A Teacher Like You

by Frank Murphy and Barbara Dan

This heartwarming picture book celebrates the profound influence teachers have on their students. It highlights the various ways educators nurture, inspire, and support children throughout their early development.

Big Idea

Teachers act as mentors and guides who help students realize their own unique potential.

Discussion Questions

1.What is one thing your teacher does to help you feel safe?
2.Why do you think teachers choose to work with children?
3.How can you show appreciation to people who help you learn?
4.What is a favorite thing you have learned in school this year?
5.In what ways do teachers help us grow besides just teaching subjects?

Lesson Plan

⏱ 30 minutes📦 Construction paper, crayons, markers, pencils

Learning Goals

Identify the role of a teacher in a community
Practice expressing gratitude through writing
Demonstrate fine motor skills through card decoration

Activity Steps

1.Brainstorm qualities of a good teacher
2.Draft a short message of thanks
3.Decorate the front of a folded card with illustrations
4.Write the final message inside the card
5.Deliver the cards to the chosen staff members

Standards Connections

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.K.2
SEL.CASEL.RelationshipSkills
National Core Arts Standard VA:Cr2.1

Pace-Write-Read Study with Pace-Write It!

Focus question: How does a writer slow down and speed up a story to show why someone matters? In A Teacher Like You by Frank Murphy and Barbara Dan, the text and illustrations celebrate all the caring, everyday ways a teacher helps children grow. The pacing moves through many small moments, using short lines, page turns, and warm examples to help readers pause and notice a teacher’s influence on a classroom community.

Element	How to notice or teach it in the novel
Pace	Read: Notice how A Teacher Like You moves at a gentle, steady pace, listing many ways a teacher supports children, then letting each page spotlight one meaningful moment. Classroom Activity: Write 3 short sentences that show a caring adult helping in three different moments, using one sentence per moment to control pace.
Plot	Read: Notice that this picture book does not follow one big problem and solution; instead, its plot builds through examples of how a teacher guides, comforts, and inspires students over time. Classroom Activity: Create a beginning-middle-end chart showing how a teacher helps a class start the day, learn something new, and end the day feeling proud.
Prosody	Read: Listen to the warm, flowing sound of the lines as they honor a teacher’s work and make the book feel like a thank-you message. Classroom Activity: Read one page aloud, then write 2 lines that sound smooth and kind, as if you are thanking a teacher.
Word pause	Read: Notice where short phrases and line breaks make readers pause and think about one important action, like a teacher encouraging, listening, or cheering a child on. Classroom Activity: Write a sentence about a teacher helping you, then add a dash or line break to create a pause before the most important idea.
Concept	Read: The big concept in A Teacher Like You is appreciation for teachers and the way one caring person can strengthen a whole community. Classroom Activity: Finish the sentence stem 'A teacher helps a community by ________' and add 2 supporting details.
Voice & World View	Read: Notice the admiring, grateful voice and the child-friendly worldview that sees teachers as helpers, guides, and encouragers in everyday school life. Classroom Activity: Write in a grateful voice about one grown-up at school who helps children feel safe and ready to learn.
Setting & Place	Read: The classroom and school setting matter because they are shown as welcoming places where learning, kindness, and teamwork happen. Classroom Activity: Draw and label a classroom place where learning happens, then write 2 sentences explaining how a teacher uses that place to help students.
Point of View	Read: Notice that the book speaks from a broad, student-centered point of view, focusing on what children notice and feel about a teacher’s actions. Classroom Activity: Write from a student’s point of view using the frame 'My teacher helps me when ________.'
Original Characters	Read: Instead of centering one single main student, A Teacher Like You shows many children and one caring teacher figure, making the characters feel like a whole classroom community. Classroom Activity: Invent one student character and write 3 sentences showing how that child is helped by a teacher.
Dialogue	Read: Even when the book is not built around long conversations, readers can imagine the encouraging words a teacher says in each scene. Classroom Activity: Add speech bubbles to one classroom scene and write what a teacher might say to comfort or encourage a student.
Details	Read: Small details about support, learning, and care help show that teachers do many jobs, from teaching lessons to building confidence. Classroom Activity: Make a list of 5 specific things a teacher does in one school day, then turn 2 of them into complete sentences.
Descriptions	Read: The descriptions in A Teacher Like You help readers picture a nurturing teacher and a busy, positive classroom. Classroom Activity: Describe a teacher using 3 strong describing words and 1 action that shows care.
Strong First Lines	Read: Notice how the opening quickly centers the important role of a teacher and invites readers to think about someone special in their own life. Classroom Activity: Write a strong first line for a thank-you book about a teacher, starting with 'A teacher like you...'
Immediacy & Engagement	Read: The book feels immediate because readers can connect the scenes to real classroom experiences like learning, trying, listening, and growing. Classroom Activity: Write about a moment from today or this week when a teacher helped you right away.
Story Scenes & Summaries & Unique Structures	Read: This book uses a series of short scenes and summary-like examples instead of one long event, which helps the pacing move across many kinds of teacher care. Classroom Activity: Write 1 scene sentence about a teacher helping during reading time and 1 summary sentence about how that teacher helps all day long.
Flashback & Flash Forward & Cliffhangers	Read: This book is mostly in the present, but it can make readers think back to earlier school experiences and ahead to how a teacher’s lessons will matter later. Classroom Activity: Write one sentence that begins 'I remember when my teacher...' and one that begins 'Because of my teacher, I will...'.
Tension & Suspense & Surprise	Read: The book is gentle, so tension is small and emotional, such as moments when a child may need help, courage, or comfort before a teacher steps in. Classroom Activity: Write 2-3 sentences about a student feeling worried, then show how a teacher helps solve the problem.
Page Turns and Chapter Breaks	Read: In this picture book, page turns help reveal new examples of what teachers do, keeping readers curious about the next caring moment. Classroom Activity: Plan a 4-page mini-book with one teacher action on each page so each page turn reveals a new way the teacher helps.
Performance	Read: A Teacher Like You invites expressive reading, with a gentle, thankful tone and pauses that highlight important ideas about teachers. Classroom Activity: Practice reading one page aloud with a partner, deciding where to pause and which words to say with extra warmth.
Personality	Read: The teacher’s personality comes through as patient, kind, encouraging, and dependable, even across many short examples. Classroom Activity: Choose 3 personality traits for a teacher character and write a sentence that shows each trait through actions.
Humor	Read: The book’s main tone is heartfelt rather than funny, but readers can still notice cheerful classroom moments that bring smiles and warmth. Classroom Activity: Write a light, happy classroom moment that shows a teacher and students enjoying learning together.
Pause	Read: Notice how the book gives readers time to pause and appreciate one caring act before moving to the next one. Classroom Activity: Write 3 short lines about a teacher, putting the most important idea on its own line for emphasis.
Poetry and Poetic Devices	Read: The language feels poetic because it uses heartfelt phrasing, repeated ideas, and image-rich moments to honor teachers. Classroom Activity: Write a 4-line class poem beginning with 'A teacher...' on each line, using one image or feeling word in each line.
Repetition	Read: Repeated ideas about helping, guiding, and inspiring build the message that a teacher’s care shows up again and again. Classroom Activity: Use repetition by starting 3 sentences with 'My teacher helps...' and changing the ending each time.
Rhythm	Read: The rhythm is calm and steady, which matches the caring, reassuring message of the book. Classroom Activity: Clap the beat of one sentence from the book style, then write your own sentence with a similar smooth rhythm about a teacher.
Punctuation	Read: Notice how punctuation helps the text sound warm and clear, guiding readers through short statements of appreciation. Classroom Activity: Write 3 thank-you sentences to a teacher and use periods, commas, or exclamation marks to show the right feeling.
Questions	Read: Even if the text is mostly statements, it makes readers ask themselves who has taught them, helped them, and believed in them. Classroom Activity: Write 2 questions you would ask a teacher to learn more about how they help students grow.
Compare-Contrast	Read: Readers can compare different ways a teacher helps different students and different parts of the school day. Classroom Activity: Write 2 sentences comparing how a teacher helps during learning time and during a hard or sad moment.
Objects	Read: Classroom objects in the illustrations, such as books, desks, art tools, or school supplies, help show the world where the teacher’s care happens. Classroom Activity: Choose one classroom object and write about how a teacher uses it to help students learn or feel welcome.
Threes	Read: The book’s ideas can be grouped in threes, such as how a teacher teaches, encourages, and comforts, which makes the message memorable. Classroom Activity: Write a sentence or short list naming 3 ways a teacher helps: 'My teacher teaches, ________, and ________.'
Whitespace & Negative Space	Read: Notice how open space on the page can make the kind words and warm illustrations stand out, slowing the pace so readers can reflect. Classroom Activity: Make a thank-you page with one short sentence in the center and lots of space around it to emphasize your idea.
Art & Graphics	Read: Barbara Dan’s illustrations help pacing by showing diverse students, warm expressions, and busy school moments that deepen the message of appreciation and community. Classroom Activity: Draw an illustration of a teacher helping a group of students, then add 1 caption sentence that matches the caring tone of the book.
Interactives & Gamification	Read: This book invites interaction because readers can match each page to a real teacher action they have seen in their own classroom. Classroom Activity: Play 'Teacher Action Match' by listing 4 actions from the book and having students match each action to a real example before writing about one.

Pace-Write It!

20-Minute Classroom Flow\nRead (5 min): Read A Teacher Like You aloud. Pause briefly on pages that show different ways the teacher supports students. Ask students to listen for places where the book slows down to highlight one caring action.\n\nNotice (5 min): Discuss: How does the author show many small moments instead of one big event? What do the short lines, page turns, and illustrations help us notice about the teacher? Chart student responses under: 'What the teacher does' and 'How the book helps us notice it.'\n\nWrite (7 min): Students write a short thank-you style piece about a teacher or school adult. Writing frame: 'A teacher like you ________. You help me ________. You show our classroom community ________.' Encourage students to add one specific moment, such as helping with reading, tying a shoe, calming a worry, or celebrating success.\n\nShare (3 min): Students turn and talk with a partner, reading their writing aloud with gentle expression. Invite 2-3 volunteers to share how they used a specific moment to show appreciation.\n\nExit ticket: Complete this sentence on a sticky note: 'The book’s pacing helped me notice ________ about a teacher.'

Classroom Activities

Thank-You Teacher Cards

Students will design and write heartfelt appreciation cards for their teacher or a staff member who has made a positive impact.

Thank-You Teacher Cards

Students will design and write heartfelt appreciation cards for their teacher or a staff member who has made a positive impact.

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