Minilesson Print
Using Perspective Shifting to Understand Others
© Thoughtful Learning 2015
Perspective shifting lets you shift out of your normal point of view to discover new ways of thinking and understanding. In this example, a boy listed facts about himself, from general to specific. Then he listed facts about a new student from another country. Afterward, he thought about how he and the new student were similar and different. He tried to imagine what she might be thinking and feeling:
| I am (a/an) | What if I were (a/an) |
|---|---|
| Boy | Girl |
| American | Japanese |
| Monolingual (English) | Bilingual (Japanese and English) |
| Born and raised in Walla Walla | New to Walla Walla from Osaka, Japan |
| Age 14 | Age 14 |
| Fan of music and dancing | Fan of music and dancing |
| Outgoing | Shy |
Your Turn Make your own perspective-shifting chart (or copy this Google doc). In the left column, write facts about yourself, from general to specific. In the right column, write facts about someone else. Think of what you have in common as well as differences. Then write a paragraph about what the other person might be thinking or feeling.
Using Perspective Shifting to Understand Others by Thoughtful Learning is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at k12.thoughtfullearning.com/minilesson/using-perspective-shifting-understand-others.