For middle school and high school students, developing a sense of empathy and perspective is crucial. These are critical skills to have. Introducing a discussion about perspective in school can help students develop compassion for people. It can also help them understand how the right interactions between people can make a difference.
To facilitate this, you can use these 15 perspective-taking activities to help middle schoolers develop social skills, understand the importance of different perspectives, and guide them to form impressions of people empathetically. These can be included in the lesson plans as well!
1. Cultural Show And Tell
It’s okay to be different. School students should understand that diversity is good. Every quarter, schedule a show and tell where students bring something associated with their culture. You can even tweak this activity by having a dine-in cultural lunch experience and having everyone bring food from their culture. This also helps to improve communication skills.
Learn More: Participate Learning
2. Dare To Be Uniquely You
Have your middle school students share what traits make them unique and how they understand respect. Then, proceed to this simple activity idea that focuses on uniqueness. It will teach them that despite their differences, people can work together and enable them to have a more profound respect for people.
Learn More: Education World
3. Being In Your Shoes
Show your class pictures of a child slave, a working student, a girl on vacation, a puppy, and more. Then, ask them how’d they feel if they were in the shoes of this person (or animal). This goal is to introduce the definition of empathy and help develop deeper empathy.
Learn More: Humane Education
4. Hello Again, Big Picture Books
Believe it or not, middle schoolers still like picture books, and it’s an excellent way to build perspective-taking skills. These books are visually stimulating and have engaging short stories, making it easier to introduce new perspectives to the class. Exposure to picture books like Voices in the Park can kick off your book series learning.
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5. Go On A Virtual Trip
Experience will always be the best teacher, even if it is virtual. And thanks to technology, you can easily take the entire class along to travel to another place and meet new people. Or use Google Earth, one of the best interactive resources, to get a new perspective of the world.
Learn More: Discovery Education
6. Everyone Perceives Things Differently
This is one of the activity ideas that will help your students discover that everyone has their own interpretation and outlook when presented with a single word. Being able to understand this is an important life skill.
Learn More: Creducation
7. What Do You See?
This is similar to everyone perceives things differently, but helps deliver a slightly different message. This simple activity will help your students learn that while they may see things differently, it doesn’t mean one is correct and the other is wrong. Sometimes, there is no right or wrong — just different.
Learn More: Creducation
8. Promote Empathetic Problem-solving
There will always be ways to find solutions and alternatives with care. Boost your students’ problem-solving skills with this activity that promotes empathetic discussion questions.
Learn More: Edutopia
9. Social Assessment
Get your students’ honest opinions on a relatively famous and relatable social story. It can be feedback, suggestion, or critique. This will encourage independent thinking and respect for other people’s views.
Learn More: Teach Starter
10. Yes or No?
Present different scenarios in the class, and ask your students to decide for themselves whether they agree or not. You can then ask them to justify their decision and share their train of thought and reasoning.
Learn More: Teaching Made Practical
11. Toy Story 3 Movie Review
Watch a clip from Toy Story 3 and exchange your thoughts based on the character's perspective. Then, ask the students to re-write the story based on what they think is a better conversation or result.
Learn More: Youtube
12. Point Of View Cards
Present different social scenarios to the students using the Point of View Task cards or something similar. Have them discuss what they think they might do or how they might react when faced with a specific situation.
Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers
13. TED-Ed Video
Watch this TED-Ed video in class and then have a discussion. It will help provide perspective practice as it shows different characters and their different perspectives.
Learn More: Youtube
14. Explore Songs Lyrics And Books
Listen to different songs and read excerpts from various books. Open the floor for a discussion on where the students think the author is coming from and what the story is behind the words.
Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers
15. Emotion Charades
A spin on the regular charades, in this version, one student acts out emotions or feelings using their facial expressions and body language. The rest of the group then guesses what emotion is being portrayed. This activity can help with identifying emotions, reading between the lines, and reacting to them appropriately.
Learn More: Centervention
13 Continent Activity Ideas: Games, Puzzles, And Resources