Dear Evan Hansen

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“The Empathy Project”

In this activity, students will design and carry out individual or group projects to build empathy and share the message from The Connor Project: that no one is alone and that “everyone matters” (Chapter 14).

Consider The Connor Project in the novel and its goal to make sure that everyone knows they are not alone and that “everyone matters” (Chapter 14). Let’s start a project with that focus.

• Consider ways to spread kindness. This could take many forms. Brainstorm acts of volunteerism and assistance that already exist in your school and community.
• In small groups, brainstorm areas that might benefit from the help or working hours from others.
• In a notebook, choose three areas where you might focus your empathy. Free write about specific ways those groups or individuals would benefit from your help or action. Choose your favorite, most actionable idea.
• Create a roadmap with goals and interim dates for accomplishments.
• Use peer critique circles to discuss potential challenges and solutions with your roadmap.

Once your Empathy project is underway, document steps and reflect on accomplishments in a diary or journal format.

• At the end of the preset time for the project, bring in an artifact documenting your action.
• Be ready to share with peers and reflect.

Write a final reflection about what you learned during the course of this project. What are some takeaways you will remember? Ultimately, how did your project develop in a way that might have been impacted by the events in the novel, or how did your project’s impact otherwise connect to Dear Evan Hansen?

Teaching Suggestion: This project can be as small or large as you want to facilitate. Due to the openness of this process, students might need additional guidance along each step; consider facilitating class brainstorming, pre-approving student project ideas, modeling how to craft to-do lists for different projects, providing clear deadlines for each step of the project, etc. This activity might also be a chance to build community through presenting, discussing, and celebrating class accomplishments. Additionally, it has the potential become a foundation upon which to meaningfully launch additional service-learning activities.