Empathy Worksheet

Name:_________________________

empathy

noun \em-p-th\
Identification with and understanding of anothers situation, feelings, and motives.

To Kill a Mockingbird Questions

1. On page 30 of the book, Atticus says to Scout, You never really understand a person until you
consider things from his point of view until you climb into his skin and walk around in it. Here Harper
Lee firmly establishes empathy as a key theme in her book. But Atticus uses skin instead of the old,
clich phrase to step into someones shoes and walk a mile in them. Why might this be a better choice
for the metaphor considering hes talking to a six year old girl?

2. Why might skin be a better metaphor than shoes for other reasons, beyond just the audience he
was addressing? Why is skin more appropriate to the idea of empathy in general?

3. Based on what weve read and watched leading up to the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, what might this
be foreshadowing based on the fact that Harper Lee chooses to use skin over shoes?

Personal Questions
4. Without using too much of the definition above or the words of Atticus, what is your own personal
definition of empathy?

5. When was the last time you can remember practicing empathy? Explain what happened.

6. Why is it so difficult for most people to show empathy? What stops us? Why is it not more common?

Practicing Empathy
7. Think of something you can do to show empathy to someone in the next 24 hours. First, think about
who you know that most needs this kind of support. Write that persons name below.

8. Then plan what you are going to do. Write down the steps you will take to practice empathy with this
person.

9. Write about it! Using the space below, you will write a one paragraph narrative about your experience.
Attempt to do the things we talked about in class in your writing!

10. Finally, go to https://psychology-tools.com/empathy-quotient/ and take the empathy test! It was

initially made to test for Autism or Asperger Syndrome, but you can use it to see where you rank:

On average, most women score about 47 and most men about 42. Most people with Asperger Syndrome or highfunctioning autism score about 20.

0-32 = You have a lower than average ability for understanding how other people feel and responding appropriately.

33-52 = You have an average ability for understanding how other people feel and responding appropriately. You know
how to treat people with care and sensitivity.

53-63 = You have an above average ability for understanding how other people feel and responding appropriately. You
know how to treat people with care and sensitivity.

64-80 = You have a very high ability for understanding how other people feel and responding appropriately. You know
how to treat people with care and sensitivity.

Write your score here:______________