Wondering how to teach perspective taking skills to kids? Wish you had a simple activity to do so?
Well, that's where this super simple perspective taking activity comes in. It only takes a few minutes to do, but it's an incredibly powerful way to show kids how to consider and understand another person's perspective.
So, if you're ready to start teaching perspective taking to kids, then you'll love this activity idea! But first, let's define what perspective taking is.
Perspective Taking Definition: What is it Exactly?
Perspective taking is the ability to perceive or understand another person's point of view besides your own. It's where you consider someone else's thoughts and feelings about something in order to see things from their perspective.
An Easy Perspective Taking Activity to Try with Kids
This activity involves physically putting yourself into someone else's place so that you can see what they see from their perspective. It's almost like you're asking the question, "Do you see what I see?" Which kind of reminds me of that Christmas song, Do you hear what I hear?
Anyway, for this perspective taking activity, you'll need:
- 2 chairs
- 2 people
Both people sit in a chair, facing each other.
One person (person A) says, "Tell me what you see behind me," and the other person (person B) names a few objects that they can see.
If you want to be more specific and concrete, you can say, "Name two (three, four, etc.) objects that you see behind me."
Now it is person B's turn to ask person A to describe or name the objects that they see behind person B.
Both people will likely respond with different objects because they are each seeing the room from their own unique position in the room. They are simply sharing what they see from their point of view and perspective. For example, person A might see a poster and a window while person B might see a stack of books on a table and a bowl of fruit.
Next, both people switch chairs.
Once seated in the opposite chair, both people can begin to see the room from the other person's perspective and position in the room. They start to see the objects that they couldn't see previously because they now sit in a different position and have a different point of view.
And that's it! I told you it was super simple.
Teaching Perspective Taking is Easy with this Social Story!
Want to go a bit further in teaching your child about why it's important to consider other people's perspectives? Then try this perspective taking social story!
Grab your copy of the perspective taking social story
This social story would be a great tool to read through a few times before trying this simple activity for teaching perspective taking to kids. But, if you need more perspective taking activities and ideas, check out this list.
