Building Empathy

Lesson Overview

This 60-minute lesson—third in the "Understanding Relationships" unit—engages Years 3 and 4 students in developing empathy to foster stronger, more respectful friendships. Students will explore how empathy deepens relationships through interactive activities grounded in NSW Health curriculum objectives. This lesson incorporates discussion, role-play, emotion recognition, and personal reflection, supporting students’ social and emotional learning in age-appropriate ways.

---

Curriculum Links

NSW Curriculum – Personal Development, Health and Physical Education (PDHPE)

• Content Strand: Personal, Social and Community Health
• Focus Area: Relationships
• Learning Outcomes:
• ACPPS033: Describe actions that help make the classroom a fair and inclusive place, and identify how empathy for others supports positive relationships.
• ACPPS035: Identify strategies to recognise emotions in themselves and others and describe how to manage these positively to maintain respectful relationships.
• ACPPS036: Recognise how empathy and inclusion contribute to respectful relationships and a sense of belonging.
• General Capabilities addressed: Personal and Social Capability – self-awareness, empathy, and social management.

---

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will:

• Understand the concept of empathy and why empathy strengthens relationships.
• Demonstrate empathy through perspective-taking and recognising others’ emotions.
• Reflect on personal experiences where they have practised empathy.
• Identify strategies to express empathy in friendships.

---

Lesson Breakdown

1. Introduction & Launch Discussion (10 minutes)

Purpose: Introduce empathy and its role in relationships.

• Begin with a simple, relatable question: “What does it mean to understand how someone else feels?”
• Present 2-3 brief real-world scenarios that involve different people showing empathy to one another (e.g., a friend comforting someone who is sad, including someone new in a game).
• Discuss as a class: How did empathy make the situation better? Why is it important in friendships?
• Anchor discussion to the idea that empathy helps us build trust and kindness in relationships.

2. Perspective-Taking Activity (15 minutes)

Purpose: Develop the skill of seeing situations from another’s viewpoint.

• Organise students into small groups of 4-5.
• Give each group a short scenario involving a friendship challenge or misunderstanding (e.g., a friend gets left out during recess).
• Each student takes turns explaining how they think one person in the scenario feels and why.
• After everyone shares, groups discuss what might help the people feel better, focusing on showing empathy.
• Share highlights with the whole class.

3. Emotion Recognition Game (15 minutes)

Purpose: Practice recognising and naming emotions in others.

• Show flashcards or images depicting various facial expressions and emotions (happy, sad, frustrated, confused, excited).
• Ask students to identify the emotion and suggest what might have caused it.
• Extend the activity by asking: "How could you show empathy to someone feeling like this?"
• Optionally, include a ‘mirror’ game where students mimic expressions and classmates guess the feeling.

4. Story Reflection and Sharing (15 minutes)

Purpose: Connect empathy skills to personal experiences.

• Read a short story or excerpt involving characters who show empathy or face emotional challenges.
• Ask guided questions: “How did the characters show they understood each other? What would you do in that situation?”
• Invite students to share a time when they practised empathy with a friend or family member.
• Discuss as a class different ways we can show empathy in our daily lives.

5. Plenary and Strategy Identification (5 minutes)

Purpose: Reinforce learning and set focus for next lessons.

• As a class, compile a list of simple empathy strategies students can practise (e.g., listening carefully, asking how someone feels, imagining yourself in their shoes).
• Encourage students to try one strategy during the week and be ready to share their experience next lesson.

---

Assessment & Reflection

• Observe student contributions during discussions and activities to assess understanding of empathy concepts.
• Use students’ shared stories as informal formative assessment for their ability to identify empathy in real life.
• Collect one written or drawn reflection from each student describing a way they could show empathy to a friend.

---

Teaching Tips

• Use age-appropriate language and examples to ensure understanding.
• Create a safe and supportive classroom environment where students feel comfortable sharing.
• Reinforce positive behaviours observed during group work to build social skills confidence.
• Allow flexibility for students who find sharing more challenging by providing alternative expression formats (drawing, role-play).

Differentiation Strategies:

For students needing support:

• Provide simplified instructions with clear examples of empathy.
• Use visual aids such as emotion charts to help identify feelings.
• Offer sentence starters to assist in expressing empathy.
• Scaffold role-playing activities with guided prompts.

For students needing extension:

• Pose open-ended questions about empathy scenarios to deepen thinking.
• Encourage independent reflection journals on personal empathetic experiences.
• Offer leadership roles during group discussions to foster confidence.
• Challenge students to create empathy-themed projects or presentations.