How Full Is Your Bucket?
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Many elementary teachers use the book as a metaphorical way to increase classroom community and to encourage cooperative behaviours. By incorporating a book like this into your classroom, it may help to make children more sensitive to each others' feelings and make the blow of depression less difficult at school. I especially like the book because it gives kids a physical representation of what it feels like inside when you are mean to someone and “take drops from their bucket”. It puts a difficult topic like depression into a relatable form and teaches kids to be empathetic towards each others’ feelings and to be accepting of people who are being cranky or maybe just having a bad day. Teachers can constantly use it to reward students with “Oh thank you for your manners! That just filled my bucket!” or make them conscious of how they might be hurting others when they say “Oh don’t you think that makes your friend’s bucket feel low when you do that?”
My favorite activity that I have seen associated with this book is when teachers have a “Bucket Filling” bulletin board with actual buckets on it, and a corresponding student's name on each bucket. Then they have a supply of blank “drops” and when students feel like saying nice things to each other, they can write something nice on a drop and place it in another student’s bucket. It is just a way of encouraging a positive classroom and there are numerous activities that go along with it. It is a theme that you could continue for an entire school year, and many schools make it be a school-wide theme. The bucket wall is great because it is also a way that teachers can discretely thank students who go unnoticed in class, who have good manners, who need plenty or reward for small accomplishments, or who simply need a confidence boost on a bad day...all with one simple little note! *BONUS* it doesn't reinforce extrinsic rewards such as sugary treats or material possessions, but it is reinforcing the value of intrinsic reward instead!
My favorite activity that I have seen associated with this book is when teachers have a “Bucket Filling” bulletin board with actual buckets on it, and a corresponding student's name on each bucket. Then they have a supply of blank “drops” and when students feel like saying nice things to each other, they can write something nice on a drop and place it in another student’s bucket. It is just a way of encouraging a positive classroom and there are numerous activities that go along with it. It is a theme that you could continue for an entire school year, and many schools make it be a school-wide theme. The bucket wall is great because it is also a way that teachers can discretely thank students who go unnoticed in class, who have good manners, who need plenty or reward for small accomplishments, or who simply need a confidence boost on a bad day...all with one simple little note! *BONUS* it doesn't reinforce extrinsic rewards such as sugary treats or material possessions, but it is reinforcing the value of intrinsic reward instead!
A Youtube Version of the Book
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I found this video that made a song about bucket-filling
that I would use to recap the story maybe the day after I read the book, or to play during “clean-up times” or during transitions, and the kids would eventually learn the words and sing-a-long. |
Classroom Ideas and Worksheets:
ELA and Media Lessons by GradeThis website has joined up some grades with media links that help to discuss problems these age groups would face in a way that they can understand. It is trying to help bridge the gap between what the media shows our kids, and how we can link it back to awareness about the big issues such as gender, advertising, racism, stereotypes, violence, etc. The sources are lined up with the GLO outcomes for ELA curriculum.
* Kindergarten * Grade 1 * Grade 3 |
Good Websites |