Story Time Role-Play — Empathy Activity Kit (K–1)
Understanding how someone else feels takes practice, and for five- and six-year-olds the best practice is pretending.
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About this resource
Understanding how someone else feels takes practice, and for five- and six-year-olds the best practice is pretending. Story Time Role-Play is an empathy SEL activity kit for kindergarten and Grades K–1 that pairs a read-aloud with simple props so students step into a character’s shoes. It builds perspective-taking, a Social Awareness skill.
What students practice
- Noticing a character’s feelings
- Acting a feeling with face, body and voice
- Taking different roles in a scene
- Tracking a character’s feelings through a story
- Thinking about how to help a friend
What’s inside
- A teacher script with timed steps and a flexible outline (bring your own picture book and simple props)
- An Emotion Reflection Worksheet with four questions about the character they played, plus a space to draw
- 16 Role-Play Scenario Cards, each asking how the character would show the feeling and what they would say
- A Character Diary Page (two versions)
- An Emotion Mapping Worksheet that tracks a character’s feelings at the start, middle and end (two versions); 22 pages in all
A look inside
- Teacher script: “In this scene, Sam lost his toy. Let’s see how he shows sadness.”
- Role-Play Scenario Cards: 16 scenes, such as a character whose pet is sick or who moves to a new school
- Character Diary prompts: “Today, my character felt:” and “How my character reacted:”
How to use this story time role-play empathy kit
- Read with different voices and pause to ask how a character feels and why
- Volunteers take roles with a hat, scarf or stuffed animal and act out a scene while you coach expressions
- Rotate parts so everyone tries different feelings
- Hold a reflection circle, then use the scenario cards for more rounds
Grade fit
The pretend play, props and picture-book setup suit kindergarten and first grade. These empathy activities double as SEL activities during read-aloud time.
Good to know
The script runs with a picture book of your choice; a hat, scarf or stuffed animal works as a prop if you have one.
Pairs well with
Continue with Emotion Stories, or for Grades 1–3 try Role-Playing Emotional Responses.
Questions teachers ask
What do I need to supply?
A picture book of your choice and, if you like, simple props such as a hat, scarf or stuffed animal.
How long does the lesson take?
About 30 minutes.
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