Empathy - Grade 3 Supplementary Activity
About This Lesson
In this lesson, students build on their knowledge of emotions, and explore the quality of empathy. They will analyze characters in various situations and share their own experiences to help each other understand others’ points of view and develop ways to empathize.
Social Skills

15-60 Minutes

3rd Grade
Learning Objectives
By the end of this activity, students will:
- Understand what empathy is and why it’s important;
- Demonstrate empathy in response to various scenarios;
- Create empathy lenses that will help others understand their own point of view.
Xello Entry Point
In the Skills section, students can rate their empathy skill level. Before they do that, use this lesson to help them understand empathy and build confidence in the skill.
Driving Question
Why is empathy important?
Future-Ready Skills
Empathy
Caring
Communication
Respecting Others
Lesson Breakdown
10-15 minutes
Activity 1 - How Am I Feeling?
Students play a charades-type game to activate prior knowledge about recognizing and identifying others’ emotions.
15-20
minutes
Activity 2 - Empathy Maps
The purpose of this activity is to have students practice being empathic by analyzing what a character may be thinking, feeling, doing, or saying in a sample scenario.
20-25
minutes
Activity 3 - Empathy Lenses
In this activity, students create empathy glasses that their classmates can wear to better understand their point of view.
5-10
minutes
Exit Activity - Students Rate their Empathy Skill
Have students update their skills inventory in Xello to reflect what they’ve learned and practiced about empathy.