OTT 269: A Read-Aloud That Reframes Thanksgiving and Belonging

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What if the most meaningful lesson in a noisy month is the quietest one? I share the story of a short read-aloud—Molly’s Pilgrim—that shifted my classroom from scattered to centered, and why one complete book can spark more empathy and insight than a week of themed activities. 

November often pushes teachers into survival mode: short weeks, sugar crashes, and last‑minute crafts that fill time but not hearts. I walk through how a single, well-chosen chapter book reframed Thanksgiving around identity and belonging, and how one child’s whisper—“That’s like my grandma”—opened the door to a deeper conversation about journeys, culture, and home.

You’ll hear a simple framework you can lift tomorrow: light pre-reading prompts that invite personal connections, gentle pauses during the text to name feelings and evidence, and a post-reading reflection that turns insight into action. I talk candidly about the trend toward excerpts and quick hits, and why finishing a complete story builds stamina, joy, and a shared sense of accomplishment. Instead of politics or platitudes, I focus on language that honors nuance and humanity: a pilgrim as a seeker of home, identity as an asset, and story as a safe place to practice empathy.

If you’re tired, overbooked, or just craving calm, this is your reminder to trust the power of a good book. Let the room breathe. Let the story do the heavy lifting. Then tell us what happens when your students see themselves on the page. If this resonates, follow the show, share it with a teacher friend, and leave a quick review—your notes help more educators find a little quiet and a lot of heart.

Links Mentioned in the Show:

Molly's Pilgrim Companion Resource

Molly's Pilgrim on Amazon (Affiliate Link)

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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_01 (00:00):
Welcome to One Tired Teacher, episode 269.

(00:03):
The Thanksgiving read aloud thatchanged everything.
Hey, I know it's November, andyou're like, oh my goodness.
But have you ever read a bookaloud and then something just
shifted in the room?
Maybe the energy quieted, theconversations deepened, and you

(00:23):
realize this is what teaching isall about.
That happened to me the firsttime I ever read Molly's Pilgrim
out loud in November.
It's not flashy, there's notalking turkeys or goofy
sidekicks, but it changed theway I thought about
Thanksgiving, identity, and whatit means to belong.
And it changed my kids too.

(00:45):
And today I want to share thatstory and how this little book
can bring real heart andhumanity into a season that's
often loud, messy, and rushed.
Hope you stick around.

SPEAKER_00 (01:01):
Welcome to One Tired Teacher.
And even though she may need anap, this teacher is ready to
wake up and speak her truthabout the trials and treasures
of teaching.
Here she is, wide awake.
Wait, she's not asleep rightnow, is she?
She is awake, right?
Okay.
From Trina Deborah Teaching andLearning, your host, Trina

(01:22):
Debori.

SPEAKER_01 (01:25):
Hey, so let's be real.
November gets wild.
We've got the sugar highs fromOctober.
We've got shorter weeks.
We've got classroom feastrequests.
Oh my goodness gracious.
That's one of the main reasons Iwas so happy to leave first
grade was because we didn't dofeasts in second grade,

(01:46):
thankfully.
But it's really easy to feellike we're barely holding on.
And often the content gets lost.
We toss in fun Thanksgivingbooks or last-minute crafts just
to fill the time.
But what if we slow down?
I know that sounds crazy,doesn't it?
And what if we used one story tomake a real impact?

(02:08):
That's what Molly's Pilgrim didfor me.
And I want to say that there'slike so much research going on
right now about the fact thatour kids are not reading books,
real books, and that we've gotprincipals asking teachers to
just read excerpts or shareexcerpts or do short stories or
whatever.
And I, it makes me so depressed.
I'm like, we are not buildingstrong readers.

(02:30):
We're not building kids who lovereading.
We are not teaching them how tohave the joy of starting and
ending a book.
And that is a tragedy.
And it's no wonder this iscoming out in colleges and
coming out in like polls aboutreading as adults.
It's because we only read themshort things and like fast

(02:52):
little whatever, or it's like anexcerpt from a book, that
doesn't give you the whole book.
Molly's Pilgrim is a reallyshort chapter book, so it's not
super long.
It doesn't take weeks and weeks.
It just it's it's perfect forthis time of year.
And I remember the first timethat I pulled it out.
Actually, I had to borrow it.
I had to borrow it from myteacher friend who had like a

(03:14):
whole class set in fourth grade.
And I'm like, I'm gonna readthis in second grade, and I
really want to borrow, and so Idid.
But when I first got it, it wasuh like on a quiet Tuesday, and
it was one of those weirdNovember days when everyone is a
little antsy, and I didn'texpect a lot.
I looked, it looked like anolder book, the cover felt dated

(03:36):
because the covers were dated,and they were it they were
really old from her oldcollection of books.
I didn't end up getting a newercopy that looked so much more
current from Scholastic, andthat was like, you know, that
was different.
But but by the middle of thestory, my class was totally

(03:57):
silent, like they weren't makingany noises, they were like
waiting, they were holding theirbreath while I was reading.
And when Molly's mom makes herlittle clothespin doll, at that
tiny moment of cultural pride, Ihad a student whispered, That's
like my grandma.
And I was like, wait, she is apilgrim.

(04:20):
It sparked something.
It's not just about history,it's about seeing each other.
And we ended up having one ofthe most powerful conversations
of the whole year.
Now, there's a lot of back andforth between what we should
teach, what we can't teach, arewe giving them biased
information, blah, blah, blah,blah.
So much of that.
I personally feel like we haveto learn from our past, and we

(04:45):
get to learn from our past, andwe get to understand how people
came from different places.
And I think that can be abeautiful thing.
It makes us all different.
And we don't have to go intolike the politics of it, but we
can go into like the things thatmake us who we are, and we can
celebrate that in our classroom.

(05:06):
So, why does this still matter?
Why am I telling you this?
Because I know that November canfeel chaotic, and I know that
you are tired.
And I think I spoke about, Iknow I did, about feeling like
this was the time of year that Igot sick.
Like every year I was like, ohmy goodness, here we go.
It's either before Thanksgivingor it's before Christmas, and

(05:27):
it's always during thoseholidays, and it was just it's
because everything caught up tome at this time, and I think it
feels like that for teach otherteachers as well, and I think it
even feels like that sometimesfor kids.
So it's it's something, it'sit's sometimes that we forget
small moments can really havethe most meaning.

(05:50):
Molly's Pilgrim isn't flashy,but it's the kind of book that
sticks.
It reminds our students and usthat everyone's story matters,
that identity belongs in theclassroom, and that sometimes a
quiet read aloud can do morethan a whole week of activities.
Now, if you're looking to takeit one step further and you're

(06:11):
like, oh, I need like somequestions that go with it.
I might want to do an activitybefore we read and during our
reading time and after.
I do have a simple companionpacket for Molly's Pilgrim.
And it makes it so easy to turnthe story into a meaningful
project.
Think about reflection promptsand identity connections, and
yes, you know, even a little funlittle drawing craft.

(06:35):
And I'm gonna link to it in theshow notes.
But as always, the story standson his own, on its own.
You don't need this resource,it's just there if you need it,
but you don't.
If you want to just do the bookwithout it, that's totally fine
too.
So let's talk about what storiescan do.
Don't underestimate the power ofa good book, especially when

(06:59):
everything else feels noisy.
Molly's Pilgrim changed how Isaw Thanksgiving and how I saw
my students.
And I hope it might do the samefor you.
Thanks for being here.
You've got this.
Until next time, sweet dreamsand sleep tight.