Defining empathy is an important first step. Showing students videos of other students being bullied and asking them to articulate what their response would be is an effective way to introduce the topic. Students should understand how to accurately label the emotion so they can also recognize it. After defining the term, they will need to discuss it at length. This is a great time to divide students into groups and have them create their own definitions of empathy.
Children learn by seeing and then doing. Teacher are trained that after direct instruction comes modeling, then independent practice. In order for students to properly grasp the importance and effectiveness of having empathy, they need to see the adults around them showing empathy toward others also. Modeling the desired behavior allows students to see that the concept of empathy is something expected from all people, not just them. Moreover, they witness first-hand the effect showing empathy has on the receiver. Most often, if the adult is showing empathy toward a student, other students are able to identify with that student and hope to be on the receiving end of that empathy one day.
Incorporating plants and animals into the classroom is a useful way to teach empathy as well. Requiring students to take care of a plant or nurture and care for an animal helps them relate to the plant or animal's vulnerability while gaining the perspective that people need the same kind of nurturing. This is a great activity for science and life skills classes.
Breaking students into groups and having them act out different scenarios that would require empathy is another helpful activity. Students can act out a scene and discuss the various ways in which an issue can be resolved. The teacher only serves as the manager of the classroom during this time. It is imperative for the students to form their own conclusions and resolve the situations with little adult interference. Of course, this is after they've received adequate instruction on empathy.