The gap in the research this study sought to fill was concerned with elementary education teachers' experiences teaching students with trauma to learn how to hope using children's literature. It provided a needed opportunity for elementary teachers to reflect and to describe their social and emotional learning goals for those students as individuals, as well as for the collective classroom community. The theories that framed this investigation were John Dewey's democratic classroom and Sarah Stitzlein's theory of hope. A qualitative research study was designed to answer the following research questions: 1) How do elementary teachers describe their experiences using children's literature to help students with trauma learn how to hope? and 2) How do elementary teachers describe their social emotional goals for students with trauma both individually and as a collective classroom community? Five unique themes emerged from the data: the intentionality of teachers' choices; the intentionality of teachers' use of their chosen stories; opportunities for sharing and developing social emotional awareness; caring relationships and a sense of belonging; and long-term visions. Many connections from the data and subsequent findings can be connected to existing literature, and these connections are discussed. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]