| Lesson Plan Submitted by
Suzanne Thomas, Elementary Art Teacher at Pleasant View Elementary,
Springfield, MO  Grades:
Kindergarten - First Grade
Materials: - 12" x 18" manila paper--1 sheet per student (or use
construction paper)
- Glue
- Brown craft paper or brown construction paper--approx. 12" x 18"
- Crayons
image submitted by Patti Caiola 2004 - Kindergarten level
-
Reynolds Elementary School in Toledo, OH
Procedure:
This is one of my very favorite art projects! I usually do this at the beginning of the school year before I'm ready to have my young students use scissors.
Discuss with the students how we as artists can use shapes to create a bear (I bring my teddy bears with me to school). The bear's tummy is the largest part so we start with it. Tear a rectangle from the brown craft paper. Get rid of all smooth edges so that we will all have "furry and fuzzy" bears. Tear off the corners to make the rectangle into an oval. Glue the tummy to the center of the manila
paper (or construction paper). Make a smaller oval for the head, two half circles for ears, and four
rectangles for arms and legs. It is important for the teacher to
demonstrate how the students can not make a mistake by tearing the
paper--smaller pieces can be glued together to make an arm, leg, etc.
Once the bear's body has been glued on, encourage the students to
give the bear an expression on his/her face, a vest, a dress, a bow
tie, etc. with crayons. Students may also make a background on the
manila paper.
Optional:
Add other toy shapes with scrap construction
paper.
Optional:
Open this lesson up to ALL kinds of fuzzy
animals. Let the student CHOOSE what kind of fuzzy animal to make. Have
all sorts of colors available.
Note: Someone is trying to trademark "tear
bear" now. If your students make a bear/teddy bear, send email to the
trademark owner asking permission to display the ORIGINAL work of your
children - who came up with idea on their own. Students have a right to
create a "tear bear" if that is what they wish. Freedom of
Expression trumps trademark. Teach them a mini lesson about trademark
law.
As suggested by Maureen Morris:
One solution: when doing the lesson, suggest numerous animals that can be
created through torn paper collage. Teddy bears, grizzly bears and black/brown bears can be several among many. Pictures of real life animals
can be used as reference.
Note from Judy Decker:
*Torn Paper Bear Collage. This lesson was submitted
to Incredible Art Department in 1996 or 1997. The lesson has been around a
very long time. I did the same lesson in 1990 with my kindergarteners. The
lesson idea can not be trademarked or copyrighted. The wording of this
lesson is copyright 1996 or 1997. No violation of trademark is
intended. Back ups of this lesson can be found dating to 1999). Linda
White first did this lesson in the 1970's. Include a lesson in Trademark law. Each student will
come up with a name for their bear (animal) and will submit it to you for
Trademark. Put the time they submitted it on the slip of paper. Students
with same names will have to challenge the person who submitted it first
and will have to prove that they came up with the idea first - or simply
change the name of their bear to something that has not been chosen.
Present a mini lesson about Trademark. Mickey Mouse, for instance, is
trademarked and copyrighted. *Tear Bear is a
trademark owned by Teddy Bear Treasures. Incredible Art Department is home
of the original online Tear Bears and is not affiliated with Teddy Bear
Treasures. Contact
Judy Decker - email address on home page
Elementary Art Lessons | 
