Name: Teri Gragg and Maureen Guenther
School : Brigantine Elementary School
Title: Traveling TechnoTeddy Bears
Subject: Multi-disciplined art and technology lesson which infuses history, art, technology, mathematics, geography, language arts, music and physical education.
Category:
Date(s):

Goals and Objectives: As Traveling TechnoTeddy Bears is a multi-disciplined art and technology unit, it encompasses several goals and objectives. This lesson is heavily based in Core Curriculum Standards and is multidimensional. Listed below are these goals and objectives in outline form to better clarify the intent of the project.

I. HISTORY
The first objective of the program is to utilize a historical moment in American History to teach the children about the era, time period and genre of the times.

II. ART and TECHNOLOGY
The second objective is to take what is learned and apply it towards an art and technology project built upon Core Curriculum Standards integrated with appropriate student assessment. The product of the unit will be a TRAVELING TECHNOTEDDY BEAR.

III. SHARING TRAVELING TECHNOTEDDY BEAR
The next objective of the lesson is to take a sample of the TechnoTeddy Bear and send it TRAVELING to other school districts around the world. While the bear travels, information about the places he’s been to returns home  increasing the children’s awareness of the world around them.

IV. EXTENDED ACTIVITIES
The fourth objective was to share the bears internally in the district. As this is a multi-disciplined project, many other disciplines participated and incorporated the theme of TechnoTeddy Bears into their curriculums. By teaching across the curriculum, this common theme has assisted in making the topic more relevant for the children.

V. STUDENT ASSESSMENT
The fifth objective was to create and utilize appropriate assessment techniques. Assessment of the unit is done by using Rubrics per subject component.

VI. REPRODUCIBLE FORMAT
The final objective was to put the entire unit together in an understandable, usable format which could be easily shared between school districts around the world.

Core Curriculum Standards
TechnoTeddy Bears is a lesson which was designed around the Core Curriculum Standards. Listed below are several of New Jersey’s Standards and a brief description of how TechnoTeddy applies to each standard. Additional information can be received by going to the NJ State Department of Education’s Website at www.state.nj.us/education.

Visual and Performing Arts: As Traveling TechnoTeddy Bears is a varied and multi-disciplined ART program, it covers a substantial amount of Core Curriculum Standards in the arts.

Standard 1.1 AESTHETICS Through exposure to artwork produced from various American subcultures, specifically those within the early 1900’s in American history, the children will be taught to better appreciate aesthetic awareness. Artist’s whom have impacted American history will be discussed as part of the historical aspect of Teddy Bears and their origins in the early 1900’s.

Standard 1.2 SKILLS By producing a three dimensional piece of art from a two dimensional format, technical, perceptual, intellectual, and physical skills will be increased substantially. This will be accomplished by working from a original concept (the basic design sketched out), and taking it through conceptually into a technological format using Microsoft Publisher. The project will be made to adjust to the constraints of the computer program and then reproduced in a digitized format. Once created in that format, the TechnoTeddies will be refined further in the final step of turning the two dimensional art into a three dimensional piece.

Standard 1.3 PRODUCTION The production of the actual TechnoTeddy will utilize elements of art and arts media to reinforce the artistic and technological skills associated with the project. Form, value, color, shape, line, unity and the remaining elements of art will be infused into the learning process to assure conformity within the Core Curriculum Standards.

Standard 1.4 CRITIQUE As the process evolves, each step of the unit will be critiqued, assessed and revamped accordingly by the children. Assessment will be done in a verbal format, followed by written rubrics completed per component.

Standard 1.5 CULTURE As the project is based in American pop culture and history in the early 1900’s, the children will be exposed to a variety of historical and cultural influences which have, over time, helped them to evolve into the people they are today. In addition, when the completed project is sent traveling to another school district, the children will learn about the areas that are being sent to. This will promote high interest level and social and cultural exposure the children may not have received before.

Standard 1.6 DESIGN The process of design is ongoing in this project as each step requires higher levels of thinking and conceptualizing. As the design evolves, as does the success of the project.

Comprehensive Health and Physical Education: As several of the extended activities used during this program incorporate physical education and dance, the children are learning to take a visual concept and transform it into a physical activity.

Standard 2.5 MOVEMENT The gym department created an obstacle course associated with Teddy Bears. The children participated in this and learned to interpret and apply movement concepts and skills that encourage physical activities.

Language Arts: An important element in Traveling TechnoTeddy bears is the language art component. The children will use the written language to describe their projects, they will also write letters to the children from the participating school districts and will read associated books about Teddy Bears.

Standard 3.1 PUBLIC SPEAKING Using their art and their written content, the children will publicly display and describe their involvement in this activity at a TechnoTeddy Bear Tea in front of parents, teachers and other children.

Standards 3.2 & 3.4 LISTENING SKILLS & READING The children will be exposed to a variety of sources to listen and learn about the Teddy Bear. The children will be exposed to a PowerPoint presentation utilizing technology, books related to the topic, Internet information, and they will be exposed to the participating school’s products. This will all foster higher comprehension and retention of the skills associated with the unit.

Standard 3.3 WRITING The children will write about their TechnoTeddy Bears in a clear, concise and organized format which will enhance the overall product created. They will use a variety of formats for different audiences including children who they do not know personally due to the exchange program.

Standard 3.5 NONTEXTUAL VISUAL INFORMATION As the children are incorporating a variety of cross curricular activities within this unit, they will be exposed to nontextual visual information (for example, the children hear songs, interpret it in dance and create it in a visual format).

Mathematics: The process of creating the Teddy Bear is one of geometric form. Because Microsoft Publisher is a drawing and painting computer program (normally used by adults), the children are being taught to think in conceptual shapes and forms. This helps comprehension and retention in a mathematical format.

Standard 4.1 & 4.7 SOLVING PROBLEMS & GEOMETRIC SPATIALITY The children will learn how to solve the problem of creating a Teddy Bear with shapes only. This will force them to think in a geometric fashion, which is the basis for the creation of the object in a technological format. As all drawing is based on shape, line and form, this reasserts artistic skills. This will also develop their spatial sense.

Standard 4.2 COMMUNICATE MATHEMATICALLY As the problem of creating a geometric bear evolves, the children will use visual format, written description, oral transmission and symbolic form as their tools for communicating their intent within the project. In other words, while creating this project they will be taught about mathematical concepts which transcend simple math. They will use symmetry, asymmetry, circles, squares, triangles, other shapes, forms, color, fills all to communicate a comprehensive and accurate solution to the problem posed.

Social Studies: Our TechnoTeddy Bear program actually begins with a history lesson. This lesson revolves around the history of the United States at the turn of the century. A general overview of what life might have been like in the early 1900’s is presented to the children. They see what people wore, how they lived, who was in control of the government, inventions, recreation and transportation of the times. In addition we discuss immigration and the huge influx of people from other places around the world reaffirming a multicultural based approach to education. The second part of the project integrates history and geography as the TechnoTeddy Bears visit different places and people around our country and the world. This furthers the children’s knowledge and understanding of the world and its’ people.

Standard 6.3 HISTORICAL CONTENT The first step of this program is a multicultural, multi-disciplined PowerPoint presentation that shows the times and life-styles of people in the early 1900’s. This introductory step gives the children a place to gather background knowledge when processing the information presented further down into the program. Consequently, they are exposed to a very comprehensive history of American pop culture of the early 1900’s.

Standard 6.5 VARIOUS CULTURES One of the most important topics discussed during this unit is IMMIGRATION. By discussing immigration it helps to open doors in the minds of the children to better understand what it might be like to be from a different culture other than the one they are familiar with. Additionally, this helps to foster better tolerance between the children. Additionally, once the projects began returning with information from the participating districts, the children will better understand the unique differences between the cultures in our country and the world.

Standard 6.7 and 6.8 GEOGRAPHY As our TechnoTeddy Bears travel around the country, the children will locate each place visited on a map and through the Internet.

Cross Content Workplace Readiness Skills:
As part of their Computer instruction, students in the second grade were taught to use Microsoft Publisher as a productivity tool. The students used the skills learned to create and design their TechnoTeddy. Through the use of technology, students were able to develop a creative idea, design their project on the computer and see their project to fruition in the Art room.

Project Description:
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. This is done during the student’s ART period.

After the HISTORY lesson is presented to the children, the children create their own version of a Teddy Bear via art and technology called a TECHNOTEDDY BEAR. Listed below are the phases of development for the project.

A. The first phase of the art/technology project takes place in the Art room.

B. The second phase of the art/technology project occurs in the Computer room.

C.  The third phase, back in the Art room, is for the children to decorate and assemble their “TECHNOTEDDY” bears.

Once the art and technology project is completed, a sample of TechnoTeddy Bear is sent traveling around the world. In order to accomplish this, several steps are needed.

A. To facilitate a wide spread advertisement of the TechnoTeddy Bear, Internet resources were utilized. A posting on the chalkboard of PROTEACHER.com established initial contacts with interested teachers. Teacher’s interested agreed to take the TechnoTeddy Bear packet, teach the history lesson, create a bear and then send it on to TWO other school districts and a sample back to the HOST school.

B. From there, correspondence is sent to facilitate the production of the TechnoTeddy Bear. Sample bears and information are sent from our school, the HOST SCHOOL to the FIRST GENERATION SCHOOLS.

C. The First Generation schools teach the history lesson the HOST school provided and then make a their own version of the TechnoTeddy Bear. Once their bears are done, they send the HOST SCHOOL a sample and information about where they live.

D. The FIRST GENERATION schools establishes correspondence between two additional school districts wanting to participate in the project. The next level or the SECOND GENERATION of school districts receive their information from the First Generation school district. The FIRST GENERATION sends a sample of their bear, the host bear and the project descriptions (initially provided by the HOST school) onto the SECOND GENERATION.

E. The SECOND GENERATION repeats what the HOST and the FIRST GENERATION school districts did, except they send no paper information. The Second Generation schools refer their contacts to the TechnoTeddy Bear Website at www.brigantine.atlnet.org (then to  Elementary and Traveling TechnoTeddy). This cuts down on the cost of shipping large quantities of information through the mail. The only item now needed to be sent, is a sample of the actual TechnoTeddy Bear.

F. The process is repeated for as long as the chain continues.

*Every school is encouraged to create their TECHNOTEDDY BEARS anyway they are able based on the art and technology resources available.

Traveling TechnoTeddy Bears has a strong emphasis on Core Curriculum Standards. This lesson was infused with standards to help increase awareness of state mandates. By utilizing a creative and exciting art and technology unit infused with standards, these mandates are inherently being met.

Many of our other subject area teachers have added to our TechnoTeddy Bear project by carrying the program into their classrooms. As this is a multi-disciplined project, many other disciplines participated and incorporated the theme of TechnoTeddy Bears into their curriculums. By teaching across the curriculum, this common theme has more relevance for the children. Listed below are the EXTENDED ACTIVITIES our school district applied.

Student assessment is done using subject appropriate RUBRICS. See STUDENT ASSESSMENT for samples of the rubrics used. By utilizing Rubrics for assessment, a 4 point scale is instituted. The highest score on the scale is a 3 indicating complete understanding, the lowest score, a zero,  indicates need for improvement. Utilizing this form of assessment assists in tracking the progress of each child in an understandable format.

As Traveling TechnoTeddy Bears will be visiting other school districts around the world, it was necessary to put together all of the information in a usable format. This was done by making:

A. The Traveling TechnoTeddy Bear instruction packet.
B. A Traveling TechnoTeddy Website.
C. A TechnoTeddy movie.
D. A usable PowerPoint presentation of the history lesson available on CD.

The remainder of this packet of information is what has been sent out to participating school districts around the world.

Equipment
Technology was utilized in a number a different ways for Traveling TechnoTeddy Bears. Not only was it used within the lesson for the children, technology was the avenue unto which the TRAVELING portion of the project was created.

Listed below are the areas where technology was utilized broken down into categories.

Technology in the classroom used as a TEACHING TOOL via a POWERPOINT PRESENTATION.
Our history portion of the project was taught to the children via a POWERPOINT presentation created by the Art teacher. This PowerPoint presentation about the early 1900’s in American History helped bring alive the past for the children. This form of instruction increased the children’s awareness, attention span and interest. A CD of the PowerPoint Presentation is available upon request. Equipment used: computer, Microsoft PowerPoint, Internet SEARCH resources (to gather reference for presentation), audio clips (WAV files), Microsoft ClipArt, scanner, digital camera, disks, CD burner, Presentation Series Zenith TV.

Technology in the classroom used as a SKILL via MICROSOFT PUBLISHER
During the Computer component of the project the children learn how to use Microsoft Publisher. See Computer component for breakdown of skills associated with lesson. Equipment needed: computer, Microsoft Publisher, transfer paper, printer.

Technology used as a tool for COMMUNICATION between the schools participating in the TRAVELING portion.
In order to establish a core group of teachers to send TechnoTeddy to, a note describing the project was posted on PROTEACHER.com. As interested people contacted the host school via EMAIL, project descriptions were sent via Email and traditional mail.

Equipment used: computer, Internet service, Email

Technology used as a  PRESENTATION DEVICE for EXPLAINING Traveling TechnoTeddy Bears utilizing a VIDEO.
To better explain the multiple levels of the unit, a video of Traveling TechnoTeddy Bears was created utilizing a video camera and software.

Equipment used: video camera, tapes, computer, Final Cut Pro, VCR, digital camera.

Technology was used as a way to further the PROGRESSION of the CHAIN of Traveling TechnoTeddy Bears via a Traveling TechnoTeddy Bear WEBSITE.
A Website was created to assist teachers doing the unit, as well as to advertise for more participants. Additionally, the Website was created to avoid using traditional mailing processes. After the First Generation and Second Generations of school districts participating, all other schools are referred to the WEBSITE instead of being sent actual documentation. The only item traditionally mailed after the Second Generation is a sample of the finished TechnoTeddy Bear. This helped to defer postage costs for the HOST school.

Equipment used: computer, PowerPoint presentation, DreamWeaver, digital camera, Adobe Photoshop, Internet access, PowerPoint.

Technology was used to teach GEOGRAPHY and to TRACK Traveling TechnoTeddy Bear.
As the bears progressed around the country and the world, the children tracked the bears using the Internet. Each time a bear would reach a new destination, the children were taught about that area via the Internet.

Equipment used: computer, Internet access, the Web.

Technology was also used to increase DIALOG between the children of the different schools participating increasing LANGUAGE ARTS SKILLS.
As Language Arts is an important feature of the unit, links were established between the teachers and the children via EMAIL and INSTANT MESSAGE. When the First Generation schools received their Pen Pal letters, a group email was sent. Instant Message was used in one particular case to set up a REAL TIME conversation between the children in Brigantine and Salt Lake City, Utah.

Detail of Activities
In our school, second grade children used their art class as a starting point to learn about American History during the administration of Theodore Roosevelt via a PowerPoint presentation. The presentation focused on the turn of the century, President Roosevelt, immigration and inventions occurring in the early 1900’s and of course, the TEDDY Bear.

Our children were read the PowerPoint book version and shown the PowerPoint presentation prior to constructing the art project.

To share the PowerPoint presentation with your class, access the Internet and go to the TechnoTeddy Bear Website at www.brigantine.atlnet.org, then go to Elementary and then onto Traveling TechnoTeddy Bears.

or

Use the inclosed CD presentation of the Traveling TechnoTeddy Bears.

or

A paper book copy of the actual presentation is included in this packet for you in the event that you are not able to access the Internet or utilize the CD.

We integrated art with technology by designing the TechnoTeddy Bears in art class first. Then we created them on the computer using Microsoft Publisher in the computer class. After the computer generated project was completed, the TechnoTeddy Bear was brought back to the art class for construction.

Below is a description of the Art Component: Phase I and Phase III.

Phase II is accomplished in the computer department.

PHASE I. Designing the TechnoTeddy Bear in the ART room.

Supplies needed: sketch paper, pencils, markers, samples of Teddy Bears, history lesson

            ·Session 1: In the Art room, the history lesson is presented via the computer (and /or the paper copy). Theodore Roosevelt, Teddy Bears and American history at the turn of the century are discussed.

            ·Session 2: An initial sketch for the computer generated bear is created in art using shapes only. It is suggested that the children come up with a type of bear they might make (for example: a ballerina bear, a fireman bear, a crazy bear). This will foster better language development later in the project as the children write about their bears. They can also name their bears at this point. The predominant geometric shape to be used is the circle. Discuss symmetry in design as well as possible color choices-children can add color to the sketch.

PHASE II of the project is to take the sketch to the Computer department and transform the sketch into a geometric circle bear using Microsoft Publisher (sessions 3 & 4). Once that is done, it is printed on TRANSFERABLE paper and sent back into the art room for Phase III.

*If you are unable to utilize technology in this way, no problem! Be creative with what is available to you!

PHASE III. Back in the Art Room

Supplies needed: muslin, iron, bear transfer, variety of supplies such as ribbon, felt, puffy paint, wiggly eyes, glue gun, stuffing

Session 5: Teacher preparation-using a piece of muslin double the size of the bear (approx.8.5 x 11 times 2), fold in half and iron flat. Take transferred bear and iron onto muslin following directions on the transfer packet. Student: embellish bear using a multitude of supplies based on the sketch. Allow to dry.

Session 6: Cut out muslin-teacher may need to assist. Teacher hot glues edges closed except for a small stuffing area. Children stuff the bears and the teacher closes the hole with the hot glue gun.

After we designed the TechnoTeddy Bears in art class, we created them on the computer using Microsoft Publisher in the Computer class.

Below is the breakdown of the lesson for the Computer component of the project.

Supplies needed: Computer, printer, computer paint program such as Microsoft Publisher, iron on transfer paper.

Session 3: Introduce the TechnoTeddy Bears via a sample and prior knowledge gained in Art class. Explain the rudimentary steps of Microsoft Publisher (if Publisher is not available, most paint programs or card programs can allow a similar product). Allow the children time to experiment with the drawing tools in the computer program.

Session 4: Using the shapes tool only, create a symmetrical Teddy Bear that is simple in design. With the shape tool, create circles and ovals for the different parts of the bear. Begin with a large circle for the head. MOVE it to the proper location on the page. Then make a larger circle for the belly of the bear. Move it under the head. Using the ARRANGE tool, place the head in front of the belly. From here, make one paw and COPY and PASTE it three more times. Move them to the proper places. Make one ear and copy and paste it for the other ear. Move it to the proper place. Do the same for the eyes. Don’t add more than is necessary for a basic bear.

Once the shapes are created and placed in the proper location, add color to the shapes. Color may be imported by indicating color in the tool palette. When finished, SAVE the bear. The teacher prints the bears onto TRANSFER paper.

Send transferred TechnoTeddy Bears back to the Art room for embellishment.

After the computer generated project was completed, the TechnoTeddy Bear was brought back to the art class for construction.

Assessment

Student assessment for our TechnoTeddy Bears revolves around the use of goal specific

RUBRICS:
While the children are learning, creating and following up with extended activities about their TechnoTeddy Bears, they are assessed each step of the way with a specific rubric.

For example: once completed with the Art portion of the project, the children are assessed with the ART RUBRIC designed to assess the skills they accomplished during the project.

There are rubrics designed for the Computer component, the Language Arts component, and Extended Activities component.

The rubrics are on a 0 to 3 point scale, with 3 being the most successful score and 0 being the least successful score.

These scores are then tallied up to give an overall view of the success of the project in relationship to the students.

Samples of the rubrics are available upon request.