What is empathy?

personification

A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes; Example: "The fireworks were saying to most of the other people, 'I remember you from last year.'"

empathy

Understanding what someone else is feeling because you have experienced it yourself or can put yourself in their shoes. Looks like: - imagining someone else's perspective - non-judgmental - recognizing others' emotions - letting others know you recognize Sounds like: - "I know what it's like and you're not alone" - "I'm not sure what to say, but I'm glad you told me."

narrative

A story, true or fictional, expressed orally or in writing.

theme

- the author's message or lesson about a motif/topic - an answer to the question, "What did we learn from this?"

motif

A recurring topic, subject, or idea throughout a text. Examples: being yourself, jealousy, differences, empathy, etc.

hyperbole

A figure of speech that uses exaggeration to express strong emotion, make a point, or evoke humor; such as "For the next hour, I asked my parents at least 100 times."

figurative language

A word or phrase that does not have its normal everyday, literal meaning. It is used by the writer for the sake of comparison or dramatic effect. Authors use similes, metaphors, hyperbole, symbols, onomatopoeia, and personification to make their stories more interesting.

onomatopoeia

A word that imitates the sound it represents. Examples: creak, thud, whoosh

sympathy

Acknowledging a person's emotional hardships and providing assurance that everything will be OK. Looks like: - putting a silver lining on it; Sounds like: - "At least your other child is an A student!" - "At least you have a marriage!"

metaphor

Does not use like or as to compare, stronger comparison, something IS something else My fingers are ice cubes. A waterfall of hair fell down her back. Her skin was snow, white against her jet black hair.

first person

The narrator is a character in the story and is referred to as "I" who is a character in the story; "I ran down the street."

third person

The narrator is an observer outside of the story and refers to the characters as "he", "she", or "they"; "She ran down the street."

second person

The narrator refers directly to the reader as "you" who is a character in the story; "You ran down the street."

simile

Uses like or as to compare; My fingers are so cold they feel like ice cubes. Her hair looked like a waterfall down her back. Her skin was white as snow.

precept

anything that helps guide us when making decisions about really important things

point of view

the perspective from which a story is told. Perspective uses "I", "You", or "He/She/They" as the characters of the story.