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Empathy: Understanding Others

Third graders build social awareness by learning empathy — noticing and caring about how other people feel — and how understanding others helps them be kind, make friends, and treat everyone well.

Grade 3CASEL: Social Awareness30 minutes1 class periodCASEL SELExplicit teaching4 StandardsCASEL
Start the Lesson
Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Define empathy.
  • ✓Notice others’ feelings.
  • ✓See from another’s view.
  • ✓Respond with kindness.
Essential Question

Have you ever felt exactly what a friend was feeling — happy when they’re happy, or sad when they’re hurt? That’s empathy! Why does understanding other people’s feelings matter so much?

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Lesson Phases
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Vocabulary Terms
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Standards Aligned
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Interactive Task
Explore · Interactive

Empathy Check

Project each item and have children answer about empathy. The tool explains understanding and caring about others’ feelings.

🤝 Understand empathyTry it
Answer each question about empathy.
The Lesson · SEL Flow (Check-In · Learn · Practice · Apply · Reflect)

30 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Check-In — In Their Shoes

5 min

Have you ever felt what a friend was feeling? That’s empathy — what does it mean?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Do a check-in.
  • Ask about feeling with others.
  • Set a caring tone.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Check in.
  • Think about it.
  • Get ready.
2

Learn — What Is Empathy?

8 min

Students learn.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Explain empathy.
  • Explain noticing feelings.
  • Explain seeing another’s view.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Learn empathy.
  • Notice feelings.
  • See their view.
3

Practice — Empathy Check

8 min

Students practice.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send children to Empathy Check.
  • Answer each one.
  • Talk about kindness.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Answer them.
  • Talk.
  • Explain them.
4

Apply — Empathy in Action

6 min

Students apply.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Notice a classmate’s feeling.
  • Respond kindly.
  • Explain how it helps.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Notice it.
  • Be kind.
  • Explain it.
5

Reflect — Reflect

3 min

Students close.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Explain empathy.
  • Name a kind response.
  • Complete the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Explain it.
  • Name one.
  • Complete the exit ticket.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the CASEL 5 Social & Emotional Learning Competencies.

CASEL
Social Awareness

Recognize and understand the feelings of others.

CASEL
Social Awareness

Take the perspective of another person.

CASEL
Social Awareness

Show concern for others’ feelings.

CASEL
Relationship Skills

Respond to others with kindness.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Feeling-and-response cards.
  • Sentence frame: “My friend feels ___, so I can ___.”
  • Use story pictures.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Start with noticing sad vs. happy.
  • Use face pictures.
  • Practice one kind response.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Role-play empathy.
  • Notice feelings in a book.
  • Explain perspective-taking.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Screen / board
  • 🖼️Feeling-scene pictures
  • 💻Empathy Check
  • 🖍️Crayons
  • 📚Books about kindness
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

empathycaring about how others feelsocial awarenessnoticing others’ feelingsperspectivehow someone else sees thingskindfriendly and caringunderstandto know how someone feelsnoticeto pay attentioncompassioncaring and wanting to helpfeelingsemotions inside a person
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
What does empathy mean?
Understanding and caring about how other people feel.
QUESTION 2
What could you do for a classmate who looks sad?
Ask if they’re okay and invite them to join you.
QUESTION 3
Why does empathy matter?
It helps us be kind, make friends, and treat people well.

Reflect: an empathy detective.

Have students be “empathy detectives” — noticing how classmates feel and finding one kind way to help someone today. A printable empathy sheet is in the SEL library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 Social Awareness: EmpathyFlip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
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Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 Social Awareness: EmpathyQuiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
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Nice work!

Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ Social Awareness: EmpathyPrint
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: compassion, empathy, feelings, kind, notice, perspective, social awareness, understand
  1. friendly and caring
  2. to pay attention
  3. how someone else sees things
  4. to know how someone feels
  5. caring and wanting to help
  6. caring about how others feel
  7. emotions inside a person
  8. noticing others’ feelings

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. What does empathy mean?
  2. What could you do for a classmate who looks sad?
  3. Why does empathy matter?
Answer key — Part A: 1) kind · 2) notice · 3) perspective · 4) understand · 5) compassion · 6) empathy · 7) feelings · 8) social awareness
Part B: 1) Understanding and caring about how other people feel. 2) Ask if they’re okay and invite them to join you. 3) It helps us be kind, make friends, and treat people well.