Summary: Have You Filled A Bucket Today? is a wonderful picture book to influence positive behavior and character education. The characters discuss what being a "bucket filler" and a "bucket dipper" entails. Children are eager to participate in the "bucket filling" activities. This could be used as an individual classroom management routine or as a school wide program. Teachers can use their imagination to create classroom systems and manipulatives or search the endless resources online.
About the Author: Carol McCloud
Also known as "Bucket Lady" McCloud is a national and international teacher who speaks all over the country. She wrote and published Have You Filled a Bucket Today? in 1996, and has also published Growing Up with a Bucket Full of Happiness for older children. She currently resides in Venice, Florida.
Website:Bucket Fillers
Genre: Children's Non-fiction
Theme/Skill: Character Education
Grade Level: K-4
Pre-Reading Activity:
Before reading with students, ask students to think about what being a good friend or peer would look or act like. Have a Think, Pair, Share brainstorming session whole or small group to see if the students have a sense of what good character traits are.
Post-Reading Activity:
Give students scenarios and ask them to decide if the person was a "bucket filler" or a "bucket dipper." After a few scenarios as a group, send students to work on their own to create their own narratives of children being "bucket fillers" or "bucket dippers." Also, if integrating this system into classroom management systems children can decorate their own buckets to create a sense of ownership.
