Kayla Rye-Szabo

Lesson Focus: Kindness

Grade Level/Number of Students: Third Grade

Time Duration: 45 minutes

Prior Assessment: Students have discussed the school’s 3Bs (be safe, be
responsible, and be respectful) and how they apply to
school.

Standards: CCSS: RL 3.3 Describe characters in a story (e.g., their

traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their
actions contribute to the sequence of events.

ELD: C. Connecting and Condensing Ideas 6. Connecting

ideas.

H-SS: 3.4.3 Discuss the importance of public virtue and

the role of citizens, including how to participate in a
classroom, in the community, and in civic life.

Objective: Students will be able to demonstrate what it means to be a

bucket filler and bucket dipper by using the box and bullet
format to give examples.

Materials and Resources:
● trade book : Have You Filled a Bucket Today?
● classroom bucket poster
● post-it notes
● orange slips of paper
● notebook
Instructional Sequence:
Introduction (5 min): Teacher will lead discussion about kindness. Teacher will ask students
what kindness means. Students will turn and talk to partner. Then teacher will ask students to
share out. Teacher will ask students what it means to bully. Students will turn and talk to their
partner. Teacher will then call on students to share. The teacher will then show students the
book cover and tell them that they are going to read a story about kindness and how it affects
yourself and others.

Body of Lesson (15 min): Read the story “Have You Filled Your Bucket Today” by Carol
McCloud. While reading the teacher will stop and check for understanding and point out
important information, especially those related to feelings and character traits. Teacher will
call on students to share their thoughts.

After reading the book the class will have a discussion about the types of activities you can do
to fill your own bucket and also what you can do to fill the bucket of others. Then have
students give examples of what someone would do if they are a bucket dipper. The teacher will
record these on a chart as the class discusses so they can be used for reference and future
lessons. The teacher will give each student post-it note. The teacher will explain that they are
going to write positive phrases on the post-it notes to add to the class bucket. Examples could
be you are doing a great job in math, your smile makes others smile, you are kind, I am happier
when we are together, etc. The teacher will explain to the students that sometimes you need to
add to your bucket when you are sad or alone. Once students have written their positive
messages they will stick the post-it notes on the poster around the bucket. The teacher will then
let students know that when they need a message to help fill their bucket, they can take one
from the board. Students will also be able to add more positive messages to the board. Students
will write a second positive phrase on an orange slip of paper. Teacher will explain that this is
part of Kindness Week and that they will use the papers to make a chain. Then it will be linked
with the rest of the school. When students complete the two positive phrases they will work on
a box and bullet in their notebooks. Teacher will show students to layout of the box and bullets
on the whiteboard. Students while write examples of a bucket filler and a bucket dipper.

Check for Understanding (throughout lesson): The teacher will monitor students during the
discussion and when they are writing their notes.

Assessment (5 min): Teacher will observe student participation and also follow-up journal
assessment describing the traits of a bucket filler and a bucket dipper.

Closure (2 min): The teacher will do an attention getter. The teacher will ask for students to
give examples of either a bucket filler or a bucket dipper.

Next Steps: Students will create their own buckets to store messages and add positive acts. The
class will extend their bucket filling activities to other parts of the school day, such as recess.
Accommodations:
Teacher will pull struggling students to the teacher table. While at the teacher table the
students will vocalize their thoughts and the teacher will dictate. Teacher will also scaffold
students’ thinking.
One student recently broke his wrist, so he will also vocalize his letter while teacher dictates