How can you tell they’ve got it: Vocabulary: understanding others?

If they’ve got it, you’ll see things like: Use the word 'empathy' correctly and distinguish it from 'sympathy' — e.g. 'Empathy means I try to feel what they feel'; Explain what 'perspective' and 'point of view' mean and demonstrate by describing how two people might see the same event differently; Use words like 'community', 'belonging', and 'inclusion' accurately when talking about their school or neighbourhood. Or just try it together: When your child sees someone who seems sad or left out, can they describe what that person might be feeling using words like 'empathy' or 'perspective' — showing they're thinking about the other person, not just themselves?

Personal & Social Development Empathy & Social Awareness Ages 5–8

Vocabulary: understanding others

Your child can use words like empathy and perspective. They know empathy means trying to feel what someone else feels.

In curriculum terms

Know and use the key vocabulary for understanding others — empathy, perspective, kind, fair, community, similar, different, and care — and understand that these words describe real habits of thinking and feeling

Ages are typical, not deadlines — follow your child’s pace. How to help at home →

How to tell they’ve got it

Tick these off as you see them — no test required.

Use the word 'empathy' correctly and distinguish it from 'sympathy' — e.g. 'Empathy means I try to feel what they feel'
Explain what 'perspective' and 'point of view' mean and demonstrate by describing how two people might see the same event differently
Use words like 'community', 'belonging', and 'inclusion' accurately when talking about their school or neighbourhood

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Try this together

When your child sees someone who seems sad or left out, can they describe what that person might be feeling using words like 'empathy' or 'perspective' — showing they're thinking about the other person, not just themselves?

Where this sits on the map

Stuck here? Check the skills it builds on first. Confident? Here’s what it unlocks.

Builds on

Nothing on the map comes before this — it’s a starting point.

Vocabulary: understanding othersthis skill · ages 5–8

Unlocks

Everyday Kindness and Careages 5–7Showing kindness meaningfully requires vocabulary for empathy, care, and community

Other People's Feelings and Thoughtsages 5–7Understanding that others have perspectives and feelings requires the vocabulary of empathy and perspective

Similarities & Differencesages 5–7Noticing similarities and differences among people draws on vocabulary of community, fair, and care

solid = must come firstdashed = helps

Curriculum alignment

Where this fits in the official school curriculum — our best automated guess, not yet checked by a person.

Show candidate curriculum codes · 3 ACARA · 1 NSW · 2 VIC

Australian Curriculum v9 candidate

AC9HS2K01medium confidenceYear 2 · Knowledge and understanding

a local individual, group, place or building and the reasons for their importance, including social, cultural or spiritual significance

AC9HSFK01low confidenceFoundation · Knowledge and understanding

the people in their family, where they were born and raised, and how they are related to each other

AC9HS1S04low confidenceYear 1 · Skills

discuss perspectives related to objects, people, places and events

NSW syllabus codes & stages only

HS1-GEO-01low confidenceHSIE K-6 · Stage 1

Victorian Curriculum 2.0 codes & levels only

VC2HPFP03low confidenceHealth and Physical Education · Foundation · Personal, Social and Community Health – Health Education strand

VC2HC4K07low confidenceCivics and Citizenship · Levels 3 and 4 · Knowledge and Understanding strand

These are candidate alignments generated by semantic matching — machine-suggested and unreviewed (v0.1), not official or verified mappings. For official curriculum content see australiancurriculum.edu.au, curriculum.nsw.edu.au and f10.vcaa.vic.edu.au. Don’t rely on them for registration or compliance purposes.

Nearby on the map

Everyday Kindness and Careages 5–7 Other People's Feelings and Thoughtsages 5–7 Similarities & Differencesages 5–7 Different Lives and Experiencesages 7–9

All Empathy & Social Awareness skills →