Many teachers choose Blubber because they hope it will build empathy, but empathy is notoriously hard to assess. A student can write a heartfelt paragraph without understanding anything, and another can write plainly while showing real insight into how a character feels. The challenge is to grade the writing skills involved without turning kindness into a score.

A practical way to handle this is to assess perspective-taking as a writing skill. Ask students to explain how a character experiences a specific scene, using details from the text to support their interpretation. For example, they might describe how Linda likely feels when the class laughs, grounding every claim in what the novel actually shows.

This approach keeps the focus on evidence and reasoning, which are fair things to grade. It also avoids pressuring students to perform emotions they may not feel. A student who analyzes a character's experience carefully is demonstrating the thinking that empathy depends on, even if the tone is measured.

Designing Prompts That Elicit Perspective

The best empathy prompts ask students to consider more than one viewpoint. A student might be asked to describe the same lunchroom scene from Jill's view, Linda's view, and the view of a classmate who stays silent. Comparing those perspectives requires students to hold several ideas at once, which is cognitively demanding and revealing.

• Ask for evidence from the text before any statement about feelings
• Require students to consider at least two characters' points of view
• Separate the analysis score from any personal reflection component
• Make personal reflection optional or low-stakes so students are not pressured
• Use language like likely or seems to encourage careful inference

Feedback That Deepens Understanding

When a student writes that Linda must feel sad, a strong comment asks what in the text suggests that and whether other feelings might also be present, such as embarrassment or anger. That push turns a generic statement into a more precise interpretation. Students learn that understanding someone else involves careful observation rather than a quick assumption.

Feedback should also model the empathy you hope to teach. Respond to student writing with respect, even when it contains misunderstandings, and avoid sarcasm or harsh judgments about their opinions. The way a teacher comments on an essay about cruelty teaches as much as the assignment itself.

Keeping Grading Fair and Efficient

Empathy-focused essays still need a clear rubric so that grading remains consistent across a class. Criteria might include accuracy of textual evidence, depth of perspective-taking, clarity of explanation, and organization. A rubric-driven AI grading tool can apply those criteria uniformly and surface essays that warrant a closer human read.

Finally, remember that some students will write about their own experiences, and those essays should be read slowly. Reserving time for a personal response protects both the student and the integrity of the assignment. Good assessment in a unit like this is as much about care as it is about scoring.