Student Contributor: G. Bunten
This tool is to creating a safe classroom community where students fill one another’s bucket. It creates a positive learning environment where students recognize the importance of compliments. Giving compliments makes students motivation for kindness intrinsic and on the receiving end, a student gets a confidence boost.
This tool needs a specific location in the classroom where students can grab a piece of colorful paper and write a compliment about a peer. They will then put the compliment in the compliment box at the admiration station and sign their name on the note. In the beginning of class, an assigned classroom job is having a student pass out the compliments to the receivers. This is so that students start their day off in a positive way by receiving kind words. The expectations are that the notes are school appropriate and target a quality or act of kindness of their peer.
The tool relates to the supportive phase because students are building a strong and safe classroom community. Students spread positivity and kind words to their peers which strengthens classroom relationships. This tool is primarily student directed because they are in charge of self-regulating their behavior. In a student-directed theory of influence, students are caring and collaborating with one another. This is a form of social emotional learning because complimenting is a social skill that is learned. If I notice that students are arguing or showing unkind behaviors, this is a way to correct (corrective) them with an admiration station. This can also help reduce or eliminate classroom conflict through the preventative phase.
More Information –
Tool Source: Mrs. Becker
4th grade
22 students
Urban
I tried this with my students and paired it with the book called “How Full Is Your Bucket?” by Tom Rath and Mary Reckmeyer. This book worked so well with this tool. I started by reading the book to the students and then talking about the meaning of filling or emptying someone’s bucket and what it would look like. Then they got to create their own bucket out of construction paper. Lastly, I introduced the admiration station. I explained to them how it would go along with our book and whenever they notice something good in regard to another student, they can write their complement down and add it to the box. At the end of the week before leaving at the end of the day, we read off the comments and the students got to take them home if they receive one and add it to their own bucket. This has helped encourage students to act kindly and to show admiration to students who have done kind or helpful things. It has also challenged students to be more respectful towards others.