Classroom Activities
Lesson 1
Donuts
In the book Class Act, the teacher buys donuts to start a discussion with his students about Empathy. What you would do is bring all kinds of donuts one morning for your class or put a picture of assorted donuts up on your board. You can even print out a picture of assorted donuts to hang around your classroom. Than you ask questions to your students about the donuts. What do you think these donuts represent? What do you notice about these donuts? You want to lead them in the discussion by allowing them to see there are all types of donuts with all different flavors, but the one thing they all have in common is they all are donuts. You want your students to see they are all different and to gain an understanding of how to embrace those differences with the knowledge that it is okay to be different. You also want them to see that although we all are different we all are human. We all serve a purpose. In this lesson, you not only want to guide the discussion, but allow the students to really do most of the talking. Allow them to examine the donuts and to see what some of the donuts have in common. Ask questions for example: What do you think it would be like if you only had to eat one kind of donut? Would that be fair if we only had one flavor donut? What if someone felt chocolate was the best donut and decided to make a law banning all other flavor donuts, how would you feel?
Lesson 2
Step in their shoes
Teach “being in someone else’s shoes.” I would use different scenario cards to practice being in someone else shoes. This will encourage students to think about how they might feel. Then, have the students think about how someone else might feel. This is a very important component of empathy, because it shows how everyone doesn’t think and feel the same. It will teach the students how to be aware of others feelings. This is a skill that the students can practice.
Lesson 3
What do you see?
Use optical illusions to teach perspective. Optical illusions are a great way to teach perspective because they show students that they all think differently and that is okay! I will show different optical illusions and have the students write down what they see. Then, have them do a “think pair share”. The students will write it down, share it with a partner, and than discuss it with the class. This will help the students realize that they do not all see the same things the same way. This is a great lesson to have a classroom discussion on perspective and empathy.
Lesson 4
Character study
Reading lessons about the characters, using the graphic novel, will lead the students to think about their emotions and motives of the characters. They can discuss how they relate to the characters. Some questions to ask are: How do you think they feel right now? Why do you think they feel that way? What might they be thinking? How would you feel if you were in their shoes? What might they do next? Character traits are really important. The students will also be comparing and contrasting the character’s feelings and motives and home settings, by using graphic organizers.
Lesson 5
Interactive Notebook
This notebook will be used throughout the whole unit. The students will use this notebook to write down their opinions and feelings from our classroom discussions. They will be asked multiple questions through the chapter. Opinion writing is really important and this will be a great way for students to share their opinions and feelings. This will also be a great lesson that will help the students reflect.
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