We know kids love props! So try this: stock your classroom/office/home with a giant magnifying glass. Call it your “perspective lens” and tell your kids that you’re going to use it to think about someone else’s perspective. (Of course young kids will need the chance to pass it around and look at it first because it will be soooo exciting. You’ll also need to let them know that it’s just a symbol, that you don’t actually see people’s perspective through a lens!)
 
If you think about it, you’ll have plenty of opportunities every day to use your perspective lens. Start by using it during calm times, like during a read-aloud when you’re trying to figure out why a character is doing something, or when you’re talking about a news story and you’re discussing why people are feeling a certain way. You can say, “I wonder what the three little bears are feeling. I think I’ll use my perspective lens to take a look!” “Look at all those sports fans cheering in this newspaper picture. Let’s use our perspective lens to see what they might be feeling. What about the fans for the other team? What do you think they might be feeling?”
 
As you introduce the perspective lens, you can also start to use it for resolving conflict. If two kids are having a dispute, you can give each of them a turn with the perspective lens. Ask them to think about what the other person might be feeling, then follow it up with a discussion to resolve the issue.