Empathy What Would You Do? Cards — Think, Choose, Act
Empathy shows up in what students do next.
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About this resource
Empathy shows up in what students do next. These empathy what would you do scenarios give Grades 2–5 forty real moments, like a reading partner who suddenly goes quiet, and three action cards for each: stop and think, choose an action, then say why. They are Think, Choose, Act cards, and they build Social Awareness.
What students practice
- Noticing how someone feels from small clues
- Staying with someone who is upset
- Offering comforting words
- Respecting feelings that differ from their own
- Sharing in someone else’s good news
What’s inside
- 40 scenario cards in five subtopics, each with three think questions
- 120 action cards, three per scenario: one most helpful, one partly helpful, one acting on impulse
- 40 reflection sheets for written answers
- A teacher guide with five ways to use the cards; 77 pages
A look inside
- The Quiet Reading Partner: Lena usually talks the whole time, but today her book stays closed. Action cards: Check In Gently, Start Reading Aloud, Read by Yourself.
- The Bag by the Door: your big sister walks past you with red eyes and shuts her door.
- Elena’s First Bike Ride: a friend rides without training wheels for the first time and yells for you to watch.
How to use these empathy what would you do cards
- Discussion: read the scenario and think questions before showing the action cards
- Action-card choice: students pick a card and explain it
- Role play: act out each action and compare what happens
- Reflection sheets for independent writing
- SEL learning stations: Read & Reflect, Act It Out, a Decision-Making Challenge, Write It Out and Create Your Own Scenario
Grade fit
Every scenario is set at home, at school or out in the community with situations elementary students know, so the cards fit Grades 2–5 and work well as decision making activities.
Digital version
The interactive digital version shares as one link: students answer the think questions (or just read them in the quick format), choose an action card and say why, on any device with no student logins. At the end they download an answer sheet to hand in.
Pairs well with
For more empathy activities, try Empathy Scenario Cards, or open the day with Empathy Conversation Cards.
Questions teachers ask
Is one action card always right?
One action is the most helpful, one is partly helpful and one acts on impulse. Students explain their choice, and comparing the three is where the learning happens.
Do students need accounts for the digital version?
No. You share one link, and students open it on any device without logging in.
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