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All grades  Project 6 weeks

Bear Buddies: Building Bonds & Values!

Tiffany F
D1.1.3-5
D4.7.K-2
D1.4.K-2
Self Directed Learning
Academic Mindset
+ 1 more
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Purpose

The purpose of this project is to foster a nurturing and inclusive classroom environment where students practice school values through engaging interactions with their teddy bears. By integrating family involvement, students will create meaningful connections, enhancing their sense of belonging and community. Through activities and reflections, students will develop their academic mindset, critical thinking, and self-directed learning skills, while addressing essential questions about kindness and respect. This hands-on experience will encourage students to take action in their communities, building a foundation for lifelong learning and empathy.

Learning goals

Students will explore and practice school values, focusing on kindness, through interactive activities involving their teddy bears. They will engage in family-based projects to build community connections, such as taking bears home for special weekends and documenting their experiences. Through regular reflection and feedback sessions, students will develop self-directed learning skills and an academic mindset, fostering a sense of belonging and identity. Additionally, they will employ critical thinking to address how their actions can positively impact their classroom and family communities.
Standards
  • [National Council for the Social Studies] D1.1.3-5 - Explain why compelling questions are important to others (e.g., peers, adults).
  • [National Council for the Social Studies] D4.7.K-2 - Identify ways to take action to help address local, regional, and global problems.
  • [National Council for the Social Studies] D1.4.K-2 - Make connections between supporting questions and compelling questions.
Competencies
  • Self Directed Learning - Students use teacher and peer feedback and self-reflection to monitor and direct their own learning while building self knowledge both in and out of the classroom.
  • Academic Mindset - Students establish a sense of place, identity, and belonging to increase self-efficacy while engaging in critical reflection and action.
  • Critical Thinking & Problem Solving - Students consider a variety of innovative approaches to address and understand complex questions that are authentic and important to their communities.

Products

Students will create personalized journals for their teddy bears, documenting daily reflections and experiences related to practicing school values. Each student will also design a unique outfit for their bear, which represents a value they have focused on, and share the story behind it with the class. Families will contribute by creating a photo collage of their bear's weekend adventures, highlighting connections and shared activities. Finally, the class will collaboratively produce a "Bear Values" book, featuring stories and drawings that illustrate how their bears have helped them learn and practice kindness and respect.

Launch

To kick off the learning experience, introduce the teddy bears with a puppet show where puppets express their loneliness and receive bears for comfort. Each student will then receive a bear and participate in a circle time discussion about how to care for their bears, emphasizing school values like kindness and respect. This engaging activity sets the stage for students to connect with their bears and each other, fostering a sense of community and belonging.

Exhibition

At the end of the six-week project, students will host a "Teddy Bear Family Celebration" where they will showcase their decorated bears and share stories of their adventures with classmates and families. Families will be invited to the classroom to view a photo gallery documenting the bears' visits home, highlighting how each family practiced kindness and respect. Students will present short reflections on how their bears helped them live out school values and build a stronger classroom community. This exhibition will culminate in a collaborative art project where students and families create a mural representing their shared experiences and the values learned throughout the project.