Must Have Books To Teach About Setting

Finding the just right books to teach about setting can be tricky! Don’t worry- I have compiled a list for you to hopefully help you with planning the right mentor texts. Click any of the photos below to take you to the affiliate link. Check out my list of must have books to teach setting below!
Creepy Carrots
One text I really like using is Creepy Carrots to teach setting. There are many different places the story takes place, but I also love the illustrations and the different colors used to portray the feel of “creepiness”. This is a great text for teaching details of a setting and how those details affect the main character.
The Panda Problem
I mentioned The Panda Problem in this post about books to teach character already, but it’s such a good book for story elements! This text goes over what a character, setting, problem, and solution is in a fun story. It is a great story for teaching story elements.
The Snowy Day
The Snowy Day is another great book to teach about setting. I like using this mentor text to teach how the setting can affect the character and what the character does.
Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs
Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs is another great book to use to teach about setting. This text teaches and shows a setting that we would not typically see, which primary students really like to see. They find it funny and entertaining. This is a great text for teaching details of a setting.
Ira Sleeps Over
I love to use Ira Sleeps Over for many different teaching points, but I love to use it as a mentor text to teach about setting. It’s a great text to teach place and time, but also to teach how the setting affects the main characters feelings in the story.
Activities To Teach Setting

Using mentor texts to teach about any reading skill is so important, but I also use these fun activities to teach about setting! You can read the blog post here or you can click here to check out the resource. It includes comprehension pages, a craftivity, a travel brochure, etc.
Students make a scrapbook journal to document the setting of a text. These comprehension passages help students understand setting within a short text. Students use a travel brochure to see different settings.