Teaching Empathy Through Storytelling

Empathy is a complex skill: you have to understand that someone else has a mind different from yours. Stories are the flight simulator for this skill.

Perspective Taking

When we listen to "The Sharing Tree," we feel Sid's greed and his loneliness. We feel Darcy's gratitude. We live two lives at once.

Real World Transfer

Later, when a friend cries, you can say, "Remember how Darcy felt when she was hungry? I think your friend feels like that." You have a shared language for pain.