The bucket filling unit in 3rd grade guidance has been such a success! Back in February I wrote a blog about a unit I did with the 3rd graders based on the book Have You Filled a Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud. Since then, I have seen students throughout our school, not just in the 3rd grade filling each others buckets, and several students have come up to me in the hallway and mentioned that someone had filled their bucket, or that someone was dipping in their bucket. I love to see students rehearsing and applying what we have learned in our guidance lessons, but I am amazed that I taught this lesson two months ago, and I am still hearing students talk about it in the halls! I think it has been one of the best lessons this year.
One activity that I had students do during the Bucket Filling Unit was I had them write a letter to a staff member who had filled their bucket. In the letters they explained what bucketfilling was, and how that person had filled their bucket. I think the teachers loved these letters, I even heard the music teacher mention at the 3rd grade musical rehearsal that the students had "filled" her bucket by doing their best! I think the bucket filling idea has really caught on in our school, and it's great to hear both students and staff mention it in their conversations. It's a lesson that keeps on teaching, all on it's own!
I also made a bulletin board at the end of the unit that I placed in the 3rd grade hallway that identifies some of the ways that students can fill buckets at school by having good behavior. Seeing the bulletin board in their hallway has been a great way to reinforce the lesson as well. If you have never taught a lesson using this book, I would suggest that you try it! The idea of bucket filling has really caught on at our school, and I think it is a lesson that could be taught at any level. Below is a picture of the bulletin board I made for the 3rd grade hallway!
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