Using Empowering Affirmations to Cultivate Empathy in Your Students

Social-emotional learning is a hot topic in schools these days, and educators know how important it is to incorporate lessons and classroom practices that foster growth in this area. TeachKind can help! We’ve created a fun new activity sheet, providing students with empowering affirmations—such as “I have a big heart,” “I spread love to others, no matter our differences,” and “Like all animals, I deserve kindness and respect”—that cultivate empathy for all, including themselves. Students can engage with these positive messages in many ways, including through affirmation boards and mirrors, desk reminders, and weaving them into their morning routine.

As children develop, social-emotional learning helps them understand themselves, expectations in forming relationships, and how to interact with the world around them.

In a world where child and teen suicide, bullying, school violence, and violence toward animals have been rising at alarming rates, we need more kindness, including in the classroom. TeachKind aims to create inclusive environments in which students learn to be kinder to everyone, including themselves and animals. One of the easiest ways to do this is by encouraging them to use kinder language. Words are powerful, and your students can harness that power by choosing their words wisely: