The Gratitude Jar Book SEL Character Education Read Aloud Activities is a structured companion for The Gratitude Jar by Katrina Liu. Through guided discussion, gratitude activities, and differentiated follow-up practice, students learn to shift from comparison and negative thinking toward gratitude, perspective, and positive behavior choices.

This resource is part of a growing collection of SEL read alouds that connect meaningful picture books with explicit instruction in behavior, social-emotional learning, and literacy. It can be used as an interactive read-aloud lesson, a short gratitude unit, or a flexible source of character education book activities that teachers can revisit throughout the year.

Help Students Move Beyond Comparison and “It’s Not Fair”

Many students struggle with comparison, jealousy, or the belief that someone else always has something better. These thought patterns may appear as complaining, resentment, unkind comments, refusal, or repeated statements that something is not fair.

Telling a student to “be grateful” rarely changes the thinking underneath the behavior. Students need help noticing comparison, considering another perspective, recognizing what is already positive in their lives, and choosing what to do with uncomfortable feelings.

This resource was created to support those conversations.

Through a relatable picture book and structured character education read aloud activities, students explore how thoughts can influence feelings, choices, behavior, and relationships. They learn that gratitude does not mean ignoring disappointment. It means developing a more balanced perspective that leaves room for both difficult feelings and appreciation.

Why Teachers Use This Resource

This companion helps teachers:

• Teach students how to develop an attitude of gratitude
• Address comparison, jealousy, and negative thinking
• Help students move beyond repeated “it’s not fair” thinking
• Reinforce positive behavior choices in everyday situations
• Teach perspective-taking and appreciation
• Help students understand choices and consequences
• Provide structured practice with making choices worksheets
• Build a more positive and supportive classroom environment
• Integrate SEL and ELA without adding a separate lesson
• Differentiate instruction using varied activity types and levels

What’s Included

This 105-page resource includes more than 40 differentiated activities. It is intentionally designed so that you do not need to complete every page.

The range of activities allows you to:

• Select activities based on student needs and ability levels
• Use the resource across several days or weeks
• Teach in whole groups, small groups, centers, or individual settings
• Revisit the same concepts without repeating the same assignment
• Combine SEL instruction with reading, writing, and discussion

Interactive Read-Aloud Lesson Plan

The interactive read-aloud section includes:

• Questions to use before, during, and after reading
• Structured discussion prompts
• Connections between the story and real-life gratitude
• Opportunities for students to examine different perspectives
• Guidance for discussing comparison, appreciation, and choices

If you are looking for an SEL social emotional read aloud that goes beyond telling students to “think positively,” this resource provides the structure needed to turn the story into meaningful instruction in gratitude, perspective, and decision-making.

Gratitude Activities

The gratitude activities help students recognize positive parts of their lives without suggesting that they should ignore problems or uncomfortable emotions.

Students practice:

• Identifying people, experiences, and resources they appreciate
• Recognizing positive moments that are easy to overlook
• Comparing gratitude with jealousy and envy
• Looking at a situation from more than one perspective
• Noticing how gratitude can affect thoughts and actions
• Expressing appreciation to other people
• Building gratitude into regular classroom routines

Gratitude journal activities, reflection pages, and draw-and-write templates give students several ways to practice these skills based on their age, ability, and comfort with written expression.

Positive Behavior Choices

Students also explore the connection between thinking patterns and positive behavior choices. They consider how comparison, jealousy, disappointment, and gratitude may lead to different responses in the same situation.

Making choices worksheets help students examine:

• What happened in the situation
• What the person was thinking and feeling
• What choice the person made
• How that choice affected other people
• What another response might have looked like
• Which choice would support a more positive outcome

The goal is not to require students to feel grateful at all times. It is to help them recognize that they can experience disappointment while still choosing a respectful, responsible response.

Emotional Regulation and Perspective-Taking

Comparison and “it’s not fair” thinking often become more intense when students have difficulty managing disappointment. Students may understand gratitude when they are calm but struggle to use that perspective when someone else receives something they wanted.

The emotional regulation learning worksheets help students identify emotions, thoughts, and reactions connected to comparison and disappointment. Social emotional regulation learning worksheets provide structured practice with pausing, considering another perspective, and selecting a more productive response.

Teachers can use the emotional regulation activities worksheets when students need additional practice with:

• Naming jealousy, disappointment, frustration, or envy
• Recognizing negative comparison
• Separating an uncomfortable feeling from the behavior that follows
• Reframing an unhelpful thought
• Identifying something positive without dismissing the problem
• Choosing a respectful response
• Using gratitude as one possible coping and perspective-taking strategy

Social-Emotional Learning Skills

Students practice:

• Developing gratitude and appreciation
• Recognizing comparison and jealousy
• Shifting from negative thinking toward a balanced perspective
• Identifying and expressing emotions
• Considering another person’s point of view
• Making positive behavior choices
• Understanding choices and consequences
• Managing disappointment
• Expressing appreciation
• Building a more positive outlook

ELA Skills

The resource also includes practice with:

• Predictions
• Summarizing
• Character analysis
• Compare and contrast
• Sequencing
• Text-to-self connections
• Written responses
• Extended writing prompts

These activities allow teachers to reinforce literacy skills while teaching gratitude, perspective-taking, and emotional regulation.

Additional Supports

Additional materials include:

• Gratitude journal activities
• Reflection pages
• Draw-and-write templates
• Picture-to-Ponder discussion activities
• Notes to families with ideas for practicing gratitude at home
• Real photographs that increase student connection and engagement
• Differentiated activity formats
• Options for verbal, written, and visual responses

Ways to Use This Resource

Teachers can use these activities during:

• Whole-group interactive read-aloud lessons
• Small-group SEL or behavior instruction
• Counseling or behavior-support groups
• Morning meetings
• Centers or independent work
• Self-contained classroom instruction
• Individual reflection and reteaching
• ELA lessons connected to character development
• Classroom lessons focused on gratitude or perspective

About the Book

In The Gratitude Jar by Katrina Liu, Mina learns to shift from comparison and envy toward appreciation. As she begins noticing the positive parts of her own life, she develops a more balanced perspective and improves her relationships.

The story provides a relatable foundation for discussing gratitude, jealousy, fairness, appreciation, and the connection between thoughts and behavior.

The Bottom Line

If your students struggle with comparison, negative thinking, jealousy, or repeated “it’s not fair” moments, this resource provides a structured way to teach the skills underneath those responses.

Students learn to recognize difficult emotions, consider another perspective, identify reasons for gratitude, and make positive behavior choices. These skills can support classroom relationships, emotional regulation, and a more thoughtful response to disappointment.

Curious for More?

Explore the complete collection of SEL read alouds and book companions here. Each resource combines structured discussion, social-emotional learning, literacy practice, and differentiated follow-up activities to help students build skills they can use in real situations.

Learn More: Interactive Readalouds for SEL and Literacy Skills

Discover the power of an interactive read aloud in promoting social-emotional learning (SEL) and literacy skills in children.

Whether you’re a teacher or a caregiver, learn how an interactive read aloud can positively transform young lives with this blog post: Interactive Read Alouds: How to Use Them to Promote SEL and Literacy Skills.

Get Connected

Want to stay in the loop? I’d love for you to join my community on TPT and be the first to know about an ever-expanding collection of exceptional resources. They're all about boosting your teaching journey and empowering your elementary classroom with fantastic SEL and behavior support resources.

Earn Credits

And here's the sweet deal – with your purchase, you're not just enriching your teaching toolkit. You also have the chance to spread the love through reviews and unlock TPT credits that may be used toward more exceptional educational resources.