Be a Bucket Filler, Not a Bucket Breaker!

 

Today in class we had to come up with classroom rules.  The classroom that I am in now for field work has no rules in the classroom.  I even asked the teacher and she said that the students simply follow the lifelong guidelines (which are posted) and know what they are expected of.  I am placed in a 5th grade classroom, so I understand that students should be aware of classroom rules and expectations. 

When coming up with our list in class, we tried to develop a method that would be aimed toward younger grades, which would need to visually see the rules.  Several of us had seen buckets in classrooms where teachers add something to the bucket when students follow rules.  Once the bucket is filled, students receive an award of some kind.  I do not know how I feel about this, since it is extrinsic motivation (something I do not speak highly of), but students seem to enjoy it.

So, we took the bucket route.  We decided to label our poster "Be a Bucket Filler, Not a Bucket Breaker".  Students who do not follow rules are "breaking" the bucket.  We came up with some rules that can be deemed "generic".  Each rule would need to be discussed thoroughly with students.  The rules we came up with were:

• Be Kind
• Be Accountable
• Be Trustworthy
• Be Safe
• Be Respectful

Many procedures can go under these rules as well.  For example, if a student shouts out an answer without raising their hand, they are not being respectful.  These things can be explained at the beginning of the school year.