Title: Empathy as identification

Lesson plan elaborated by: Magdalena Trysińska

Topic:

How to open yourself to another person?

Target group:

8th‑grade students of an eight‑year primary school.

Core curriculum

I. Literary and cultural education.

1. Reading literary works. Student:

9. uses, in the interpretation of literary works, references to universal values related to social, national, religious and ethical attitudes and prioritises them;

2. Receipt of cultural texts. Student:

1) searches for the necessary information in the text and cites relevant parts of journalistic, popular or scientific texts;

2) organises information depending on their function in the message;

III. Creating statements.

1. Elements of rhetoric. Student:

6) carry out the inference as part of the argumentative argument;

7) agrees with other people's views or polemicizes with them, substantively justifying their own opinion;

IV. Self‑study. Student:

6) develops skills of independent presentation of the results of his work;

8) develops the ability to think critically and formulate opinions.

The general aim of education:

Based on the interpretation of the literary text, the student refers to universal values.

Key competences

• communication in the mother tongue;

• communication in foreign languages;

• social and civic competences;

• cultural awareness and expression.

Operational objectives

Student:

• defines the concept of empathy;

• talks about the difference between compassion and compassion;

• defines abstract concepts (empathy, pity/mercy, sympathy);

• evaluates the behavior of literary heroes.

Teaching methods / techniques

• problematic: drama, directed conversation, discussion;

• programmed: using a computer and e‑textbook;

• practical: objective exercises, work with literary text.

Forms of work:

• individual individual activity

• collective collective activity

Lesson plan overview (Process)

Introduction

1. The teacher determines the purpose of the class, which is the development of empathic behavior. He/she gives students the criteria for success.

2. The teacher asks students what the empathy is. He/she can refer to examples of literary texts or film works. He/she also asks how to distinguish empathy from mercy.

Realization

1. The teacher displays exercise 1 in the abstract on the board. He asks students to match definitions with concepts: pity, empathy, sympathy. Then he/she displays the scenes depicting different behaviors on the board. Students decide whether the characters of the scenes cause pity or empathy. They justify their opinion.

2. The teacher asks students to think again about the difference between mercy and empathy and indicate situations from their own lives in which they have shown pity or empathy.

3. Drama. Students work in groups of 3‑4 people. Their task is to prepare and present a scene that illustrates the feeling of empathy (not pity). After the appointed time, the groups present their scenes. It is necessary to discuss the presentations together.

4. Students read the first fragment of JR Tolkien's „Lord of the Rings”. Then they perform tasks checking the degree of text acquisition (exercises 5 and 6 from e‑textbook). Then the students read the next fragment of the novel and perform the ex. 8.

5. The students discuss together about the text and attitudes of the characters. They are guided by the questions in the e‑textbook in Exercise 9.
The teacher draws attention so that the students – justifying their opinion – refer to the text and indicate the relevant parts.

If students know the whole story or movie, they can develop a discussion and answer the questions:

• Do Frodo and Gollum – both marked by the ring of the Ring – inspire your compassion? If so, explain why?

• In your eyes, do Frodo and Gollum equally deserve sympathy? Justify your opinion.

• Explain how Gandalf's premonition of Gollum and especially about Frodo's fate, found confirmation in the development of the plot of the story.

Summary

1. The teacher asks students what they have learned today, whether the lesson was interesting for them. He asks them to evaluate their own work during the lesson. For this purpose, he can use a questionnaire or a decision tree prepared earlier or carry out an oral evaluation.

2. Students write in their notebooks the keys to the lessons they consider the most important.

Homework

Write a letter to Frodo, in which you will convince him that Gollum should live. Collect the arguments proving that he deserves compassion.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

Empathy as identification

Empathy is not an attitude that comes easily to everyone. To create an empathic bond with another person is to try to identify with them in an emotional way. In order to feel compassion or empathy for another person, one must overcome the barrier of unfamiliarity with them. Is it even possible? Is a man able to transcend the limits of his own „I” to actually sympathize with others, and not only – but also show sympathy towards them? When considering the issue of empathy, it is worth taking these doubts into consideration. We encourage you to ponder on that topic.