Definition:

The ability to feel what others are feeling and the action of trying to help them with their troubles. 

In short: 

Feel what others feel.

Summary: A little girl is frightened when she listens to news about how much conflict and sadness are in the world. She asks her papa what she could do to make the world a better place. He takes her on a walk. He models friendliness to strangers as they walk through the city and ride the train. The world around them is friendly and safe after all. Later on, she decides to do something on her own to prove to herself that she doesn’t need to be afraid. She takes her dog for a walk with her neighbor. They enjoy being “brave, gentle, strong, and kind…to one another and all living things” on their walk, and the world seems safe again. The gesture may be tiny, but it’s important! 

Lesson Objectives: 

1. Students gain awareness that the world is mostly safe, and that people are generally good. This empowers them when they hear bad news - when that happens, they are able to remind themselves to feel more confident and less afraid. They realize they can do something about it like the girl in the story. 
2. Part of feeling safe is knowing what to do if you get lost. Students learn and practice this, and parents are encouraged to practice the steps with their child. 

Guiding Questions: 

1. What frightened the little girl? 
2. What did she ask her papa? 
3. What did her papa do and how did that help? 
4. Her mama invited her to come to the grocery store and help her set the table for dinner.  Why did this help her to feel less afraid? 
5. She told her neighbor that “two people together are stronger than one.” What are some of the things they did together that day?  
6. They had a good experience on their walk, met nice people, and did nice things. How do you think that helped the girl feel safer? 
7. Have you ever felt unsafe and frightened by bad news? What happened and how did you deal with it? 
8. When you go out in your community, to the library, school, grocery store, park, on public transportation, and other places, are most of the people nice? Make a list of five types of people, such as librarians and bus drivers, and what they are doing that helps you and others. 
9.   Talk with your parents about what to do if you ever get lost. Ask them to help you with memorizing your parents’ full names, their phone numbers and your address. Remember to find a safe place and stay there, because wandering around can make it difficult to find you. You can call out for help using your parents’ or guardians’ name. Try to find a mother with children or a person in authority like a store clerk, to help you. Practice this at home with your parents. 
10. Be on the lookout for good news and talk about it with friends and family and your teacher.