Teaching perspective taking skills to elementary learners can have far-reaching benefits for behavior, self-regulation, and peer relationships. The ‘How Do They Feel?’ activity from Everyday Speech is a no-prep, visually engaging resource designed to help students recognize and understand the feelings of others by reading visual cues and reflecting on different situations.

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This article explores ways to make the most of this thoughtful resource, provides a step-by-step lesson structure, and offers practical guidance for supporting perspective taking across the school day.

What Is Perspective Taking?

Perspective taking is the ability to understand another person’s thoughts, feelings, and experiences. It is more than recognizing facts about a situation—it involves tuning in to someone else’s inner world, noticing how they might feel or what they might think, even when those experiences differ from the observer’s own.

In elementary settings, perspective taking usually begins with noticing facial expressions and body language, connecting social cues to feelings, and gradually expands to an understanding of motivations and intentions. Perspective taking is an everyday skill closely tied to situational awareness.

Young students often default to seeing the world solely from their own viewpoint, which can lead to misunderstandings or unintentional insensitive behavior. Strengthening perspective taking lays the groundwork for resolving conflicts, showing empathy, and building friendships.

Why Teach Perspective Taking?

Perspective taking is an essential component of social development. When elementary students can successfully interpret how someone else feels, they are better able to navigate group work, maintain friendships, and manage their own reactions. Direct instruction and practice are essential, as these skills do not always develop naturally for every child. Teaching perspective taking can support:

• Improved empathy and compassion toward peers
• Reduction in playground misunderstandings or conflicts
• Enhanced problem-solving during cooperative activities
• Better self-regulation and emotional control
• Increased peer acceptance and stronger social bonds
• Greater respect for differences in experience or opinion
• Safer and more caring classroom environments

Perspective taking also forms the foundation for reciprocal conversations and critical thinking about social situations. Incorporating deliberate activities into the classroom or therapy setting is an investment in social growth and relationship health.

Lesson Plan: Using How Do They Feel?

The Everyday Speech ‘How Do They Feel?’ PDF resource is designed for small group or whole-class use. The no-prep packet includes illustrated scenes featuring children in different school-based scenarios. Each scene invites students to examine facial expressions, body cues, and the situation to determine how each character might feel.

This activity can be adapted for quick warm-ups, targeted small group lessons, or even individual counseling.

Step 1: Introduce the Concept of Perspective Taking

Begin by explaining that everyone has their own thoughts and feelings, and sometimes these can be different from our own. Emphasize that people can show their feelings through their faces, bodies, and actions. Engage the group in a discussion using prompts such as, “Have you ever felt sad when no one else did?” or “Why might someone feel nervous even if everyone else is excited?”

Consider gathering students in a circle and modeling neutral versus expressive body language. Use simple drawings or emoji faces to illustrate basic emotions. For students who are new to the concept, provide clear definitions of feeling words and practice labeling them together.

Step 2: Preview the ‘How Do They Feel?’ Activity

Show students the first page of the PDF or project it for the group. The images depict realistic, age-appropriate situations that are familiar to elementary learners, such as a child on the playground, a student working in class, or a peer in a line for lunch. Briefly explain that they will be looking for clues to figure out how each child in the picture might feel.

Reinforce that people can experience different emotions in the same situation. Highlight the importance of paying attention to both faces and what is happening around the person in the scene.

Step 3: Guided Practice as a Group

Choose one illustrated scenario and model the thought process aloud. For example, “Let’s look at this child. Their mouth is turned down, and they are looking at the ground. The other children are playing together, but this child is standing alone.

What might they be feeling?” Prompt students to notice the facial and body cues, and encourage multiple responses. Accept answers such as “sad,” “lonely,” “left out,” or any other relevant feelings.

Next, invite students to share their reasoning. Ask follow-up questions like, “What do you see that makes you think that?” or “Could there be another reason the child feels that way?” This helps reinforce evidence-based reasoning and validates different perspectives.

Step 4: Partner or Small Group Exploration

Distribute copies of the PDF or display additional scenes for pairs and small groups. Each group will choose a character and discuss clues from the illustration. Encourage students to fill in the speech or thought bubbles provided on the activity if applicable, or to dictate their ideas.

This step invites collaboration and conversation. As groups work, circulate and provide support for students who need help identifying clues or labeling feelings. For children who struggle with language, offer a checklist of feelings or visuals as a scaffold.

Step 5: Share and Reflect

Reconvene and have each group briefly share their scene and the feelings they identified. Invite others to offer additional interpretations or ask questions. Use this as an opportunity to highlight how different perspectives can all make sense, depending on what information is noticed.

Close with reflective questions, such as:

• How did you know what the character was feeling?
• Did your partner find different clues than you did?
• How might this child want others to treat them?

The last step encourages students to apply their learning and think about how perspective taking can translate to everyday social choices.

Supporting Perspective Taking After the Activity

Embedding perspective taking into daily routines significantly increases skill generalization. After using ‘How Do They Feel?’, encourage staff and peers to incorporate the following supports:

• Use check-ins whenever situations arise that could cause big feelings. Pause and ask, “How do you think they feel right now?”
• Model verbalizing your own perspective using clear feeling words. For example, “I am feeling proud that our class finished a tough project together.”
• Post visual supports in the classroom, such as emotion wheels or charts with facial expressions, for quick reference.
• Reinforce positive examples of students using perspective taking in action. Acknowledge when someone notices a peer’s feelings or responds with kindness.
• Assign feeling detective roles in academic or social tasks, allowing students to scan the group for emotional cues and report back respectfully.
• Schedule regular, brief role-play moments or read-aloud activities that invite children to analyze character emotions.
• Partner with families by sending home summary sheets, suggesting that caregivers use similar language about noticing and respecting feelings.

Consistent reinforcement and opportunities to practice recognizing others’ perspectives solidify learning and promote a classroom culture of empathy.

Wrapping Up: Building Blocks for Empathy at School

Perspective taking is not a single lesson, but a core building block of social and emotional development. The ‘How Do They Feel?’ activity from Everyday Speech offers an accessible, visual, and no-prep way to start conversations about feelings and interpretation.

By systematically guiding students through observation, discussion, and reflection, school-based clinicians can help children grow into thoughtful, inclusive community members.

This resource is best used as part of an ongoing approach that regularly draws attention to how actions and words impact those around us. With practice, elementary learners build empathy, confidence, and resilience, equipping them for lifelong success in all social situations. Explore the full ‘How Do They Feel?’ download here to incorporate meaningful perspective taking practice in daily routines.