Teaching Empathy

Harmony At Home had the opportunity to attend the International Bullying Prevention Association (IBPA) conference last year and the keynote speaker, Michele Borba, spoke about the importance of fostering empathy in children to prevent bullying.  Empathy is both a safeguard from anti-social behavior and essential to social success. It’s “the ability to feel with someone,” Dr. Borba said. Sympathy is outside in; empathy works from the inside out, she said. “It’s how we can mobilize our kids’ pro-social behaviors. It mobilizes their courage” so they can support peers being targeted, stand up to negativity and defuse cruel social situations.

In our work with Salinas City Elementary School teachers, we have come across many requests for resources to discuss and teach empathy in the classroom. So, here are some of our favorite empathy books, videos, and activities:

Books on Empathy:

Videos on Empathy:

Activities on Empathy:

Preschool/Kinder:

Elementary School:

Middle/High School:

High School:

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