What is Empathy?

Today we spent a lot of time talking about the word and concept of Empathy. We started by reading a great book called "Stand in my Shoes" where the main character Emily learns about empathy after her sister yells at her for bugging her while she is trying to study. Emily then tries to pay attention to the people around her throughout the day and works to make a positive difference for others.

We then talked about 5 steps that students could show empathy 

1. Watch and Listen (How is the person acting? What are they saying?)

2. Remember (When did you feel this same way?)

3. Imagine (How would you feel in this same situation?)

4. Ask (Find out how the person is doing? How are they feeling?)

5. Show you care (Let the person know you care by your actions and your words)

Students worked in groups to role play different scenarios and we discussed as a class how we could be both empathetic and helpful in these situations. We will continue to work on this tomorrow and upcoming weeks to help us support each other and identify feelings in others.