Enrichment · Wellbeing

See it from their side,
then decide what to do.

Each card is a small, real-life moment. Students imagine how the other person might feel, talk it over with a partner, and then come up with one kind thing to say or do.

Make an empathy deckWhat you get

Deal a deck of empathy situations

The worked example is made up: a grade 6 school-and-friends deck and a grade 10 online-life deck. Talk is spoken, not saved; the page keeps only the cards and your notes.

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What you get

Enrichment · WellbeingFree

What you finish with
A deck of 6, 10 or 15 situation cards for one class or group, each with a their-side question and a kind response, run with a think-then-talk timer and noted for next time.
Who it is for
Teachers and advisory leads in grades 3 to 12, school counselors, youth group leaders, and families who want to talk at home.
Format
Browser card generator with saved decks and a two-phase timer. Prints the cards to cut out or as a list; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Wellbeing space in Caveat Enrichment.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Choose the age group and where the situations happen.
  2. Open a card in the present view and read the situation aloud.
  3. Ask the their-side question, then start the timer for pair talk.
  4. Have pairs share their own idea before you read the you-could line.
  5. Mark the card used and note what students came up with.

Make an empathy deck

Why practice taking another side

Three moves for one card1NoticeWhat is happening, and towhom?2Imagine their sideWhat might they feel, think orneed?3Check, do not assumeAsk them, when it is real4Choose a kind actSomething small you could sayor do5Respect the answerHelp is offered, not forcedThree moves for one card1NoticeWhat is happening, and to whom?2Imagine their sideWhat might they feel, think or need?3Check, do not assumeAsk them, when it is real4Choose a kind actSomething small you could say or do5Respect the answerHelp is offered, not forced
Drawn for this page. Imagining another side is a guess; asking is how you find out.

A skill, not just a trait

Social awareness, including understanding how others feel, is one of the skill areas school social and emotional learning programs teach, and those programs improve students’ social behavior on average.

Imagining helps, a little

In laboratory studies, people asked to imagine a day in someone else’s life judged them less by stereotype afterward. A short, regular habit of asking “what might they feel?” is the point of these cards.

Guess, then ask

Imagining is a guess, not knowing. In real life the kindest move is often to ask the person what would help, and to tell a trusted adult when someone may be hurt or unsafe.

Sources

  1. Galinsky, A. D., & Moskowitz, G. B. (2000). Perspective-taking: Decreasing stereotype expression, stereotype accessibility, and in-group favoritism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78(4), 708 to 724. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.78.4.708
  2. Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D., & Schellinger, K. B. (2011). The impact of enhancing students’ social and emotional learning: A meta-analysis of school-based universal interventions. Child Development, 82(1), 405 to 432. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01564.x
  3. CASEL, the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning: social awareness as a competency area (casel.org).
  4. StopBullying.gov (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services): what bystanders can do, in general terms.
  5. 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org.

Situations were written for this page; the example decks are made up. These cards are for class and family talk; they are not an assessment of anyone. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.