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Historical Empathy is the idea of trying to better understand the context and beliefs of people in the past, without necessarily agreeing with them.

Though we did some of that while I was teaching IB Theory of Knowledge and World and U.S. History to English Language Learners, the concept of “Historical Empathy” is new to me.  I wish I had known of it when I was teaching – it would have helped!

Here are some resources about it that might be helpful to you:

How to Teach History in a Culturally Responsive Way is from Edutopia.

How Historical Empathy Helps Students Understand the World Today is from Facing History.

The Slippery Slope Of Teaching Historical Empathy is from The OER Project.

Walking in Really Strange Shoes: Students Practice Historical Empathy is from Well Trained Mind Academy.

Historical Empathy is from BYU.

Designing historical empathy learning experiences: a pedagogical tool for history teachers is from UCL Press.