Others Shoes Plan Lesson Plan Others' Shoes Plan
Building Empathy through Perspective
30 Minutes
5th Grade SEL
Why This Matters
Developing empathy and perspective-taking enhances social-emotional skills, builds classroom community, and helps students understand others’ emotions, leading to improved communication and compassion.
Teacher Prep
Review the Walking in Others' Shoes Script to familiarize yourself with character dialogue and pacing.
Preview the Perspective Lenses Slides and note key talking points for empathy vs. perspective-taking.
Print enough copies of the Short Story Handout for each student.
Print and cut the Think-Pair-Share Prompts for each pair.
Prepare chart paper or whiteboard space to record students’ insights during the debrief.
Time: 10 minutes
Materials
Perspective Lenses Slides
Short Story Handout
Think-Pair-Share Prompts
Teacher Script
Learning Objective
Students will articulate a story character’s feelings from another perspective with 80% accuracy by analyzing text, discussing with peers, and reflecting on different viewpoints.
Lesson Flow
1
Story Read-Aloud
5 MIN
Distribute the Short Story Handout to each student.
Read the story aloud using the Walking in Others' Shoes Script, modeling expressive tone and pacing.
Pause at key moments to highlight the character’s actions and potential emotions.
Ask students to listen for clues about how the character feels.
2
Identify Perspectives
8 MIN
Display the Perspective Lenses Slides.
Explain the difference between empathy (feeling with someone) and perspective-taking (understanding someone’s viewpoint).
Ask: “What evidence in the story tells us how the character feels right now?”
Invite volunteers to share sentence references and inferred emotions.
3
Paired Discussion
10 MIN
Pair students and distribute one set of Think-Pair-Share Prompts per pair.
In pairs, students take turns answering prompts:
What is the character feeling in this scene?
What in the text supports your answer?
Circulate to monitor discussions, offering guidance and prompting evidence use.
4
Whole-Class Debrief
7 MIN
Reconvene and invite pairs to share their responses.
Record shared feelings and supporting text evidence on chart paper or the whiteboard.
Highlight strong examples of perspective-taking language (e.g., “I think they feel…”).
Reinforce how understanding others’ feelings builds empathy and kindness.
Perspective Lenses Slides Perspective Lenses
Learning to see the world through the eyes of others
Unit: Empathy & Connection
What Is Empathy?
Feeling WITH someone
When we connect to emotions in our own hearts.
Example:
If your friend is upset, you feel that same "upset" feeling in your chest.
Perspective-Taking
Thinking ABOUT someone
Understanding someone else’s point of view or situation.
Example:
You may not feel upset yourself, but you understand why your friend feels that way.
Heart vs. Head
Empathy
Feeling with someone
Sharing their emotion
An emotional response
Perspective
Understanding their view
Figuring out their thinking
A cognitive (thinking) skill
Finding Clues in the Story
Actions
Body language and facial expressions
Dialogue
What the character says and how they say it
Narration
Words the author uses to describe thoughts
GUIDING QUESTIONS
1
What is the character feeling in this moment?
2
What text evidence supports that feeling?
3
How would YOU feel if you were in their shoes?
Ready for Discussion
Put on your Perspective Lenses and work with your partner to explore the character's feelings!
Short Story Handout Reading A Rainy Day Surprise
Short Story Reading
Name
Date
Lucy tugged at her raincoat hood as she dashed down Maple Street. Dark clouds rumbled above, and every time she opened her umbrella, a sudden gust flipped it inside out. She bit her lip, feeling a mix of frustration and worry. Today was her first piano lesson, and she didn’t want to arrive soaked—or late.
Just ahead, a stranger named Maria noticed Lucy’s struggle and hurried over. “Here,” Maria said, holding out her sturdy umbrella. “I’m heading that way too.” Lucy hesitated, then slipped under the canopy. Her cheeks warmed as she realized how worried she’d felt alone in the storm.
As they walked, Lucy’s umbrella began to buckle again. She looked up at Maria and whispered, “I don’t know what I’d do without your help.” Maria smiled and pointed to the music studio’s bright sign. “You’re almost there. You’ll do great!” Lucy’s heart fluttered with relief and excitement. She stepped inside, grateful for kindness and ready to play her very best.
My Perspective Notes
Evidence of Feelings
What words or actions showed you how Lucy was feeling?
Empathy Connection
How would you feel if you were Lucy in this story?
Think-Pair-Share Prompts Discussion Think-Pair-Share
Perspective Lenses Discussion Guide
Partners
Date
Use these prompts in your pairs to guide your discussion. Take turns as Think Partner and Share Partner . Use text evidence from A Rainy Day Surprise .
1 What is the character feeling?
Think about words, actions, or descriptions that show their emotion...
2 What text evidence supports this?
Quote or describe a specific part of the story...
3 Have you ever felt this way?
Describe a time when you felt a similar emotion. What happened?
4 Using perspective-taking, why do you think the character feels this way?
Consider what’s happening in their world and how it influences them...
5 How could you show empathy or kindness to someone feeling like this?
Brainstorm one or two actions you might take if you were in their shoes...
Walking in Others Shoes Script Teacher Resource Teacher Read-Aloud Script
Teacher Resource
Walking in Others' Shoes • 5th Grade SEL
Teacher Preparation
Have each student hold a copy of the Short Story Handout.
Be ready to read with expression, pausing for student thinking.
Ensure the Perspective Lenses Slides are ready to display after the story.
Setting the Scene
[Teacher - Gathering Attention]:
(Pause to ensure everyone has the handout and is looking at you.)
[Teacher - Setting Purpose]:
Segment 1: The Storm
“Lucy tugged at her raincoat hood as she dashed down Maple Street. Dark clouds rumbled above, and every time she opened her umbrella, a sudden gust flipped it inside out. She bit her lip, feeling a mix of frustration and worry. Today was her first piano lesson, and she didn’t want to arrive soaked—or late.”
(Lower your voice slightly and look around the room.)
[Teacher - Pause & Prompt]:
[Teacher - Listen & Acknowledge]:
Segment 2: A Helping Hand
“Just ahead, a stranger named Maria noticed Lucy’s struggle and hurried over. ‘Here,’ Maria said, holding out her sturdy umbrella. ‘I’m heading that way too.’ Lucy hesitated, then slipped under the canopy. Her cheeks warmed as she realized how worried she’d felt alone in the storm.”
[Teacher - Pause & Question]:
(Call on 2–3 students for quick answers. Look for: embarrassment, relief, gratitude.)
Segment 3: Arrival
“As they walked, Lucy’s umbrella began to buckle again. She looked up at Maria and whispered, ‘I don’t know what I’d do without your help.’ Maria smiled and pointed to the music studio’s bright sign. ‘You’re almost there. You’ll do great!’ Lucy’s heart fluttered with relief and excitement. She stepped inside, grateful for kindness and ready to play her very best.”
[Teacher - Final Check-In]:
(Invite volunteers: “Heart fluttered,” “grateful for kindness,” etc.)
