How can read alouds be used to teach character education in a second grade classroom?

The inspiration to explore this topic came to the author shortly after taking a new teaching position teaching second grade. The author had significant concerns about the lack of respect, compassion and empathy shown among her second grade students towards one another. Key influences include peers, students, graduate courses taken at Hamline, and authors on the subject of reading aloud such as Trelease, Fox, and Laminack. Influences in the area of character education include Kilpratrick, Wolfe, and Wolfe, O\u27Sullivan, and Glickman. The author developed and implemented a three week long curriculum using read alouds as the springboard to teach the character education themes of caring, friendship, and courage in her second grade classroom. The author is confident that this study positively impacted her students, slowly resulting in positive change in the classroom. She is confident that she provided opportunities for her students to see themselves and their feelings in the selection of children\u27s literature they shared and discussed together