Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Tune In: What is that person really feeling?

25 minutes

Find Out: From noticing to supporting

20 minutes

Take Action: Choosing empathy

5 minutes

Reflection

Learning intentions

Students will:

recognise verbal and non-verbal emotional cues in others
understand that people express emotions differently.

Success criteria

Students can:

practise empathetic listening and supportive responses
reflect on how emotional awareness improves relationships.

Tune In: What is that person really feeling?

Step 1

Explain that this lesson is all about learning to respond with empathy, and that learning how to identify non-verbal cues is an important part of this.

Model the following ‘freeze frames’ with subtle emotional cues:

crossed arms and avoiding eye contact
a forced smile
a heavy sigh and slumped posture.

Ask students to observe carefully, focusing on facial expressions, body language and tone.

Invite students to respond to the following prompts:

What do you notice?
What might this person be feeling?
What clues helped make that decision?

Record a few answers on the board after each freeze frame.

Step 2

Divide students into groups of 4–5. Explain that students will now create their own freeze frames in their groups.

In their groups, each student will have 60 seconds to:

act out an emotion using only body language and facial expression
have other group members guess what emotion is being shown.

Encourage students to include both obvious emotions (e.g. happy, angry) and more subtle emotions (e.g. nervous, disappointed, unsure).

After each student has had their opportunity to present a freeze frame, bring the class back together and invite discussion with these prompts:

Were some emotions easier to recognise than others?
What made some emotions harder to identify?

Highlight that:

emotions can be shown in different ways
people express emotions differently
emotional cues can include body language, facial expression, tone, silence or behaviour.

Step 3

Introduce the idea that understanding others' emotions is not always straightforward. It is normal to sometimes misread how someone is feeling.

Ask: What can happen if someone’s emotions are misunderstood?

Elicit some responses and record these on the board.

Guide students to recognise the consequences of misunderstood emotions, such as:

miscommunication
conflict
hurt feelings.

Explain that when people take the time to notice and understand emotional cues, they are better able to respond with empathy, reduce misunderstandings and build stronger relationships.

Find Out: From noticing to supporting

Step 1

Build on the idea that recognising emotions is only the first step. Explain that responding with empathy also involves how people listen and respond.

Introduce the concept of active listening. To model active listening, instruct students to find a partner and explain that they will complete 2 short rounds of storytelling and listening.

Round 1	Round 2
One student shares a short story (e.g. their weekend or a favourite hobby). The listener demonstrates poor listening behaviours, such as • interrupting • looking away • becoming distracted • offering advice that was not asked for.	The student repeats the short story, this time with the listener demonstrating active listening behaviours, such as • maintaining eye contact • nodding • using calm and open body language • reflecting back or summarising what was heard • asking simple, relevant questions.

Ensure both students have the opportunity to be the speaker and the listener for each round.

Step 2

Bring the class back together and invite students to reflect on the 2 experiences by asking:

What did you notice in each round?
How did it feel to be the speaker in Round 1?
How did it feel to be the speaker in Round 2?
What differences were noticed between poor listening and active listening?

Elicit a few responses and record key words or phrases on the board (e.g. ignored, frustrated, heard, supported, understood).

Emphasise that poor listening can make people feel dismissed, frustrated or unimportant, and active listening helps people feel heard, respected and supported

Reinforce that listening is not just about hearing words; it is about showing someone that their thoughts and feelings matter.

Step 3

Reiterate that active listening means giving someone your full attention and showing that they are being heard and understood.

Summarise the key behaviours and write these on the board (referring back to the activity):

paying full attention
not interrupting
using body language to show interest
reflecting or summarising what was said
asking simple, thoughtful questions.

Connect active listening with the idea of empathy, and that active listening is 1 way to show empathy in action.

Explain that empathy is the ability to understand how someone else might be feeling and respond in a way that shows care and respect.

Point out that empathy is sometimes confused with sympathy. For clarity, give the following definitions and examples:

Sympathy is feeling sorry for someone (e.g. ‘That’s really bad, I feel sorry for you.’).
Empathy is trying to understand how someone feels and responding with care (e.g. ‘That sounds really tough. Do you want to talk about it?’).

Explain that empathy can sometimes feel like an abstract idea, so it can be helpful to describe it in different ways.

Divide the class into small groups of 2–3 students. Invite each group to explore the question: If empathy were a… what would it be and why?

Provide options such as:

a colour
an animal
a type of food
a song or type of music
a household item
a weather pattern.

Ask groups to choose 1–2 and discuss their reasoning. Encourage students to focus on:

how empathy feels
how it shows up
what it might represent.

Call on each group to briefly share 1 of their ideas with the class. For example: ‘Empathy is like a warm blanket because it makes people feel safe and supported.’

Elaborate by explaining that empathy can look and feel different in different situations and that there is no 1 ‘right’ way to show it. It is about understanding and responding with care.

Step 4

Build on students’ understanding of empathy and active listening by pointing out that when someone shares a problem or feeling, people often try to fix the situation straight away. Introduce the distinction between fixing and supporting:

Fixing: jumping in with advice, solutions or opinions.
Supporting: listening, understanding and responding with empathy.

Provide a simple comparison, such as:

Fixing response: ‘You should just ignore them.’
Supportive response: ‘That sounds really frustrating. Do you want to talk about what happened?’

Invite the class to reflect on how each response might make someone feel. Elicit a few answers and highlight:

fixing can sometimes make people feel dismissed or not understood
supportive responses help people feel heard and respected.

Highlight that not every situation needs to be solved; sometimes, people just need to be listened to.

Step 5

Introduce a simple strategy to help decide how to respond. Explain that before responding to someone, it can be helpful to pause and consider the following 3 questions:

Do they want to be heard?
Do they want help?
Do they want space?

Highlight that different situations and different people may need different responses. Model a simple example: ‘Do you want me to just listen, or would you like help with this?’

Remind students that asking questions can help avoid misunderstandings and lead to more supportive responses.

Step 6

Divide the class into small groups of 2–3 students and provide each group with an Empathy Scenario Card.

Write these questions on the board and invite groups to discuss:

What emotional cues are present?
What might this person be feeling?
What would a ‘fixing’ response look like?
What would a supportive response look like?
When might adult support be needed?

Encourage students to refer back to:

active listening behaviours
empathy definition
the 3 questions (do they want to be heard/help/space?).

Step 7

Bring the class back together and invite groups to share their thinking. As students respond, highlight patterns and reinforce the message that:

noticing emotional cues helps build understanding
listening is often more helpful than immediately trying to fix
different situations require different responses
some situations require support from a trusted adult.

Summarise the key message: responding with empathy involves noticing, listening, and choosing how to respond in ways that support others.

Take Action: Choosing empathy

Step 1

Explain that understanding emotions, listening and responding with empathy are skills that can be practised and strengthened over time. Highlight that in real-life situations, it can be helpful to have simple ways to respond when someone is experiencing big feelings.

Outline that students will create their own toolkit for empathetic responses.

Step 2

Write the following sentence stems on the board and invite students to complete the prompts in their workbooks:

When someone seems upset, I can say…
If I’m unsure what they need, I can ask…
If someone shares something difficult, I can respond by…
If I think the situation is unsafe or too big to handle alone, I will…

Encourage students to:

draw on active listening behaviours
use the 3 questions (do they want to be heard/help/space?)
focus on responses that show care and respect.

As students work, circulate and support them to compose responses that are specific and realistic.

Step 3

Direct students to share 1 of their responses with a partner, encouraging them to give feedback using prompts, such as:

Does this response sound supportive?
How might this make someone feel?

Bring the class back together and invite a few examples to be shared. Highlight that effective examples are the ones that:

show empathy
avoid ‘fixing’
include checking what the other person needs.

Step 4

Guide a short whole-class reflection on applying empathy in everyday situations by asking:

How can responding with empathy help build trust in friendships?
How can it change the way conflicts are handled?

Reinforce that empathy helps others feel understood and that even small responses can have a big impact. Remind students that knowing when to involve a trusted adult is an important part of supporting others.

Reflection

Invite students to reflect on the following question: How can noticing and responding to others’ emotions change the way conflicts and friendships unfold?

Support students’ reflection with prompts, such as:

How might empathy change the way someone feels in a difficult situation?
How can empathetic responses help prevent or reduce conflict?
How might relationships improve when people feel heard and understood?

Invite students to share their thinking with a partner before taking a few responses as a whole class.

Reiterate that empathy is not about getting it perfect; it is about making an effort to understand others and respond with care.

Responding With Empathy

Go to

Summary

Learning intentions

Success criteria

Lesson Guides and Printables

Lesson Details

Skills Required

Curriculum Mapping

Resources Required

UN Sustainable Development Goals

Additional Information

Related Professional Learning

In this lesson

Responding With Empathy

Go to

Summary

Learning intentions

Success criteria

Lesson Guides and Printables

Lesson Details

Skills Required

Curriculum Mapping

Resources Required

UN Sustainable Development Goals

Additional Information

Related Professional Learning

In this lesson