From Empathy to Compassion: Reading to Make a Difference

By: Katie Kelly & Lester Laminack

When visiting her two-year-old great-nephew’s tot school, Katie was approached by a child who handed her a bouquet of felt flowers. They had never met and had no interactions prior to this moment. Later during circle time, the same child returned to where Katie was sitting on the floor and leaned in for a little side hug.

This simple gesture is not unusual among young children and reminds us what humanity and kindness without fear or judgment looks like. Imagine how the world could change if each of us demonstrated this sort of welcoming, loving kindness to others. How do we teach folks to value the humanity of others without judgment? What might this look like in our classrooms and communities?

In his TED Talk, Drew Dudley discusses the importance of everyday leadership through simple gestures to improve life for ourselves and others. As a college student, he gave lollipops to incoming first year students waiting in line to register. He told one student to give the lollipop to the girl standing next to him in line. This simple gesture connected these two young college students and years later they invited Drew to their wedding.

What simple things can we do to create lollipop moments or flower moments for our students? We believe if they experience those moments and feel the impact of that kindness they are more likely to do the same for others. 

Let’s pause a moment and reflect on the world our students live in. It is a fast-paced life where people tend to rely on devices for connection to others. How do we slow down, be present, notice others, and celebrate our shared humanity? How do we teach young people to take action to improve the life of others?

Empathy is the ability to connect with others by being aware of, being sensitive to, and understanding and sharing in their thoughts, feelings, and experiences (Bazalgette, 2017; Henshon, 2019). It “helps us imagine the pain, joy, suffering, exhilaration, and love that other people feel, informing our choices and leading us to make connections” (Henshon, 2019, p. 14). Those human connections and trusting relationships not only support our overall wellbeing but also strengthen our abilities to support one another in a shared democratic community.

Empathy involves the ability to listen without judgment, to recognize emotion in others and communicate it (Mindshift, 2017; Brown, 2021). It also positions us to see the world from different perspectives and experience the world at a deeper level (Henshon, 2019). 

Teaching empathy and perspective taking can easily and naturally be woven into our daily instruction through read aloud experiences. Studies reveal that reading literary fiction can improve our ability to empathize with (emotional empathy) and understand others’ thoughts, feelings, and actions (cognitive empathy). Stories about the human condition, for example, help us recognize our common humanity, celebrate our differences, and come to better understand others (Bazalgette, 2017; Kelly et al., 2023). 

Literacy and literature hold great power in connecting us as human beings (Mirra, 2018). With each turn of the page, readers interact with the characters and the developing plot. As readers imagine characters’ thoughts, feelings, and intentions, they compare with their own (Lysaker & Tonge, 2013). They make connections, build background knowledge, and consider new information as they synthesize. They weave  ideas from the text with what they already know to infer about the characters’ thoughts, feelings, and motives. This type of inferential thinking supports the ability to engage in perspective taking, a central component of empathy (McCreary & Marchant, 2017).  “When the reader stands in [their] own worldview, unable to see or conceive of any other perspective, a book can be a bridge” (Laminack & Kelly, 2019, p. xiii). Stories provide readers with opportunities to witness life from various perspectives moving beyond oneself into the lived experiences of others.

The book, The True Story of Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka is commonly used as an entry point to teach about counter narratives (stories about those who have been historically marginalized). In the twist on the traditional tale, the wolf narrates the story offering his perspective to provide greater context that may humanize him and portray him as benevolent and lead the reader to build empathy for him. Since told from his perspective, the traditionally vilified character is humanized leading towards greater empathy for his situation.

The story, Hey, Little Ant by Phillip and Hannah Hoose offers another opportunity for students to examine how considering multiple perspectives can give us new insights into the dynamics of power, choice, and empathy. The story, written in the format of a reader’s theater script, presents a dialog between a young boy and an ant. The boy and his friends see squishing ants as a game, but the ant offers the boy (and readers) another perspective. That new information opens the door to conversations, consciousness, and choice.

In our classrooms we can plant seeds of empathy through intentional selection of texts for read aloud experiences followed by engaging conversations that may sprout compassion. Compassionate empathy involves a shift from understanding another’s perspective or feelings towards an action-oriented response as a form of solidarity, support, and revolutionary love.

In our book Reading to Make a Difference (2019), we offer an instructional framework to engage students in meaningful conversations with many examples of how students can take action individually or collectively to make a difference in their lives, the lives of others, and the world around them. As students read a collection of intentionally selected texts, they connect, reflect, and consider ways to take action – to do something as a result of reading. This shift from reading to connect and reflect towards taking action demonstrates a shift from empathy to compassion.

For instance, the students in Britney Ross’s first grade class delved into three books focused on honoring others. Together they read Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson, Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts, and Enemy Pie by Derek Munson. Each of these stories offers several points of potential connection for readers. Those connections become sparks for guided conversation and moments of reflection. It is during these reflections that students typically express their sense of injustice and the desire to do something, to help make it better. Britney’s class settled on three suggestions: 1) launch a kindness project and do an act of kindness each day, 2) make a video of acts of kindness and send it out to the school, and 3) make kindness posters to display around school and the neighborhood. They chose to make posters to take their action beyond the school population. A few days later the students received a letter from a neighbor stating how the posters had helped brighten her day and gave her the nudge she needed to address something that was making her sad. When children are moved to the point of action by the power of story they can, and do, make a difference. 

“We believe that when we center our common humanity in our shared spaces of teaching and learning, we can develop essential connections and foster a caring and compassionate community where all individuals practice empathy and are inspired to take individual and collective action that leads to social justice and equity” (Kelly & Laminack, 2024).

References

Bazelgette, P. (2017). The empathy instinct: How to create a more civil society. London: John Murray Publishers.

Brown, B. (2021). Atlas of the heart: Mapping meaningful connection and the language of human experience. New York: Random House.\

Henshon, S. E. (2019). Teaching Empathy: Strategies for building emotional intelligence in today’s students. Taylor & Francis Group.

Kelly, K. & Laminack, L. (2024). Developing Empathetic and Civically Engaged Readers. Language Arts,101(4), 278-280.

Kelly, K., Laminack, L., & Vasquez, V. (2023). Critical Comprehension: Lessons for Guiding Students to Deeper Meaning. Corwin: Thousand Oaks, CA.

Laminack, L. & Kelly, K. (2019). Reading to Make a Difference: Using Literature to Think Deeply, Speak Freely, and Take Action. Heinemann: Portsmouth, NH.

Lysaker, J. & Tonge, C. (2013). Learning to understand others through relationally oriented reading. The Reading Teacher, 66(8), 632-641.

McCreary, J.J. & Marchant, G.J. (2017). Reading and empathy. Reading Psychology, 38, 182-202.

Mindshift. (2017, February 8). Empathy is tough to teach, but it is one of the most important lessons. Retrieved from https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/47502/empathy-is-tough-to-teach-but-is-one-of-the-most-important-life-lessons

Mirra, N. (2018). Educating for Empathy: Literacy learning and civic engagement. New York: Teachers College Press. 

Katie Kelly is a professor at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. As a former teacher and literacy coach, Katie’s teaching and research interests include engaging children in meaningful literacy experiences and practices to foster lifelong literacy, equity, and justice. 

She is widely published in various peer-reviewed journals including The Reading Teacher and Voices from the Middle. She has co-authored four books: Critical Comprehension: Lessons for Guiding Students to Deeper Meaning (Corwin); Reading To Make a Difference: Using Literature to Help Students Think Deeply Speak Freely and Take Action (Heinemann); From Pencils to Podcasts: Digital Tools to Transform K-12 Literacy Practices (Solution Tree); and Smuggling Writing: Strategies that Get Students to Write Every Day, in Every Content Area (3-12) (Corwin). She can be contacted by email at Katie.Kelly@furman.edu.  

Lester Laminack, Professor Emeritus, Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina is a full-time writer and consultant working with schools throughout the United States and abroad. He is the author of over 25 books for teachers and children. His academic publications include Climb Inside a Poem (Heinemann) Cracking Open the Author’s Craft (Scholastic), Bullying Hurts: Teaching Kindness Through Read Aloud and Guided Conversations (Heinemann), The Writing Teacher’s Troubleshooting Guide (Heinemann), Writers ARE Readers: Flipping Reading Strategies 

into Writing Instruction (Heinemann), Reading to Make a Difference (Heinemann), The Ultimate Read Aloud Guide 2nd Edition (Scholastic) and The Ultimate Read Aloud Collection Fiction and Nonfiction (Scholastic). His newest work for educators is Critical Comprehension: Lessons for Guiding Students to Deeper Meaning (Corwin). 

Lester is also the author of several children’s books including: The Sunsets of Miss Olivia Wiggins, Trevor’s Wiggly-Wobbly Tooth, Saturdays and Teacakes, Jake’s 100th Day of School, Snow Day!, Three Hens and a Peacock (2012 Children’s Choice K-2 Book of the Year Award), and The King of Bees all published by Peachtree Publishers. His most recent book for children is Three Hens, a Peacock, and the Enormous Egg. His next book, A Cat Like That is scheduled for publication in January 2025.

Lester is available for professional development and school author visits. You can contact him via his website www.LesterLaminack.com and follow him on Facebook at 

https://www.facebook.com/lester.laminack or on Twitter @Lester_Laminack