hand out the How Do They Feel? Worksheet.
    - Guide students to look at pictures of various scenarios and draw or circle the emotion that best fits, considering different perspectives.
    - Encourage them to think about 'What if...?' scenarios.

Step 6

Game: Emotion Charades

5 minutes

  • Play Emotion Charades Game as a fun way to reinforce recognizing and expressing emotions.
    - Have students act out emotions, and others guess, discussing when someone might feel that way.

Step 7

Cool Down: Check-In

5 minutes

  • Conclude with the Cool Down Check-In activity.
    - Ask students to share one new thing they learned about understanding others' feelings.
    - Briefly review the main idea of perspective-taking.
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Slide Deck

Walk in Their Shoes

Today, we're going to learn about understanding others!

Welcome students and introduce the day's topic: understanding how others feel. Ask them to think about how they feel right now.

What is Perspective Taking?

It means trying to understand how someone else thinks or feels.

Everyone is different! And that's okay!

Explain that 'perspective taking' means trying to understand how someone else thinks or feels. Use simple examples like 'Do you like broccoli? Maybe your friend doesn't! That's okay!'

How Do Others Feel?

Look at these faces!
How do you think they feel?
Why might they feel that way?

Show different emotion cards. Ask students to identify the emotion and talk about a time they felt that way, or why someone else might feel that way. Emphasize that feelings can change and differ from person to person.

Story Time!

Let's read a story and see how the characters feel.

Introduce the story. Encourage active listening and looking at the characters' faces and body language.

Perspective Puzzles!

Match the pictures!

Can you find how they feel or what they might think?

Explain the Perspective Puzzles activity. Demonstrate how to match a scenario with an emotion or a different point of view. Ensure students understand they are looking for a match.

How Do They Feel? Worksheet

Look at the pictures.
Draw or circle how you think they feel.
Remember, everyone is different!

Explain the worksheet activity. Guide students to draw or circle the emotion that fits the scenario, thinking about different viewpoints.

Emotion Charades!

Let's play a game!
Act out an emotion, and your friends will guess!

Explain Emotion Charades. Give examples of emotions to act out. Encourage exaggerated movements and clear expressions.

Great Job!

We learned to 'Walk in Their Shoes' today!
We can understand how others feel.

Review the main idea: we can try to understand how others feel by looking, listening, and thinking. Ask them to share one thing they learned.

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Script

Teacher's Script: Walk in Their Shoes

Warm Up: How Do We Feel? (5 minutes)

Teacher: "Good morning, everyone! Let's start our day with a quick check-in. How are you feeling right now? Thumbs up if you're happy, thumbs down if you're feeling a little sad, and a flat hand if you're just feeling okay. Can anyone share one emotion they are feeling and maybe why?"


(Allow a few students to share. Validate their feelings.)

Teacher: "It's okay to feel all sorts of ways, and sometimes our friends might feel differently than us, even about the same thing! That's what we're going to talk about today!"

Introduction to Perspective Taking (10 minutes)

(Display Walk in Their Shoes Slide Deck - Slide 1: "Walk in Their Shoes")

Teacher: "Look at our first slide! It says, 'Walk in Their Shoes.' Has anyone ever heard that saying before? It means trying to imagine what it's like to be someone else, to understand their feelings and thoughts. It's a bit like being a detective for feelings!"

(Display Walk in Their Shoes Slide Deck - Slide 2: "What is Perspective Taking?")

Teacher: "Perspective-taking means trying to understand how someone else sees things or how they feel. We all have different brains and different hearts, so we don't always think or feel the exact same way. And that's totally okay and makes our world interesting!"

(Show various emotion picture cards or refer to Walk in Their Shoes Slide Deck - Slide 3: "How Do Others Feel?")

Teacher: "Let's look at these pictures. How do you think this person feels? (Point to a happy face) Why do you think they might feel happy? What about this person? (Point to a sad face) Why might they be sad? Have you ever felt this way? Maybe your friend felt sad when you felt happy about something?"

(Encourage discussion and different answers. Guide them to see that there can be multiple reasons for feelings and that feelings can differ.)

Story Time & Discussion (15 minutes)

(Display Walk in Their Shoes Slide Deck - Slide 4: "Story Time!")

Teacher: "Now, let's settle down for a story. This story will help us practice our feeling detective skills! We're going to pay close attention to how the characters feel and why they might feel that way."

(Read the chosen storybook. Pause at key moments to ask questions.)

Teacher (during story):

  • "How do you think [character A] feels when [event happens]? Why?"
  • "If you were [character B], would you feel the same way? What might you do?"
  • "[Character C] is doing [action]. Why do you think they are doing that?"
  • "Do you think [character D] understands how [character E] feels?"

(After the story, facilitate a brief class Discussion.)

Teacher: "What did we learn about the characters in our story? Did everyone feel the same way about what happened? No, right! People often feel differently, and that's an important part of understanding each other."

Activity: Perspective Puzzles (10 minutes)

(Display Walk in Their Shoes Slide Deck - Slide 5: "Perspective Puzzles!")

Teacher: "Time for an activity! I have some special Perspective Puzzles for you. Each puzzle has a picture of a situation, and you need to find the matching piece that shows how someone might feel or what they might think. Let's see if you can be great feeling and thinking detectives!"

(Distribute puzzle pieces. Circulate, observe, and assist students. Ask guiding questions like, "Why did you put these two together?" or "How do you think the person in this picture feels?")

Worksheet: How Do They Feel? (10 minutes)

(Display Walk in Their Shoes Slide Deck - Slide 6: "How Do They Feel? Worksheet")

Teacher: "You're doing such a great job understanding feelings! Now, let's do a How Do They Feel? Worksheet. On this paper, you'll see more pictures of different situations. I want you to look at each picture and either draw a face or circle the emotion that you think the person in the picture might be feeling. Think about what we talked about – people can feel different ways!"

(Distribute worksheets and drawing materials. Guide students through the first one together. Remind them to think about different possibilities.)

Game: Emotion Charades (5 minutes)

(Display Walk in Their Shoes Slide Deck - Slide 7: "Emotion Charades!")

Teacher: "Let's have some fun with our feelings! We're going to play Emotion Charades Game! I'll whisper an emotion to one of you, and you'll act it out with your face and body, but without making any sounds! Everyone else will guess what emotion you're showing. Then, we can talk about when someone might feel that way. Who wants to go first?"

(Facilitate the game, keeping it quick and engaging.)

Cool Down: Check-In (5 minutes)

(Display Walk in Their Shoes Slide Deck - Slide 8: "Great Job!")

Teacher: "Wow, you were all amazing feeling and thinking detectives today! We learned about perspective-taking, which means trying to understand how others feel and think. Can anyone share one new thing they learned today about understanding others' feelings?"

(Allow students to share. Summarize the main points.)

Teacher: "Remember, it's so important to think about how our friends and family might feel. It helps us be kind and understand each other better. Keep practicing your feeling detective skills every day!"

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lenny

Warm Up

How Do We Feel Warm Up?

Instructions:

  1. Teacher says: "Good morning, everyone! Let's start our day with a quick check-in. How are you feeling right now?"
  2. Students show: Students can show their feeling using a thumbs-up (happy/good), thumbs-down (sad/not so good), or a flat hand (okay/neutral).
  3. Share (Optional): The teacher can invite a few students to share why they are feeling that particular emotion.


Discussion Prompts:

  • "Why might someone feel happy today?"
  • "What might make someone feel a little sad?"
  • "Is it okay to feel different emotions? Why?"
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lenny

Reading

Story Time Reading Guide: Understanding Perspectives

Purpose: To use an age-appropriate storybook to illustrate how different characters can have different feelings, thoughts, and perspectives about the same event or situation.

Teacher Preparation:

  • Select an engaging picture book that features characters with clear emotions and scenarios where characters might have differing viewpoints.
    • Examples:
      • The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister (sharing, understanding feelings of being left out)
      • Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes (understanding a teacher's perspective, managing strong emotions)
      • Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes (feelings about names, understanding others' unkind words)
      • A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams (empathy, understanding family's needs)

Instructions for Reading:

  1. Introduce the Story: Before reading, tell students that you will be looking for clues about how the characters feel and think.
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lenny

Discussion

Story Discussion: What Did We See and Feel?

Purpose: To guide students in reflecting on the story and identifying different characters' feelings and perspectives.

Instructions:

  1. After reading the chosen storybook, bring students together for a brief discussion.
  2. Use the following prompts to encourage participation and deeper thinking about perspective-taking.

Discussion Prompts:

  • "Who was your favorite character in the story? Why?"
  • "How did [Character A] feel when [event]? Show me with your face!"


  • "Did [Character B] feel the same way as [Character A]? Why or why not?"


  • "If you were in the story, what would you have done when [event happened]? Would it be the same as a character, or different?"


  • "What did [Character C] do that made another character feel better or worse?"
  • "What did we learn about understanding others from this story?"
  • "Can two people feel differently about the same thing and both be right? Give me an example from the story or your own life."





Teacher Notes:

  • Encourage all students to participate, even with simple gestures or one-word answers.
  • Validate all responses, even if they differ, reinforcing that different perspectives are normal.
  • Gently guide students to explain why they think a character felt a certain way.
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lenny

Activity

Perspective Puzzles Activity

Purpose: To help students visually connect situations with possible emotions or different perspectives.

Materials:

  • Printed Perspective Puzzles (cut into two pieces: one with a scenario, one with an emotion/response).
  • (Optional) Laminator for durability.

Instructions:

  1. Preparation: Print and cut out the puzzle pieces. Each puzzle should have two matching parts. For Pre-Primary students, keep the scenarios simple and the emotions clear.

    • Example Puzzle Pair 1:
      • Scenario Piece: Picture of a child dropping an ice cream cone.
      • Emotion Piece: Picture of a sad face, or a speech bubble saying
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