Grades 2–5
Four Steps to Empathy
Number the four steps to empathy, notice, imagine, ask and show you care, then use them when a classmate drops a lunch tray.
SEL worksheet · Kindness and empathy
Write a Thank-You Note
Write a real thank-you note to someone who helped you: who they are, what they did and how it made you feel, plus a picture.
- Grade level
- Grades 1–4
- Time
- About 20 minutes
- Topic
- Kindness and empathy
- Answer key
- Not needed: answers vary
- Kids practice
- Kindness, Empathy, Perspective-taking, Inclusion
What kids do
Printed on the sheet:
- A great thank-you note says who you are thanking, what they did and how it made you feel.
- Draw a picture to go with your note.
Teacher tip
Deliver the notes for real. Kids love seeing how happy they make someone.
How to use it
- Read a short kindness story aloud before the sheet.
- Ask kids to name a kind thing someone did for them this week.
- Model your own answer first. Kids open up more when the grown-up goes first.
Watch for
Kindness that is only for friends. Talk about being kind to people we don’t know well too.
Talk about it
- What is a kind thing you could do right now?
- Have you ever been in a moment like this? What happened?
Take it further
Hold a kindness week with one class challenge each day.
US Letter, prints well in black and white. Free for home and classroom use: print as many copies as you need.
More kindness and empathy worksheets
Grades K–3
Roll a Kind Act
Roll a die to get a kind act for the day, like asking someone new to play, then write who you were kind to and how they felt.
Grades 2–5
Include or Leave Out?
Circle includes or leaves out for ten things kids do at lunch, at recess and in class, then plan one way to include someone this week.
Grades 4–5
What Does It Mean? Kindness Quotes
Match five sayings about kindness, like “Walk a mile in someone else’s shoes,” to what they mean, then write about living one.
Free for teachers
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