How to Build Empathy in the Classroom

Empathy is at the heart of social-emotional learning (SEL). It’s what allows students to care about each other, resolve conflicts peacefully, and create classrooms where everyone feels seen and heard.

But empathy doesn’t just happen. It’s a skill—and like any skill, it needs to be modeled, taught, and practiced.

In this post, we’ll explore the role of empathy in SEL, how to cultivate social awareness in schools, and share empathy activities for students that help them step into someone else’s shoes with compassion and curiosity.

Why Empathy in the Classroom Matters in School Communities

Why Empathy is more than “being nice.” It’s the ability to:

• Recognize and understand someone else’s feelings
• Respond with compassion and care
• Acknowledge differences without judgment

When empathy is part of daily classroom life, students are:

• Less likely to bully or exclude others
• More likely to cooperate, help, and build friendships
• Better at managing conflict and expressing themselves respectfully

When Empathy isn’t just a benefit to others—it helps students become more emotionally resilient themselves.

Empathy in the SEL Framework

Empathy is a key component of social awareness, one of the five core SEL competencies. Here’s how it fits into the bigger picture:

SEL Competency	Empathy Connection
Self-Awareness	Helps students identify how their own emotions affect others
Self-Management	Encourages regulation of reactions based on others’ feelings
Social Awareness	Develops understanding of different perspectives
Relationship Skills	Strengthens communication, trust, and compassion
Responsible Decision-Making	Empathy influences ethical, inclusive choices

Teaching empathy supports academic achievement, too. Classrooms with strong empathy cultures have fewer behavior disruptions, higher peer engagement, and stronger emotional safety—all of which contribute to better learning outcomes.

Explore how this works in our Elementary SEL Curriculum or learn more about Social Emotional Learning.

Empathy Activities for Students in the Classroom (Grades K–6)

The following are activities that can support building empathy in classrooms.

1. “If I Were In Their Shoes” Game

Read a short story or present a real-life situation (e.g., a student drops their lunch tray). Ask:

• “How do you think they feel?”
• “What might they need right now?”
• “What would you do if you were them?”

This helps kids practice perspective-taking and develop emotional vocabulary.

2. “Mirror Faces” Exercise

Pair students up. One child makes a facial expression (happy, sad, worried, surprised), and the other mirrors it. Then they guess the feeling.

This activity builds emotional awareness and empathy through nonverbal communication.

3. Empathy Journals

Invite students to reflect weekly on questions like:

• “Who helped you this week?”
• “Who might need help right now?”
• “How can you be a friend to someone who feels left out?”

Encourage personal connections through writing, drawing, or both.

4. “Kindness Web”

In a circle, one student holds a ball of yarn, says something kind about another student, then passes the yarn. Repeat until everyone’s connected. This makes inclusion and appreciation visible.

5. Story Time with a Twist

Choose books that highlight characters from different cultures, abilities, or experiences. Pause to ask:

• “What is this character feeling?”
• “What would you do if you were their friend?”

Books like Last Stop on Market Street or Each Kindness are excellent SEL empathy lessons for elementary students.

6. Empathy Freeze Tag

Play tag with a twist: when someone is tagged, they freeze in a feeling (e.g., scared, angry, tired), and another player must guess and act out a helpful response to “unfreeze” them.

This combines movement with emotional literacy and peer problem-solving.

Teaching Kindness Through Daily Habits

Empathy grows when it’s part of the classroom culture. Here’s how to build it into your daily routines:

• Model It Out Loud: Narrate your own empathic thinking—“I wonder how he’s feeling right now.”
• Use I-Feel Statements: Encourage students to say, “I feel ___ when ___” to express emotions non-defensively.
• Celebrate Differences: Acknowledge and appreciate the unique identities, cultures, and strengths of your students.
• Normalize Mistakes: Let students practice empathy when others mess up—and when they do too.
• Create Community Agreements: Invite students to co-create rules that honor kindness, listening, and belonging.

Explore more tools like our Tools of the Heart to help students resolve conflicts using empathy and responsibility.

Quick Journal Prompts for Empathy Building

Try adding these as bell ringers, morning meetings, or reflection time:

• “A time someone showed me kindness was…”
• “I noticed someone feeling __ today. I helped by…”
• “If someone felt left out at lunch, I could…”
• “What does being a good friend mean to you?”

These questions support deeper self-reflection and compassionate classroom behavior.

Why Empathy Needs to Be Practiced, Not Just Taught

Empathy can’t be taught in a single lesson. It needs to be:

• Modeled by adults
• Practiced in real-life situations
• Supported through stories, games, and discussions
• Embedded in conflict resolution and relationship-building

It’s not about being perfect—it’s about being present and intentional.

By making empathy a central part of your teaching, you’re helping students feel safe, valued, and emotionally connected—and that’s a foundation for everything else.