How Full Is Your Bucket
This is a great story illustrating the concept of "bucket filling" to children. The main character goes to school one day and is told about how his words and actions affect other people, by remembering how other people's words and actions affect him. When people give compliments or go out of their way to help, a person's bucket is filled a little bit more, and they feel better. When someone says or does something mean, it's like that person is taking water out of the bucket, making someone feel bad.
This would be a great read aloud to be used at the beginning of the year to foster classroom community. Students could brainstorm ways that their bucket is filled. The teacher could create a classroom "bucket" that could be displayed for students to see, as a method of positive reinforcement. When the teacher observes someone being kind, or going out of their way to help, the teacher can add some "water" to the bucket. When the bucket is full, the class gets some type of reward.
Lexile Level AD560L
