25 Writing Prompts and Books About Gratitude to Use Every Day in November
With these writing prompts and book pairings, you can help your students understand just what it means to give thanks this holiday season.
When it comes to creating a culture of kindness inside and outside your classroom, gratitude is a key ingredient — and during the month of November, there’s no better time to help students reflect upon what they can be grateful for in their lives.
Plus, check out these read-alouds that teach about gratitude.
As you and your students count down the days to winter break, these writing prompts and book pairings will not only help your students reflect on the spirit of the season but will also show them just how much there is to be thankful for in their classroom and community.
1. Describe your favorite season. What makes it so special?
Then read: Greeting Seasons: Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn and Greeting Seasons: Goodbye Autumn, Hello Winter.
2. What’s your favorite holiday? Why?
Then read: Kindergarten Kids: Hooray for the Holidays, Binny's Diwali, K Is for Kwanzaa, Peppa Pig: Happy Hanukkah!, and Clifford the Big Red Dog: Clifford's Christmas.
3. Describe one of your greatest accomplishments. How did it make you feel?
Then read: The Way I Feel and My BIG Feelings.
4. What is one goal you have for the school year? What can you do now to achieve it?
Then read: Dream Big and Nothing Stopped Sophie.
5. Describe your dream job.
Then read: I Can Be Anything! and All About School: When We Grow Up.
6. What does gratitude mean to you?
Then read: Give Back and Pearl and Squirrel Give Thanks.
7. Describe three different ways you can show gratitude without saying “thank you.”
Then read: If Animals...: If Animals Gave Thanks, Acorn - Bumble and Bee: Let's Bee Thankful and Try a Little Kindness.
8. How does it make you feel when someone thanks you? Describe a time when someone thanked you for helping them.
Then read: Curious Readers - Positive Power Stories: I Am Thankful.
9. Estimate how many times you express gratitude each day. Do you think the amount is just right or could you give thanks even more? Why or why not?
Then read: Peppa Pig: Peppa Gives Thanks and Stinky Face: Thank You, Stinky Face.
10. What is your favorite thing to do at school? Why?
Then read: All About School: School Time! and If You Take a Mouse to School.
11. What is your favorite thing to do at home? Why?
Then read: In My Home and My Little Busy Day: My Day With You.
12. Describe the most beautiful thing you’ve seen this week.
Then read: Last Stop on Market Street.
13. What is your favorite weekend activity? Why?
Then read: Henry and Mudge and the Long Weekend.
14. Describe something special about your family that you’re grateful for.
Then read: The Family Book and Families, Families, Families!
15. Describe something special about a friend that you’re grateful for.
Then read: Remarkable Me: You Be You and I Am a Good Friend!
16. Choose three people to write thank you notes to today.
Then read: Mr. Panda: Thank You, Mr. Panda and All We Need Is Love and a Really Soft Pillow!.
17. Write a thank you note to yourself.
Then read: Mindful Me, Happy Me: The Caring Me I Want to Be and A Sofia Sanchez Picture Book: You Are Enough.
18. Describe a time when you did something to help a classmate.
Then read: What Does It Mean to be Kind? and Learn About: Your Best Self: I Can Be Kind.
19. Describe a time when you did something to help a family member.
Then read: Our Table and Clifford the Big Red Dog: Clifford's Family.
20. What are you most looking forward to today? Why?
Then read: Ray's Big Day and Dixie and the Best Day Ever.
21. Describe a time when you learned something new.
Then read: Five Colorful Crayons and Creatrilogy: The Dot.
22. Describe something good that happened to you today.
Then read: The Feel Good Book and Feeling Thankful.
23. What are three things you love most about yourself?
Then read: I Like Myself! and I Love All of Me.
24. Describe an event from your past that made you smile.
Then read: Happy in Our Skin andWonky Donkey's Big Surprise.
25. Write a thank you poem to someone special in your life.
Then read: You Are a Gift to Me! and Thank You, Mr. Falker.
By writing about gratitude every day during the month of November, your students will realize just how much they have to be thankful for in their lives. Daily writing is a great habit for them to get into, and by encouraging your students to take a few minutes each day to jot down their thoughts on gratitude, you’ll sustain and strengthen the culture of kindness within your classroom.
Shop books about gratitude below! You can find all books and activities at The Teacher Store.
There's a chill in the air! This gentle read-aloud follows a girl in a red scarf as she welcomes a new season.
It's winter, and Gavin and his friends are celebrating! Learn about holiday traditions from around the world!
Binny can"t wait to tell her class about Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights.
Celebrate Kwanzaa from A to Z! Each letter of the alphabet represents an important word or fascinating fact about Kwanzaa. Explore all that is central to Kwanzaa: cultural heritage, family, and community.
Peppa and George are at their grandparents' house when they smell something yummy coming from the kitchen! That something yummy is a potato pancake... and they're about to eat it for Hanukkah! Read along as Peppa and George eat latkes, play dreidel, and light the candles to celebrate the festival of lights.
With his own tree and a Clifford-sized stocking hanging on the door, Clifford seems ready for Christmas. However, he is not prepared for Santa sliding down the chimney and falling into his stocking. Good intentions turn into a merry mess when Clifford helps Santa Claus.
Feelings are a normal part of life for children as well as adults, believes author Janan Cain, who wanted kids both to understand the concept of emotions and be able to express their feelings with words.
Enjoy these very simple stories that teach hard-to-explain emotions, such as disappointment, that are so challenging for toddlers and preschoolers to control.
Written by Michael's mother and illustrated by Barry Root, this heartwarming picture book gives a rare glimpse into a sports hero's childhood, emphasizing the role that good values played in his success.
For six years Sophie Germain used her love of math and her undeniable determination to test equations that would predict patterns of vibrations. She eventually became the first woman to win a grand prize from France's prestigious Academy of Sciences for her formula, which laid the groundwork for much of modern architecture (and can be seen in the book's illustrations).
These emergent readers introduce the youngest readers to school and build understanding and excitement for what lies ahead!
Celebrate kindness and sharing in a sweet picture book about giving back! Follow a little girl and her multigenerational family as they prepare for a community meal and clothing drive. Give Back celebrates kindness, community, and the various ways we can give to those around us.
With sweet, bouncing text and animated, vibrant illustrations, Pearl and Squirrel Give Thanks introduces an adorable friendship duo, and is the perfect pick for helping little ones remember all the things they are thankful for!
In the same vein as If Animals Kissed Good Night, this picture book from Ann Whitford Paul and David Walker explores how different members of the animal kingdom might give thanks.
Pick a book. Grow a reader! With easy-to-read text, a short-story format, plenty of humor, and full-color artwork, these books will plant a love of reading!
In this funny picture book, bestselling illustrator Henry Cole shows kids different ways to be kind with his hysterical cartoon animal characters. Each page features a different way to be a good person, like using proper manners, telling someone they are special, or sharing a treat!
This lively leveled reader series builds social emotional awareness while building reading skills.
Join television favorite Peppa and her friends on their wonderful adventures!
In this new, original Stinky Face story, Mama tells her little one that she's thankful for him. Stinky Face, of course, has a question. With greasy, taco-covered hands and face, he asks, Mama, are you thankful for me even right now?
These emergent readers introduce the youngest readers to school and build understanding and excitement for what lies ahead!
This inventive picture book shows familiar scenes around the house with important objects labeled, and the story is left up to the reader!
These illustrated walks through everyday routines will help children think about and practice planning, execution, and other skills in support of a variety of executive functions.
Every Sunday after church, CJ and his grandma ride the bus across town. But today, CJ wonders why they don't own a car like his friend Colby. Why doesn't he have an iPod like the boys on the bus? How come they always have to get off in the dirty part of town? Each question is met with an encouraging answer from Grandma, who helps him see the beauty and fun in their routine and the world around them.
A boring weekend is transformed by a creative family project as Henry and his parents join forces to build a spectacular castle - with a little help from Mudge, of course!
Every family is special in its own way - families with two moms or two dads, big families, small families, clean families, and messy families.
Moms, dads, sisters, brothers-and even Great Aunt Sue-appear in dozens of combinations, demonstrating all kinds of nontraditional families! Silly animals are cleverly depicted in framed portraits, and offer a warm celebration of family love.
This series focuses on characters confronting difficulties both physical and perceptual, while celebrating and normalizing their unique abilities and perspectives.
Princess Truly knows how to be a good friend! With a twinkle from her magical, sparkling curls and her can-do attitude, she helps her friends Lizzie and May build a best friends' clubhouse.
A tender and timeless tale about what truly matters: LOVE-from creative visionary of The Word Collector, Happy Dreamer, and The Dot, #1 New York Times bestseller Peter H. Reynolds!
This rhyming guide to social skills is a good introduction for young children to the power of kindness. Includes helpful times and activities.
It can be hard to be different-whether it is because of how you look, where you live, or what you can or can't do. But wouldn't it be boring if we were all the same? Being different is great! Being different is what makes you YOU.
A girl in a red hat finds the courage to be kind to the new student in class. Her kindness spreads, until her whole community experiences the magical shift that happens when people understand what it means to be kind, and act on their best impulses!
This is Alina, and she wants to share with you what it means for her to be kind. You will see that, when she chooses kindness, it spreads everywhere!
An ode to traditions that unite families, Our Table brings readers together with a universal message of gratitude.
Clifford loves his family and misses them, so Emily Elizabeth takes him to visit his mother and siblings in turn! Clifford's RESPECT for his family shows through in the way he makes time to see them.
Ray is a beam of sunlight traveling through space for the first time! Join her in a fun, accessible exploration of how far and fast light travels in our solar system.
Dixie's eighth I Can Read is perfect for reading on a snowy day - or any day! With fun, exciting illustrations, this book can make any day your best day ever.
Red, Blue, Green, Yellow and Purple crayon try to guess what they will be able to create. When a diverse group of students finally puts them to use they get quite a workout as they work together to make a giant rainbow.
With a simple, witty story and free-spirited illustrations, Peter H. Reynolds entices even the stubbornly uncreative among us to make a mark, and to follow where it takes us.
This cheerful book celebrates all the feel-good things that tickle kids and adults alike, from rubbing noses to rubbing a dog's belly. With bold, bright colors and silly scenes, children will be inspired to notice the wonderful things they experience every day.
In this concept book, children are thankful for the special people in their life, for walks in the rain, and for the whole world.
Positively bursting with energy and imagination, this ode to self-esteem encourages kids to appreciate everything about themselves, inside and out. Messy hair? Beaver breath? So what! This little girl knows that being proud of being you is the most important thing to remember.
I love my wiggle toes. I love my smelly nose! From head to toe, there's so much to love about wild, wonderful you! With charming illustrations and a sweet, bouncy text that begs to be read aloud, this padded board book is a joyous reminder to little ones to love their whole selves, just as they are.
As these babies grow, their amazing skin does too, enjoying hugs and tickles, protecting them inside and out, and making them special, whether they're cocoa brown or cinnamon or peaches and cream. A breezy and irresistible picture of the human family, and how wonderful it is to be just who you are.
Another sequel to the viral sensation, The Wonky Donkey, is here! Join the world's #1 bestselling family of laughable and lovable donkeys in a wild, wonky, and wonderful guessing game.
From the bestselling creator of Welcome, Little One comes the perfect gift for new parents, baby birthdays, graduations, and holidays. With rhyming text, sweet pastel illustrations, and a built-in gift tag, this board book reminds little ones just how loved they are!
In this autobiographical story, Little Trisha, overjoyed at the thought of learning how to read struggles when she finds that all the letters and numbers get jumbled up. Her classmates make matters worse by calling her "dummy." Finally, in fifth grade, she is lucky enough to have a teacher who recognizes Trisha's incredible artistic ability, understands her problem, and takes the time to lead her to the magic of reading.