Grade 4 · SEL · Lesson 9

Practice Empathy in Conversations

Empathy means understanding and sharing the feelings of another person. When we practice empathy in conversations, we make others feel heard, valued, and supported. Empathy is different from sympathy — sympathy is feeling sorry for someone, while empathy is truly trying to understand how they feel.

What this lesson teaches

1Define empathy and explain why it matters in conversations
2Distinguish between empathetic and non-empathetic responses
3Rewrite a response to make it more empathetic
4Apply listening and perspective-taking skills in daily interactions

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