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DIRECTIONS
We have several empathy activities that can be completed with children of almost all ages. For the Community Quilt experience, there are a few activities we identify as essential activities below. Plus, we will offer up Optional Empathy Activities for classes or programs with additional time.
One you have completed the Empathy Activities, please continue to the Art Activities.
Empathy Activities (Approximately 20-30 minutes)
Getting Started
Watch the video above (if you have time or access) and discuss the definition and examples of empathy. Ask the Questions below.
Definition
empathy [em-puh-thee] (noun) the understanding of or the ability to identify with another person's feelings or experiences
Empathy Explanation
When we put ourselves in another person’s shoes, we are often more sensitive to what that person is experiencing and are less likely to tease or bully them. By explicitly teaching students to be more conscious of other people’s feelings, we can create a more accepting and respectful school community.
Questions
Can you think of a time—maybe during lunch when a new student comes in and is not sure where to sit? What do you think the person would be feeling? If this happened to you, what would you want someone to say or do? When we try to relate to what another person is going through, we’re being empathetic.
Empathy in Art: AIDS Quilt
We will be looking at a way people use art to communicate their feelings. Can we relate to what they are feeling by looking at the art pieces? Please continue to the AIDS Quilt to see how art can bring communities together.
AIDS Quilt
The National AIDS Memorial is quilt representing the panels made by people who lost loved ones to a disease called AIDS. AIDS started in the 1970's and still exists today. Antiviral drugs were created during the 1980's and improved through the following years so that AIDS is now a treatable disease. But when the AIDS epidemic first started thousands of people died.
Whenever there is a new disease that spreads, people get very scared and sometimes look for individuals to blame. During the COVID-19 pandemic, several people were afraid of people from Asia since the pandemic was believed to have started in China. Later there was a big debate about masks, with recommendations changing as we learned more about how COVID-19 was transmitted.
With AIDS, people were afraid of anyone who had the disease, especially at the beginning when the medical community did not know how the disease was transmitted. There was a large stigma or prejudice against individuals who had AIDS and they were often discriminated against and isolated. Since AIDS was a fatal disease, this was a terrible time for those who were sick and their families and friends. The AIDS quilt was a way for people to commemorate and communicate about the person they loved and lost, as well as way to join a community of others who had gone through the same experience.
Activity
Zoom in on any section of the interactive AIDS Quilt above. Read the names and examine the symbols represented. Each section was created to commemorate one person who has died from AIDS. If you prefer having just one example for the group we provided one from UNCW's Randal Library. AIDS Quilt Panel Example
Questions
Can you empathize with the families who made AIDS panels? (understand what they feel)
What do you think the people who created the quilt panel felt about the person who died?
What did they think was important to share about the person who died?
Why do you think people made a quilt panel for their loved one?
If you made a quilt panel to commemorate someone you loved and lost, what would you include?
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