Talking about old toys
Use the questions below to talk with children about old teddy bears. Talk about the teddy bear here, or use the questions to explore old teddy bears you and the children may have brought in to your classroom or setting.
Teddy bears were named after an American president (leader) called Theodore Roosevelt – people called him ‘Teddy’ for short.
Use the questions below to talk with children about old teddy bears. Talk about the teddy bear here, or use the questions to explore old teddy bears you and the children may have brought in to your classroom or setting.
Look at its face, body, arms, legs, feet – how many different details can you describe?
Try turning it into a game. After one whole minute of looking, take the teddy away or close your eyes. How many details can you remember?
Look at it again.
This is an old teddy bear. His name is Guisborough Ted.
Look carefully at all the different parts of this toy – his fur, his nose, his eyes and ears. What do you think he might be made of? What do you think might be inside his body and his arms and legs?
We have to be careful about cuddling Guisborough Ted now because he is so old. But he would probably feel quite hard and scratchy because of the wood-wool and mohair.
This toy is more than 100 years old – that’s even older than your grannies and grandads.
Children could try moving like an old teddy.
Can they move their arms up and down, keeping them very stiff?
Or carefully move their heads from side-to-side without blinking their eyes?
Can they walk like a teddy bear – keeping their legs stiff?
Can they move like a floppy, cuddly teddy bear from today?
Looking closer
Give children a piece of paper divided into four sections (or more if you want to make it more challenging).
Looking carefully at the picture of Guisborough Ted, or an old teddy bear in your classroom, ask children to make a simple drawing in each section of their paper. Each drawing should show a different part of the toy. It could be a paw, nose, an arm or just a shape they can see or a colour. Older children could label their drawing.
Teddy bear ‘little books’
Children could make a ‘little book’ about Guisborough Ted – or an old teddy that belongs to someone they know.
This video shows you how to make a little book here.
They could fill the pages with:
Children could take a look at this example from Sam in Redcar, who made a little book about his Grandma’s teddy.
Young historians
What questions do children have about old teddy bears? Encourage them to think carefully about something they would really like to find out about Guisborough Ted or an old teddy bear in your classroom. They could take it in turns to hold a large question mark, and think of a question beginning with Who, Where, Why, What, When or How.
Where could they find out the answers? They could: