Stories Grow Empathy: Perspective Taking in the Primary Years

Perspective taking is the skill of understanding what someone else thinks and feels. Stories are a natural way to practice it. Children follow a character’s hopes, fears, and choices. They notice clues. They guess what might happen next. They learn that two people can feel different things about the same event. This insight lowers conflict and grows cooperation.

Make empathy concrete

After a read-aloud, try a three-column chart. Felt. Did. Could Try.

• What did the character want?

• What were they feeling?

• What could they try next time?

Now connect it to the day. If we feel left out at recess, what could we try? Ask to join. Invite someone in. Take turns. Keep it specific and short.

Why empathy helps behavior and reading

Understanding others reduces friction in groups. It also lifts comprehension because students read under the surface. They track motive, subtext, and cause and effect. That matters both in fiction and nonfiction. Writers always have a purpose and a point of view.

Small moves that add up

• Name the feeling with precise words. Disappointed, nervous, relieved.

• Rehearse one response. Ask to join, trade, or split time.

• Reflect in writing. Four sentences. What happened, how my body felt, what I did, and what I will try next.

Family carryover

Send home one prompt. Ask what the character felt and what might help. Share the week’s feeling word with two model sentences. Families often adopt the same language at dinner and in the car. That makes practice steady.

Takeaway

Empathy grows with reps. Stories provide the reps. Add feeling words and quick rehearsal, and students will carry the skills out of the book and into the room.