Walk in Their World
Students physically embody a character as they move through the space.
Physical embodiment creates empathy faster than description — students understand a character through their body.
Instructions
Give each student a character with a specific circumstance — age, health, mood, social position. Students walk around the room as that character for 3 minutes — how do they move, where do they look, how much space do they take up? Then two characters meet and have a 1-minute conversation. Debrief: what did movement reveal that words would not?
Classroom timer
12:00
Best used when
Before writing from a character's perspective, or during any lesson about social identity and power.
Variation
Characters must navigate the same obstacle — a narrow doorway, a crowded space — and see what happens.
Time
12 min
Noise
Low
Prep
None
How did it go?
Quick evaluation — helps you find what works again.