Teaching Empathy: 20 Resources During This Very Trying Time

 

These are unprecedented times. There is unprecedented anxiety, fear and anger. People have been dealing with isolation, death,  and loss of jobs. We all need to be more patient and empathetic with one another. Easy to say, right? As adults, we have been trudging through the past 6 months with great difficulty, so imagine how our kids and students have felt. My first guess would be that they are quite confused and wondering whether or not they will be returning to school in person or virtually. The following resources are meant to assist us all with being more empathetic. If you have any additions, please add in the comments section after the article.

ARTICLES, LESSONS, WORKSHEETS
3 Ways to Teach Kindness and Empathy- from McGraw Hill

4 Proven Ways for Teaching Empathy- from Edutopia

Ages and Stages: Empathy- from Scholastic; covers PreK- Grade 2

Can Empathy Be Taught?-by F. Diane Barth, LCSW; Psychology Today Magazine

Can Virtual Reality Teach Empathy?- from Innovation Education in VT

Developing Empathy Through Retold Fairy Tales- from PBS Learning Media; grades 5-8

Empathy Lesson Plans for Middle School

Empathy Worksheets- FREE download; grades 1-3

For Families: 5 Tips for Cultivating Empathy- from the Harvard School of Education's Making Caring Common Project

How to Be More Empathetic- NY Times article written by Claire Cain Miller; for older students to adults

How to Teach Empathy in the Classroom- from TeachThought

Nine Competencies for Teaching Empathy- by Michele Borba, educational psychologist and parenting expert

Someone Else's Shoes- activity for middle school kids

Teaching Tolerance- includes lessons, learning plans, articles, publications and much, much more

What is Empathy? And Why is it So Important?- from educator and author David Geurin

VIDEOS