What Would Their Day Look Like?¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

Learners select a photo of a person or animal in an unfamiliar situation and imagine what that individual's daily life might be like. They research the context further, then present their chosen character's daily routine to the class — often as a diary entry, narrative, or oral account. The activity uses imaginative engagement with a specific individual as an entry point into perspective-taking and empathy, followed by research that grounds the imagination in evidence.

Design Implications¶

The strategy combines an empathy-inducing imaginative task with structured research and communication. Perspective-taking interventions reliably reduce stereotyping and increase empathic concern when they direct attention to the specific individual's thoughts and feelings Perspective-taking decreases stereotype expression and increases overlap between self and other representations. [+M]. The research phase is what separates this from unstructured imagination: grounding the imagined day in evidence constrains projection and improves the accuracy of representations.

Context¶

Requirements¶

• A curated set of photos of people or animals in unfamiliar situations, chosen to be rich in inference cues without inviting caricature
• Access to research resources (texts, media, primary sources) appropriate to the topic
• Time for research, drafting, and presentation, plus a structure for sharing (Class Discussion or gallery formats)

Constraints¶

• Without sufficient background knowledge, learners fill gaps with stereotypical assumptions; perspective-taking can increase stereotyping when the target is viewed as very different from the self Perspective-taking reduces bias mainly when the target is seen as similar or the taker has adequate information. [~M]
• Imagining another's experience without evidence-checking encourages projection — learners attribute their own preferences and routines to the character [-M]
• Can trivialize serious topics (e.g., poverty, displacement) if photo selection and framing are careless; instructor guidance on respectful representation is essential [-W]
• Empathy gains from a single session are fragile; effects on attitudes toward groups fade without repeated or reinforced contact Perspective-taking effects on intergroup attitudes are stronger and more durable with repeated engagement. [~M]

Implementation Variability¶

• Diary entry, first-person narrative, illustrated "day in the life" timeline, or oral presentation as the product
• Animal subjects (e.g., a battery hen) shift the focus to welfare and science content; human subjects shift it to culture, history, or social issues
• Can be run as a pre-activity to activate curiosity before Assigned Readings, or as a culminating task after content study
• Depth of research and presentation format can be tiered by learner ability

Target Learners¶

• Learners encountering unfamiliar cultures, historical periods, or social situations for the first time
• Learners who benefit from concrete, individualized entry points before engaging with abstract group-level content
• Weaker fit for learners who already have deep contextual knowledge, for whom the imaginative step adds little beyond the research itself [~W]

Target Learning Goals¶

• Empathy and perspective-taking: understanding the experiences and challenges of others
• Research skills: gathering and evaluating evidence about an unfamiliar context
• Communication: presenting a researched account in a compelling first-person form
• Cultural understanding and global awareness

Instructions¶

1. Present a curated set of photos of people or animals in unfamiliar situations; learners select one that interests them.
2. Have learners brainstorm what they already know and what they need to find out, using Advance Organizers or a KWL frame to structure initial questions.
3. Learners research the context — daily routines, challenges, resources, environment — using Assigned Readings and other sources; require at least one non-obvious detail that could not be guessed from the photo alone.
4. Learners draft a "day in the life" account (diary entry, narrative, or timeline) from the character's perspective, citing evidence for key claims.
5. Learners share their accounts through a Class Discussion, gallery walk, or short Demonstration of their presentation.
6. Close with Individual Reflection: what surprised them, what they could not know from the photo, and how their view of the group or situation changed.

Related Strategies¶

• Case Studies — both use a specific individual or situation as a window into broader context, but this strategy foregrounds imagination and empathy over analysis
• Acting-Role-Play — an embodied variant where learners perform the perspective rather than narrate it
• Use premortem analysis before implementing a reform to surface success factors and roadblocks

Related Elements¶

• Assigned Readings — the research backbone that grounds imagination in evidence
• Class Discussion — the sharing structure where learners compare inferred days and surface assumptions
• Demonstration — modeling a well-evidenced "day in the life" account before learners draft their own
• Individual Reflection — consolidates attitude change and metacognitive awareness of projection

Examples¶

• Students choose a photo of a refugee child and research what their daily life might be like — the challenges they face and the resources they rely on — then present the routine to the class with cited sources.
• Students write a diary entry from the perspective of a battery hen, describing living conditions and experiences, after researching industrial egg production.
• In a history unit, students select a photo from a historical period and reconstruct a day in that person's life using primary sources, then compare accounts to discuss how evidence constrains imagination.

Key Sources¶

• Galinsky, A. D., & Moskowitz, G. B. (2000). Perspective-taking: Decreasing stereotype expression, stereotype accessibility, and in-group favoritism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78(4), 708–723. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.78.4.708
• Todd, A. R., & Galinsky, A. D. (2014). Perspective-taking as a strategy for improving intergroup relations: Evidence, mechanisms, and qualifications. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 8(7), 374–387. doi:10.1111/spc3.12116
• Endacott, J. L., & Brooks, S. (2013). An updated theoretical and practical model for promoting historical empathy. Social Studies Research and Practice, 8(1), 41–58.
• Batson, C. D., Early, S., & Salvarani, G. (1997). Perspective taking: Imagining how another feels versus imagining how you would feel. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23(7), 751–758. doi:10.1177/0146167297237008