Respect Activities, Books, and Videos for the Classroom

Teaching respect in your classroom? Give students the respect activities and skills they need to be good friends and good students.

You can help your students develop a sense of respect, teaching them how to respect others. This is such an important skill for kids to learn, shaping the way they treat others as they grow up into adults. Here are 10 books and 5 videos you can use as respect activities in the classroom.

Respect Activities, Books, and Videos for the Classroom

Good books and video are a great tool for teaching your students about respect. That’s because they tell a story in a fun but informative way, giving kids the chance to see what respect looks like in a real-life situation.

Books that Teach Respect Activities

Here are 10 books you can use to teach respect activities in the classroom.

1. Do Unto Otters – Laurie Keller

This book is all about treating others like you would want them to treat you. This is key to teaching respect since we all have the desire to be treated nicely by others. If a child isn’t sure if they’re doing the right thing with a friend, they can use this book to reflect on good manners and what respect actually means.

2. The Golden Rule – Ilene Cooper

We’ve all heard the saying, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” but what does that mean for a student? Kids need a way to see and experience the Golden Rule in order to develop an understanding of it. This book helps to give students a chance to learn about this respectful rule, all in a way that they can easily understand.

Teach and encourage kids to follow the golden rule in the classroom each day. Get them to practice saying and coloring their own poster to hang on the wall. Grab the Golden Rule poster for FREE here!

3. Respect and Take Care of Things – Cheri Meiners

Respect isn’t just about treating others how you want to be treated. It’s also about treating objects and belongings with courtesy. This book helps teach kids about treating belongings this way, showing them that special belongings should be put up instead of being strewn about their bedroom. It also teaches them to ask about using something that doesn’t belong to them, which shows respect for the belonging, as well as the person to whom it belongs.

4. Lying Up a Storm – Julia Cook

Telling the truth is an important part of respect, and this book does an excellent job of teaching that to kids. In this story, the main character learns that lying puts a cloud of you, and oftentimes leads to more lying, This can hurt relationships with others, as well as make him feel sad. What a wonderful way to teach respect and honesty to kids.

5. The Thankful Book – Todd Parr

Being thankful and respecting the earth are important character traits taught in this book. With it, students will learn that they need to be thankful for the world we live in and to treat it with respect in turn.

Encourage kids to express gratitude for the things in their lives daily. Provide them with note cards to write down something that they are thankful for each week and share with the class. Click here to check it out.

6. Whoever You Are – Mem Fox

All human beings are alike. We might look different, sound different, and think different, but we are all human beings. This book teaches this knowledge to students, helping them understand that even though someone is different from them, they should still be treated with tolerance and respect.

7. Good People Everywhere – Lynea Gillen

If you want to teach your students to be grateful and caring, this is the book for your classroom. This book helps teach kids to look for the good in everyone, teaching them respect and appreciation.

8. The Crayon Box That Talked – Shane Derolf

This book will teach kids to respect diversity, celebrating the differences that make each person unique. Teaching kids this will help them strive to be a better person as they grow up.

Use the book as a mentor text and teach some meaningful follow-up activities. Focus on the poem in the book and practice it often. Have kids create their own crayons with unique things about themselves. Click here to see more!

9. The Berenstain Bears Show Some Respect – Jan Berenstain

The Berenstain Bears are here to teach your students all about respect. In this story, the whole family learns a little more about respect during a family outing.

10. Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun: Having the Courage To Be Who You Are – Maria Dismondy

In addition to respecting others, your students need to learn how to respect themselves. This book helps teach kids to love who they are and to celebrate what makes them unique. This will help them have respect for themselves, an important thing to have as they grow older.

Videos that Teach Respect Activities

Kids also love watching videos, making it a great tool to teach them important skills and character traits. If you want to teach your students all about respect, these 5 videos can help.

1. Sesame Street – Respect (Word on the Street)

Sesame Street is back and they’re here to teach kids all about respect. In this video, kids will get the chance to hear what respect is all about and how respect applies to them. It gives kids a great visual for what respect looks like in a normal situation.

It is important to give children opportunities to practice being respectful when they are young. Have pairs stand up and act out a scenario from a respect scenario card. Ask the class for suggestions of ways to show respect. Click here to check it out.

2. All About Respect (song for kids about respect)

Now you can use music to help teach kids about respect. This song teaches kids how to respect people and belongings, all in a fun and upbeat way. This catchy tune is sure to become a classroom favorite.

3. Respect Song

Here’s another great song that will teach your students about respect. In it, they sing about how every person is special and that you should treat them with respect. Your students will quickly pick up on the lyrics, singing the song even after the video is done.

Encourage kids to express the ways they show respect and record them on an anchor chart. Have them choose a few and draw them on a respect hat. Kids will love making their own respect hat to show what they have learned. Click here to check it out.

4. Use Polite Words

When you show respect to others, you use polite words to show that respect. A student learns this important this during lunch, after discovering he was not polite to the lunch lady. A friend teaches him that polite words should be used when talking to others.

5. Classroom Rules

If your students love Minions, this is the video for them. In it, a fun video of the Minions includes slides about respect. This includes such classroom rules as being a good friend, always following directions, and respecting others.

Teaching your students all about respect is so important. By teaching them to be respectful in the classroom, you’re giving them the skills they need to be good friends and good students.

Respect Activities in a Complete Classroom Resource

The complete respect unit includes tons of helpful lessons and activities to help children learn about showing respect, honesty, gratitude, and acceptance. Click HERE to see everything included.

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