Best Picture Books And Read Alouds For Teaching Gratitude

In this episode of The Firstieland Podcast for Elementary Teachers, your host Molly Schwab shares her favorite picture books and classroom activities for teaching kids about gratitude. With Thanksgiving right around the corner, it’s the perfect time to help students slow down, notice the good around them, and practice thankfulness in simple, meaningful ways.

You’ll learn:

✔️ Why teaching gratitude helps reduce entitlement and negative attitudes in the classroom

✔️ How books like Thank You, Omu! and Those Shoes make thankfulness relatable for young children

✔️ Creative ways to turn these stories into fun, hands-on classroom lessons and discussions

✔️ How to build a year-round culture of gratitude—not just at Thanksgiving

By the end of this episode, you’ll walk away with practical, ready-to-use ideas for bringing gratitude to life through your read alouds. Your students will learn to appreciate the people, places, and small moments that make every day special.

Mentioned In This Episode

Resources Mentioned:

Thank You Omu resource - https://firstieland.com/thankyouomu

Gratitude Activities For Kids - https://firstieland.com/gratitude

Gratitude Jar Activities - https://firstieland.com/gratitude-jar

Books Mentioned:

Thank You, Omu! by Oge Mora - https://amzn.to/47avuv7

The Gratitude Jar by Katrina Liu - https://amzn.to/3L7ME4U

Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts - https://amzn.to/4olWa2U

Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña - https://amzn.to/3KP2VeX

Bear Says Thanks by Karma Wilson - https://amzn.to/42CNaxS

Freebie:

The Thankful Game - Free for listeners who leave a review! Send Molly a message on Instagram @firstieland or email molly@firstieland.com to get your copy.

Let’s Stay Connected

Visit our website: www.firstieland.com

Need classroom resources? Visit our TPT store here: https://firstieland.com/TPT-store

Need more help or ideas? Send me a message on Instagram @firstieland

To check out all the resources mentioned in this episode, head over to the show notes – https://firstieland.com/podcast

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Have a wonderful day and remember to make learning feel like play… see you next week!

Molly 💜

Full disclosure: Amazon links in my descriptions are usually affiliate links, which means if you purchase through that link, I receive a very small percentage of the sale.