In 2008, the Nation Education Computing Conference held a convention in San Antonio, Texas, where Kathy Timpone and Agnes Awerski introduced “The International Teddy Bear Writing Project.” As seen in the video, these two teachers started up a program where stuffed animals are “adopted” by classrooms, “live” the life of the classroom, and then are written about by various students. These teddy bears are then sent to other countries to participating schools where international students do the same. The greatness of this project is its simplicity. It’s just a teddy bear being sent from country to country, classroom to classroom, but it is so much more than that. The children, who care for the teddy bear, write about what they do in their country and school. They are then able to spread their shared experiences with their teddy bear with others around the world. This project not only supports and encourages writing, but it also encourages global education and diversity. What can we do as future teachers to incorporate other aspects of life and education into the way we teach writing?
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
“The International Teddy Bear Writing Project”
In 2008, the Nation Education Computing Conference held a convention in San Antonio, Texas, where Kathy Timpone and Agnes Awerski introduced “The International Teddy Bear Writing Project.” As seen in the video, these two teachers started up a program where stuffed animals are “adopted” by classrooms, “live” the life of the classroom, and then are written about by various students. These teddy bears are then sent to other countries to participating schools where international students do the same. The greatness of this project is its simplicity. It’s just a teddy bear being sent from country to country, classroom to classroom, but it is so much more than that. The children, who care for the teddy bear, write about what they do in their country and school. They are then able to spread their shared experiences with their teddy bear with others around the world. This project not only supports and encourages writing, but it also encourages global education and diversity. What can we do as future teachers to incorporate other aspects of life and education into the way we teach writing?
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I thought this was a great project to start. I feel that it allows students to write stories with another purpose rather than they will be graded on what they write. In this situation, children can write stories that they know other children from different regions will read. I think it gives them a sense of pride that people are entrusting them with this task. Besides being excited to write, the students begin to learn about other cultures and what their day to day living habits are. This project definitely incorporates other subjects through its writing. As future teachers, other aspects of life and education can be included into the way we teach writing through creative ways. One idea I had in mind was picking a topic in science or history, such as a certain animal or a former president. The student would do research on their selected individual and make them a main character in a story they will create. There also needs to be a criteria though. For example, the students must include real facts along with their imaginative tales.
ReplyDeleteAs soon as I started to watch this video I thought back to my third grade class. In third grade I remember we had this teddy bear we would get to take home for a night, or if we were lucky the weekend and it had a suitcase and all these little things we had to take home with us, but most importantly it had a journal. In the journal we had to write as if we were the bear and the experiences it went on with us. I thought this was very creative, not only because it encourages writing, but it forced us to write from a different point of view as well. I found “The International Teddy Bear Writing Project” to be a great way to expand on the experience I had with my teddy bear. Sending a teddy bear to another country and having the students write about the bears experiences there will teach students a lot about different cultures; as well as, encouraging students to write letters in reply and giving them a sense of excitement about writing. As future teachers I think there are many ways we can incorporate other aspects of life into writing. Simply having children create stories where they can describe situations in their lives or events in history. Maybe even make a story about learning a math problem, etc. I also find it interesting, and important for students to realize, is that other countries are learning English as a second language. To make things more interesting you can have the students from other countries send both the letter in their language and In English. This will give students and idea of how other cultures write and maybe inspire them to learn a new language and style of writing.
ReplyDeleteI have two stories about my experiences with programs similar to “The International Teddy Bear Writing Project.” My first story is similar to Jenica’s experience except mine was in Kindergarten. We had Harry the Classroom Bear that was a take-home stuffed animal that each and every kid got to take home overnight. There was also a journal that each student wrote their activities with the bear and then the following day in class the student would present to the class what they wrote and did with Harry. My other story was in Girl Scouts; we went to the Brown Bear Factory in San Francisco and made teddy bears. Instead of keeping the bears for ourselves, we would make the bears and then send them to the local family shelter with a letter explaining the bear and about ourselves along with an address. The recipient would write back and we started a pen-pal exchange. Both of these experiences remind me how important it is to write and how much fun writing could be. I think as teachers, we need to remember how important it is to keep writing enjoyable so the students stay engaged. I think that a pen-pal is a great way to incorporate writing and learning and making it fun. It is a good idea to incorporate writing into every aspect of teaching by writing journals to get to know the students better and their life. With “The International Teddy Bear Writing Project,” it is great how it is a global project that gets kids from all over the world interested. This is a great way for kids to learn about other cultures and languages and from kids around the world to get acquainted with us.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a great project. Mainly because very few schools get involved in international opportunities. Our world is connecting like never before and it is great to teach children about this, so the bond and open connection will grow stronger. It also gives children the great advantage of understanding another culture, which is fantastic! My hope is that more schools will get involved in a project like this one. Also I would be excited to know the next step, like skyping with another class, or blogging with another class. So many more doors to be opened.
ReplyDeleteThis project seems like it would be a wonderful tool to get children interested in writing. This is another idea that teachers could use in their classrooms to incorporate "real" writing into their curriculum. If students know that their letters will be read by other children around the world, they are more likely to be enthusiastic about their writing. Also I think it would be great if the teachers doing this project took some time to have a mini lesson on the culture of the country where their letters are to be sent. This way the children will get an insight about other cultures around the world and how it is different from theirs. By doing this children will become more culturally sensitive and aware which I think is extremely important in our society today. Today the United States has grown to be so culturally diverse from the work place to the classroom and I think that it is important that children has American citizens learn to respect that.
ReplyDeleteI LOVED this! As I'm reading about how some of my classmates have done something similar, I am getting quite jealous. This seems like such a fun project to do and I'm sure the kids are excited to take the stuffed animal home and I am sure they are excited to write about their experiences. I love that there is this international aspect to it because I believe that globalism and diversity are important and that children should be exposed to them at a young age.
ReplyDeleteI never particularly enjoyed writing because I was never good at it. I also hated the fact that it was always graded, and I think that is what turned me off the most. By writing letters, there's really no pressure about it. I would have been excited to tell another kid about myself and just as excited to get a letter back and read what my pen pal had to say. I hope to use this in my classroom in the future!
I feel that this video really did help me to find a way that is entertaining for students while still being educational by allowing students to write as individuals about personal issues while still having a simple prompt. I found that the idea of having a classroom mascot or animal that is sent from place to place is very educational in many ways. The students doing the writing are getting the experience they need to express themselves personally without being afraid of getting a bad grade, the students learn about different cultures when they read each letter from the different places, and they are also able to learn how to communicate effectively with each other in ways that I as a teacher might not be able to teach.
ReplyDeleteI think that the International Teddy Bear Writing Project is a great idea to incorporate into all grade levels of elementary school. Students love stuffed animals and it is something that can get them excited about writing within the classroom. The idea of a teddy bear pen pal system is a great way to introduce students to diverse cultures that may be difficult for some teachers to include in their lessons. Within this program students will be able to learn about other cultures and their way of living and how other countries’ schools work. Watching this video made me think of my cousin’s classroom when he was in Kindergarten. They had a class stuffed animal that would go home with a different student each weekend. The student would then have to write what he did with this character to bring to school on Monday. The student would then tell the class a few activities the stuffed animal and he did together so the other students could learn a little more about their peer. I think it’s a great way to get students interacting and sharing. For this program it really incorporates writing since the students have to write in pen pal form. It is a fun and exciting way for teachers to have students write without making it seem like a long, dragging assignment.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea this was to get students writing! What student doesnt like stuffed animals i remember being so attached at a young age I took it to school.Not only is this a way for students to practice writing skills by sending letter back and forth it also helps students in other areas such as geography and could possibley teach them about the daily life of the students they are writing back and forth with. Having something like a classroom bear also helps create a sense of community and responsbility.
ReplyDeleteI told my mom about this video and she reminded me because I forgot that when I was younger we had class chickens and that we got to take them home one weekend and I had to write about my experince and then share it was the class the following monday
I look forward to using something like this in my future classroom!
I thought that this blog was really interesting. It is awesome that they found a way to incorporate the "teddy bear" with a pen pal. I can relate to what Will expressed about having an attachment to something when I was little. In fact I still sleep with my baby pillow. I know it might sound immature, but that stuff does stay with you. On top of having a brand new friend, the kids are able to use their imaginations to describe the actions they did with their new stuffed animal that day. Again I believe this is such a good way to get students to improve their writing skills. When children can write about something they are passionate about or are really connected with, it keep them excited. Moreover it also gets them motivated about writing because they are so excited about the experiences they get to share with other students about their new friend. I will definitely keep this activity in mind as I move into my teaching career. It makes writing that much more fun!
ReplyDeleteI really feel like the idea of “The International Teddy Bear Writing Project” for the fact that I did something similar growing up and really enjoyed it. In 5th grade, we had a pin-pal from a another school in a district that was a little less fortunate. We would write letters back and forth once a week and would send pictures, candy, or whatever else we wanted. At the end of the semester, we had a get together picnic with pin-pal and got to actually play and talk with each other. It was a great experience that is still with me today. This project is a great way for students to experience other kids their age lives even if they are across the world. With the advances in technology, I believe children will learn a lot more from this hands on experience. I feel like a project like this could improve ever part of a child’s curriculum.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this video. I think this is a great project for students to be involved in. This project incorporates so many areas of study; not just writing. It allows for the encouragement and growth of responsibility, writing skills, global education and awareness, and social studies. I am sure that the students were excited about the teddy bears and the fact that they were going to teach others about their classroom and culture and also learn about others’ classrooms and cultures. This is a simple way to increase students’ awareness of the world around them. Shared writing could also be incorporated into this project. The teacher could have the students each write about something that happens in their classroom or school and then send that information to another school. Another shared writing idea would be to create a brochure-type writing piece to describe and show the classroom and school. I think “The International Teddy Bear Writing Project” would be a great idea to incorporate into my own classroom.
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ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this idea of the traveling stuffed animal. I feel that students these days do not have enough practice or assignments in which they tap into their creative side to write short stories or poems. Many classrooms are geared towards doing well on the standardized tests, which really is not beneficial to the students. In my Abnormal Child Psychology class, we watched a video about children with learning disabilities and one of the ways in which the students improved their writing was to keep writing and to talk to adults about what they’re learning, to be able to hold a conversation.
ReplyDeleteIn my high school Japanese class, we didn’t have a teddy bear but we did send email messages to a sister school in Japan. We were able to communicate with a student from another country. By doing so, we were able to socialize and improve our writing and grammar.
If more students had these sorts of opportunities they would gain a lot: the understanding of another culture, improvement of writing and reading skills, creativity, and more. Had I been a part of the International Teddy Bear Project, I might still enjoy writing … or have more of a passion for it.
I thought this was a great idea! I was wondering how these teachers set this up though. Do they have contacts in several different countries that are willing to participate in the program and exchange letters with their students in their classroom?
ReplyDeleteI think this is a great project opportunity for learning other languages. In high school Spanish class we wrote letters to students learning English. We would write in both English and Spanish to them and they would respond to us in both English and Spanish. Of course our Spanish teacher had us read the Spanish letters first so we could improve our language development and writing, but it was such a neat way to incorporate writing, language learning, and culture awareness into a lesson.
I want to teach Spanish (not sure what grade level yet) and have always remembered this lesson and wanted to include it in my lesson planning. I think it allows us to become more confident in our writing and language development in a fun and exciting manner.