masterMind
Additional LifeSkills Lesson
Unit 5  Study & Learning: developing empathy
Objective: to provide further practice of developing
empathy, this time within the area of Study & Learning.
The three-step strategy for developing this soft skill is:
Step 1: Think of an experience that you have had
that is similar to another person’s situation.
(Lead-in, Ex. A)
Step 2: Compare the difficulty of your experience
with that of another person. (Ex. C)
Step 3: Imagine how you would feel in the other
person’s situation. (Ex. C)
You may decide to highlight this strategy at the
beginning of the lesson, and to conduct a short
discussion to check that the students understand the
skill and why it is useful. However, if you prefer to
teach this lesson without discussing the underlying soft
skill, this is also possible. The lesson is designed to be
engaging and successful either way.
For more information about teaching life skills and ideas
for highlighting the soft skill, please refer to p. xii and
pp. T64–T65 of the Teacher’s Book.
MATERIALS:
• board and markers
• copies of role cards for Ex. B
Lead-in
Ask the students to think of times in their life when they
had a problem. Encourage them to share ideas, and
write a few on the board, e.g., my car broke down, I was
late for school, I didn’t do my homework because I was
sick, I lost something valuable.
© Macmillan Publishers Limited 2015. This page may be photocopied and used within the class.
LEVEL 1
Ask the students to choose one problem to tell their
partner about. Put them in pairs and have them take
turns describing their problem. Their partner should
listen and think of a time when they also had a similar
problem. They should think about how they felt and
suggest how their partner, in turn, might have felt.
If necessary, model the conversation with a student, e.g.:
S: I once lost a valuable necklace that had been given to
me by my grandmother.
T: Oh really? I once lost a medal that belonged
to my grandfather. I felt awful as I had been
careless—I imagine you felt the same way.
S: Yes, I did, even though it wasn’t really my fault.
When the students finish, elicit the term that is used
when we understand how someone feels because we
can imagine ourselves in their shoes (empathy).
A
• Write the following situation on the board:
Alana is sitting in the school library trying to study
for an exam. Damla is sitting next to her and is
trying to write an assignment. Alana is getting
annoyed because Damla won’t stop coughing and
her phone won’t stop beeping. Damla is annoyed
because Alana is talking to herself out loud to help
her remember things, and this is distracting for her.
Alana is also eating a sandwich, which is making a
mess all over the table.
• Put the students in pairs. Ask them to read the
situation and identify the problems. Encourage
them to discuss the two students and give their
opinion about the situation, e.g., I think Alana is very
selfish—she should stop talking and study quietly.
Damla is also being selfish—she should turn her
phone off.
• Elicit some ideas as a class. Ask the students if they
encounter this kind of situation at work/school/
college, i.e., other students disturbing them while
they are trying to work.
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B • Read the questions aloud. Explain to all the students
• Keep the students in their pairs and assign each
student the role of either Damla or Alana. Hand out
a role card to each student in the pair.
Alana
You are very stressed because you have an
important exam tomorrow. You’ve been finding it
hard to remember facts about this subject and the
only way that seems to work is to repeat things
to yourself aloud. Unfortunately, you had to work
a double shift several days this week because
someone was sick, so you’ve had very little time to
study. Because of this, you’ve also eaten nothing
today, so this is your first chance to eat something.
Damla
You are very stressed because you have to hand in
an important assignment tomorrow. Unfortunately,
you have been very sick and are only just starting to
feel better. What’s more, your grandmother has been
taken to hospital and you are worried about her, so
you’ve asked your mom and your two sisters to text
you as often as possible to keep you updated.
• Ask the students to read their role card and make
sure that they understand everything. Ask them to
role-play a conversation between Alana and Damla
to try and solve the problem of them annoying each
other. Explain that they should stop once they have
explained their situation to each other.
• Monitor carefully and make sure you stop the
role-play as soon as students finish explaining their
situation to their partner.
C
• Now put students in new pairs so that each pair
contains two students with the same role, i.e., two
Damlas, two Alanas. Write the following questions
on the board:
Think of an experience or experiences that you had
that are similar to the other person in the role play.
How did you feel?
Think about her situation. How would you feel?
© Macmillan Publishers Limited 2015. This page may be photocopied and used within the class.
LEVEL 1
that have the role of Damla, that they should think
of a situation they have been in that is similar to
Alana’s. For those that have the role of Alana, they
should think of a situation they have been in that is
similar to Damla’s. Point out that it is unlikely that
they will have had exactly the same situation as
Damla or Alana but that they may have had similar
experiences, e.g., for Damla, they should think of a
time when they had to work when they were sick, a
time when a relative was sick, and/or of a time when
they were stressed about work or study.
• Give the students time to answer the questions and
reflect on how they would feel.
• Now ask the students to continue the role-play in
their original Damla/Alana pairs, encouraging them
to show empathy toward the other person by saying
how the other person must feel. At the end, invite
one or two pairs to perform their entire role-play to
the rest of the class.
Reflect
• Write the following question on the board:
How did your feelings toward the other person
change after you understood their situation?
• Allow the students time to reflect on the question
individually, and then invite volunteers to share
their thoughts.
EXTRA: HOMEWORK
Ask the students to try to find a situation over the
coming week where they are able to empathize with
someone else (it can be in either a personal, study,
or work context). Ask them to make a note of what
happened to share at the next class.
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