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What's It Like in Their Shoes?

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Lesson Plan

What's It Like in Their Shoes?

Students will be able to practice perspective-taking by identifying the potential feelings of others in different scenarios, developing their understanding of empathy.

Understanding how others feel is a superpower! It helps us be better friends, classmates, and community members. This lesson will help you develop that superpower by learning to 'step into someone else's shoes.'

Audience

5th Grade Students

Time

20 minutes

Approach

Through a story, discussion, and scenario practice, students will explore empathy and perspective-taking.

Materials

Whiteboard or Projector, Slide Deck, Scenario Cards Activity, and My Empathy Journal

Prep

Teacher Preparation

10 minutes

Step 1

Warm-Up Story: "The Peculiar Penguin"

5 minutes

  1. Begin by telling a short, engaging story about a character who feels misunderstood, like "The Peculiar Penguin" who loves to sing opera but other penguins just want to waddle.
    2. Ask students: "How do you think the Peculiar Penguin felt when others didn't understand his passion?" Allow for brief sharing.
    3. Transition by saying: "Today, we're going to learn about putting ourselves in someone else's flippers... or shoes!"

Step 2

Empathy and Perspective-Taking Introduction

5 minutes

  1. Use the Slide Deck to introduce the concepts of empathy and perspective-taking.
    2. Explain that empathy is understanding and sharing the feelings of another, while perspective-taking is seeing a situation from someone else's point of view.
    3. Discuss why these skills are important in their daily lives.

Step 3

Group Practice: Scenario Cards Activity

7 minutes

  1. Divide students into small groups (3-4 students).
    2. Distribute the Scenario Cards Activity to each group.
    3. Instruct groups to read each scenario and discuss: 'How might each person in the scenario be feeling?' and 'Why might they be feeling that way?' Encourage them to think about different perspectives.
    4. Circulate and provide guidance, prompting deeper thinking.

Step 4

Journaling: My Empathy Journal

3 minutes

  1. Bring the class back together.
    2. Distribute the My Empathy Journal.
    3. Explain that they will reflect on one scenario from the activity or a personal experience where they practiced empathy.
    4. Encourage them to write about what they learned and how they can use these skills in the future.
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Slide Deck

What's It Like in Their Shoes?

Understanding Others' Feelings & Perspectives

Why is it important to understand how others feel?

Welcome students and introduce the topic. Explain that today's lesson is about understanding others' feelings.

What is Empathy?

Empathy is when you understand and share the feelings of another person. It's like putting yourself in their shoes to really get what they're going through.

  • Understanding: You know what they're feeling.
  • Sharing: You can imagine how that feeling might be for them.

Can you think of a time you felt empathy for someone?

Introduce empathy. Give a simple, relatable definition and ask students for examples. Emphasize that it's about feeling with someone.

Perspective-Taking

Perspective-taking is looking at a situation or problem from someone else's point of view.

  • How would they see it?
  • What might they be thinking?
  • What might they be feeling?

Why is it sometimes hard to see things from another person's perspective?

Introduce perspective-taking. Explain it's about seeing things from a different point of view, like looking through someone else's window. This is a cognitive skill that supports empathy.

Why Are These Skills Important?

Being empathetic and taking perspective helps us:

  • Be better friends
  • Resolve disagreements peacefully
  • Understand different cultures
  • Help others when they need it
  • Build a kinder classroom and community

How does practicing these skills make our community stronger?

Discuss the importance of these skills. Connect it to classroom and real-world scenarios. Ask students how these skills can make their lives better.

Time to Practice!

Now, we're going to work in small groups to practice our empathy and perspective-taking skills.

  • You'll get some Scenario Cards.
  • Read each card and discuss: How might each person be feeling? and Why?
  • Be ready to share your group's thoughts!

Briefly explain the next activity. Ensure students understand they will be working in groups to discuss scenarios.

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Activity

Scenario Cards Activity

Instructions: Read each scenario with your group. Discuss how each person in the scenario might be feeling and why. Try to see the situation from each person's point of view.

Scenario 1: The Lost Drawing

Maya spent all morning drawing a detailed picture for her art class. During recess, she left it on her desk. When she came back, her classmate, Leo, was accidentally sitting on it, and it was crumpled. Leo didn't realize what he had done until Maya gasped.

  • How might Maya be feeling?


  • How might Leo be feeling?


  • What could Maya do or say?


  • What could Leo do or say?


Scenario 2: The New Game

During free play, a group of friends, including Sarah and Ben, started playing a new tag game. Sarah understood the rules quickly and was having a lot of fun. Ben was confused by the rules and kept getting

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What's It Like in Their Shoes? • Lenny Learning