Sometimes we just need a short read aloud! Super-short read alouds can be a great way to keep up the momentum in your morning meetings even when you have days that you are very short on time. I’ve pulled together a list of my favorite short picture books to read to my 4th grade or 5th graders for a super-quick morning meeting. These read alouds also come in handy for virtual morning meetings and Zoom calls when you want to read aloud to your students but don’t want a text that takes up too much time.  

What are the benefits of using a super-short read aloud for a morning meeting lesson? Well, we all know that our schedules can get interrupted sometimes, but I’m an advocate of committing to continuing the discussions of morning meeting—even if we only have a few minutes—so that the social and emotional benefits of morning meeting don’t get lost in the shuffle of a busy day. We know that if we are able to stick to the routines of morning meeting, our students will get more out of them and continue to grow. Having a few strategies in our back pockets (like short read alouds or YouTube videos) for quick morning meetings is a great way to keep up the momentum of morning meetings.

In the interest of time-saving, I did not include summaries of these titles as I have in my other blog posts of recommended read aloud lists. My hope is that you are able to skim this list to quickly find a read aloud that you have on hand.

Does your super short read aloud have to be on the theme that you are currently studying with students?! NO WAY! I love choosing short read alouds that allow me the opportunity to spiral back to previous morning meeting themes and discussions. It’s always fun and rewarding to see what new insights students gain from reading aloud stories and having discussions about previous themes.

SHORT READ ALOUDS FOR MORNING MEETINGS (ORGANIZED BY THEMES)

(Note: Read aloud lists include links to Amazon. As a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, I may earn advertising fees at no cost to you by linking to amazon.com. Read my full disclosure here. )

FRIENDSHIP

The Big Umbrella by Amy June Bates

Life Without Nico by Francisco Javier Olea

The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfeld

The Sandwich Swap by Queen Rania Al Abdullah and Kelly DiPucchio

Want to see all of my favorite read alouds that complement the FRIENDSHIP theme? Click here!

COURAGE

If I Never Forever Endeavor by Holly Meade

Drum Dream Girl by Margarita Engle

Dreamers by Yuyi Morales

Mary Wears What She Wants by Keith Negley

Parachute by Danny Parker

Say Something by Peter H. Reynolds

Want to see all of my favorite read alouds that complement the COURAGE theme? Click here!

MANAGING EMOTIONS

The Heart and the Bottle by Oliver Jeffers

The First Strawberries by Joseph Bruchac

Want to see all of my favorite read alouds that complement the MANAGING EMOTIONS theme? Click here!

INDIVIDUALISM + BEING YOURSELF

Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae

The Boy and the Bindi by Vivek Shraya

Exclamation Mark by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Mary Wears What She Wants by Keith Negley

Under My Hijab by Hena Khan

Sunday Chutney by Aaron Blabey

Want to see all of my favorite read alouds that complement the INDIVIDUALISM theme? Click here!

HAPPINESS + JOY

Pass It On by Sophy Henn

Want to see all of my favorite read alouds that complement the HAPPINESS/JOY theme? Click here!

GROWTH MINDSET

Beautiful Oops! by Barney Saltzberg

The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds (might be too long in your opinion)

The Book of Mistakes by Corrina Luyken

Want to see all of my favorite read alouds that complement the GROWTH MINDSET theme? Click here! If you’d like to learn about more Growth Mindset picture books that I recommend, I’ve written a blog post where I’ve summarized 18 Growth Mindset read alouds.

COMPASSION

I See You by Michael Genhart

How to Heal A Broken Wing by Bob Graham

Want to see all of my favorite read alouds that complement the COMPASSION theme? Click here! If you are looking for lesson ideas for teaching compassion, you may find this blog post helpful!

KINDNESS

One Smile by Cindy McKinley

What Does It Mean to Be Kind? by Rana Di Orio

The Girl and the Bicycle by Mark Pett

Want to see all of my favorite read alouds that complement the KINDNESS theme? Click here! I’ve written about my FAVORITE activity for helping students learn to “pass on” kindness! If you’re looking for ideas, you may find that blog post helpful!

BELONGING

The Wall in the Middle of the Book by Jon Agee

Mr. Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown

Want to see all of my favorite read alouds that complement the BELONGING theme? Click here! If you want to read about my recommended belonging picture books in detail, head to this blog post where I’ve summarized 12 of my favorite Belonging-themed read alouds!

RESOLVING CONFLICT

The Hueys in It Wasn’t Me by Oliver Jeffers

Want to see all of my favorite read alouds that complement the RESOLVING CONFLICT theme? Click here!

INTRINSIC MOTIVATION

Because by Mo Willems

I Am Enough by Grace Byers

Want to see all of my favorite read alouds that complement the INTRINSIC MOTIVATION theme? Click here!

RESPONSIBILITY

David Gets In Trouble by David Shannon

Want to see all of my favorite read alouds that complement the RESPONSIBILITY theme? Click here!

PERSEVERANCE

Anything is Possible by Giulia Belloni 

Want to see all of my favorite read alouds that complement the PERSEVERANCE theme? Click here!

If you are interested in learning more about how I organized and plan for my upper elementary morning meetings, this blog post focused on the framework for theme-based morning meetings is the best place to start. Don’t forget to grab your free Belonging-themed morning meeting resources below!

This free theme unit is packed with lesson ideas, student journal pages, discussion prompts, self-reflections, bulletin board materials, and more! YES! Everything you see below for the belonging theme is FREE!

If you need resources for virtual morning meetings or remote learning, I’ve got you covered with Google Slides versions of each theme set. Grab your FREE slides for belonging here.

My morning meeting routine is based on themes in literature. My morning meeting model is a routine classroom experience that allows  students the opportunity to develop personally, academically, and socially through the use of self-reflection, read alouds, songs, videos, quotations, key vocabulary, classroom discussions, and the teacher as a trusted guide. 

Each element of the framework works to create a theme-study while at the same time teaching social emotional skills, character education, and strengthening the classroom community. The 5 phases of the framework include:

• Exposure/Launching the Theme (without coming right out and telling students what the theme is)

• Introducing the Theme, Self-Reflection, and Goal Setting

• Student Discussion

• Building the Theme

• Consolidating Learning, Reflecting, and Creating Closure

Materials and resources for each of these components are included in each theme unit.

THEMES TO GUIDE YOUR MORNING MEETINGS ALL YEAR LONG

If you’d like more social emotional theme units with a focus on encouraging students’ social, emotional, and academic success, you may be interested in the Morning Meeting Mega Bundle of 17 theme units. With units focused on kindness, compassion, growth mindset, gratitude, perseverance, responsibility, managing emotions, and so much more, your engaging morning meeting plans are done for you and your students will love them! You can save 10% on the Mega Bundle of all 17 themes with the code MM10.

Any super-short read alouds that I missed? Share with my in the comments so I can continually update this list!