copyright T. Gragg 2000

This site is explicitly being used by educators for educators. To copy any part of this site, please contact tlgragg@hotmail.com.

Traveling TechnoTeddy Bears is a multi-disciplined art and technology lesson which infuses history, art, technology, mathematics, geography, language arts, music and physical education.

This lesson teaches the children about the origins of the Teddy Bear with a historically based PowerPoint presentation about turn of the century American history. The lesson focuses on Theodore Roosevelt and the naming of the Teddy Bear after him.

Once the history lesson is presented, the children create their own version of the Teddy Bear through an art and technology based approach.

In our school, the Brigantine Elementary School, the bears were sketched in the Art Room, then actually created in the Computer Room with a program called Microsoft Publisher. Once finished in the Computer Room, the bears were printed onto transferable paper. The paper was then ironed onto muslin. From here, the children (back in the Art Room) decorated and stuffed bears.

Because these are art and technology created Teddy Bears, we call them TECHNOTEDDY BEARS.

From here, we sent a sample bear and instruction packets TRAVELING to different schools around the world who were interested in our lesson about Theodore Roosevelt and the first Teddy Bears. They, in turn, sent us home a sample of their bears and then continued the chain by sharing the lesson with two more schools of their choice.

Additionally, this program has a strong emphasis on Core Curriculum Standards. As most states in our country now have some form of standardized assessment, this is a perfect opportunity to have fun with a lesson infused with standards. For more information go to STATE STANDARDS.

Many of our other subject area teachers have added onto our TechnoTeddy Bear project by carrying the program into their classrooms. For more information go to CROSS CONTENT.

*Although our TechnoTeddy bear has a strong technology edge (created in computer class and then generated together in art class), YOU can make your bears any way you would like. As long as your bear is some sort of three dimensional object, feel free to be creative. We understand that technology is limited.

 

If you would like to participate in TRAVELING TECHNOTEDDY BEARS, contact Teri Gragg at Brigantine Elementary School in Brigantine, New Jersey, USA by writing to her at tlgragg@hotmail.com.

This package includes all of the information you need to start up your own link to Traveling TechnoTeddy Bears.

 

Once you receive your packet...

When you receive your packet and sample, introduce the HISTORY LESSON.

After the HISTORY lesson is presented to the children, you and the children in your class CREATE YOUR OWN VERSION of a Teddy Bear* (see ART LESSON and COMPUTER LESSON for our version of the bears).

Once the creations are made, a sample of your class's bear is sent home to TechnoTeddy's home district (Brigantine, New Jersey, USA). Then we ask that YOU SHARE the project with TWO other school districts. How to share the TechnoTeddy Bears is described in TRAVELING TEDDY.

All information you need for sharing is available on this Website. Additional information can be sent if necessary by going to MORE INFORMATION and following the contacting instructions.