Fostering perspective taking in early childhood lays a foundation for positive peer interactions, conflict resolution, and classroom harmony. In Pre-K and Kindergarten classrooms, students are just beginning to recognize that others may see, think, or feel differently from themselves.

Download Activity and Lesson Plan

The “How Do You Feel?” no-prep downloadable activity provides an accessible way to help students build this foundational social skill. This article outlines effective ways to use this Everyday Speech resource for boosting perspective taking and situational awareness in young learners.

What Is Perspective Taking?

Perspective taking is the ability to recognize and consider how someone else might be thinking or feeling in a given situation. For young children, this skill develops gradually as they learn that others can have thoughts, emotions, or opinions that differ from their own.

Early perspective taking typically focuses on visual or emotional understanding rather than complex reasoning. For example, a student might initially guess how a peer feels based on facial expression or what is happening in a picture.

Developing perspective taking skills is closely related to situational awareness, as children learn to interpret cues from their environment and from others’ verbal and nonverbal communication. This early practice helps young learners pause and consider more than their immediate viewpoint.

Why Teach Perspective Taking?

Perspective taking is a cornerstone for a supportive learning environment and long-term interpersonal success. Teaching this skill in Pre-K and Kindergarten supports:

• Increased empathy and kindness when interacting with peers
• Better understanding of classroom rules and routines
• Reductions in conflict due to misinterpretation of others’ actions
• Development of self-regulation as children learn to pause and reflect before reacting
• Improved verbal communication through consideration of other perspectives
• Enhanced ability to interpret social cues in various situations

Explicit instruction in perspective taking, combined with practice, equips children to navigate the school environment with greater confidence and respect for others.

Lesson Plan: Using “How Do You Feel?”

The “How Do You Feel?” activity from Everyday Speech is a printable PDF designed for young students who are in the early stages of recognizing and expressing emotions. The lesson plan is organized with visual supports and simple prompts to guide students in exploring how different situations might make people feel. Download the free PDF resource here: How Do You Feel?.

Step 1: Preparing the Activity

Begin by printing the resource and gathering simple art supplies such as crayons or markers. The activity includes illustrated scenario cards depicting everyday classroom or home situations, along with simple faces representing different emotions. Arrange students so they can see the images easily, either in a circle or gathered at the rug.

Introduce the lesson by briefly explaining that people can feel many different emotions, sometimes even in the same situation. Let students know they will be looking closely at pictures and thinking about how the people in the pictures might feel.

Step 2: Modeling Perspective Taking

Choose the first scenario card and hold it up so all students can see. Describe what is happening in the picture in clear, simple language, drawing specific attention to contextual clues. For example, if a card shows a child dropping an ice cream cone, point out the facial expressions and body language.

Ask a broad question: “How do you think the person in this picture feels?” Allow students to share their answers, and gently guide them to reference something specific in the picture (face, body, or situation) when explaining their answer. Model sentence starters such as, “I think he feels sad because his ice cream fell on the ground.”

Repeat this with one or two more cards, providing verbal scaffolding and encouraging students to describe the clues that led to their perspective.

Step 3: Group Practice

Divide the class into small groups or pairs. Give each group a scenario card from the resource and a selection of feeling faces. Prompt students to discuss together what might be happening and how the person might be feeling. After some discussion, have each group select a feeling face and hold it up for the rest of the class to see.

Invite each group to share their answers with the class. Encourage them to explain their reasoning using the language modeled earlier. Celebrate a variety of responses—highlight that it is possible for people to feel differently in the same situation.

Step 4: Creative Expression

Give students the chance to create their own scenario. Provide blank cards or paper, and encourage students to draw a situation that shows a person feeling a certain way. After drawing, have them share their pictures with the group and ask peers to guess how the person in the picture might be feeling and why.

This step extends perspective taking by asking students both to create and to interpret emotional clues, reinforcing receptive and expressive aspects of the skill.

Step 5: Reflection and Connection

Wrap up the lesson with a brief group discussion. Ask students if they have ever felt the way someone in the pictures did. Connecting the scenarios to students’ own lives helps crystallize the learning and encourages empathy. Emphasize that it is okay to have many different feelings and that it helps to talk about our feelings with others.

Supporting Perspective Taking After the Activity

Learning perspective taking is an ongoing process for young children. To strengthen and generalize this skill:

• Continue to refer to the feeling faces and scenario cards throughout the week’s activities.
• Read picture books together and pause to ask, “How do you think this character is feeling right now?”
• Use puppets or role plays to act out classroom situations and discuss the feelings involved.
• Practice labeling emotions in real time when conflicts arise. For example, “It looks like you’re feeling upset because the block tower fell.”
• Praise students when they show awareness of peers’ emotions, such as noticing a classmate feeling left out.
• Send home copies of the emotion cards and encourage caregivers to use them during storytime or before bed.

Repeating these strategies helps children see perspective taking as a regular part of classroom life rather than a stand-alone lesson.

Wrapping Up: Fostering Empathy and Understanding in Early Learning

Perspective taking is a skill that benefits all aspects of school and home life. By using the “How Do You Feel?” activity, educators and clinicians provide young learners with structured opportunities to think about the feelings of others, explain their reasoning, and connect emotional understanding to daily experience.

Consistent modeling and practice can increase students’ capacity for empathy, helping them to respond supportively to peers and develop essential communication skills. Access the “How Do You Feel?” printable PDF here: Download the Activity.

Integrate it regularly into your classroom or clinical routines for the greatest impact. With supportive adults guiding their learning, Pre-K and Kindergarten students will be well equipped to see and appreciate multiple perspectives as they grow.