How full is Your Bucket? For Kidsб by Tom Rath and Mary Reckmeyer

 

Authors: Tom Rath and Mary Reckmeyer

Genre: Easy Fiction

Lexile Level: 560L

ISBN: 978-1595620279

Grades: k-4

Summary:  Felix sometimes doesn’t feel like treating everyone around him nicely. So grandpa tells him about the invisible bucket that every person has, that appears to fill up or dip, based on our emotions. Of course, Felix didn’t believe him, until one day he woke up to see the bucket over his head.

Book Talk: This is a nice and warm book which any child will love! Older brother Felix thinks his sister is too little to build a tower and tells her to leave. After she gets mad and whacks his tower, grandpa decides to step in. I really liked the creative way that grandpa used to teach kindness and empathy: every person has a bucket over their heads. When a person feels good, drops of water fall in the bucket. When the person is sad, drops of water fall out of the bucket. The kids love the colorful illustrations and the happy ending in the end.

Activity: Students will have the book being read to them and discuss Felix’s and his sister’s actions. Then the students will practice saying nice things to other students in the class. Have a big bucket drawn on the whiteboard and have students come up and draw one drop of water while saying their compliment. Guide and probe when necessary and provide examples.

Variation: have students draw their own buckets and keep track of their happy moments through the day. Also, have them drawn a big bucket on a poster paper and in each of their drops, write their compliment. Hang it in the classroom or in the hallway.

Standard: With guidance and support from adults, produce writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task and purpose. 

Objective:

·         Students will say a compliment to at least two of their classmates to help them fill their bucket

·         Students will draw a drop of water in the bucket on the white board with a big bucket while saying the compliment to one of their classmates

Outcome: Students will practice saying compliments and being kind

Works Cited:

Rath, Tom and Reckmeyer, Mary. How full is your bucket? For Kids. Gallup Press. 2009