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Steps Toward Understanding

Students will explore the concept of empathy and understanding as they illustrate an item of footwear and imagine walking a mile in someone else's shoes.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

Gather all the supplies needed to bring your craft ideas to life! From paints and markers to glue and scissors, our crafts section has everything to spark creativity and make every project truly special.

  • Heavy Paper
  • Hole Punch
  • String

Steps

  • Step 1

    Ask students to consider the phrase "walk a mile in someone else's shoes," which means spend time trying to understand another's experiences and situations. Ask them what insights they could gain about someone if they walked on their life path for a while. How would it increase understanding and empathy? While empathy is a common feeling, we can always improve our ability to be respectful and understanding of others.

  • Step 2

    Have students choose an item of footwear to illustrate. They might associate it with someone in real life or a character in a book they've read who may have been going through a tough period. Perhaps they'd choose a work boot to represent someone who recently lost a factory job, or a sneaker to represent a friend who didn't get selected for a team. Or it might be any other type of shoe.

  • Step 3

    Ask students to draw the shape of the footwear on a piece of heavy paper and then illustrate it and cut it out. When the art is done have them put a hole in each side and thread a piece of string through the holes so they can be hung up. Ask students to present the art and discuss the person who might wear it and the experiences this person may have gone through.

Standards

SEL: Self-Awareness: Understand one’s own emotions, thoughts, and values and how they influence behavior across contexts.

SEL: Social Awareness: Empathize with others, including those from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and contexts.

Adaptations

The phrase about walking in someone else's shoes comes from the 1895 poem by Mary T. Lathrap called "Judge Softly," later known as "Walk a Mile in His Moccasins." Have students read the poem, which implores people not to judge others.

Read a book such as "We're All Wonders" by R.J. Palacio, "Hey, Little Ant" by Phillip M. Hoose, Hannah Hoose, and Debbie Tilley, or any other book that model empathy and compassion. Have a discussion about how the characters in the book "walked in another's shoes."