Introducing Teddy

Connecting to prior knowledge

Jessica Walton wrote Introducing Teddy to help explain the gender diversity in their own family to their children. You can read and discuss the story on multiple levels, depending on which themes you wish to explore:

• the importance of being yourself
• being a good friend
• diversity
• gender identity

Regardless of whether/how deeply you delve into the last theme, the book will introduce it in a gentle way and some discussion may ensue. See More Resources for a list of texts that may support children in understanding gender diversity, both personally and within their families.

To get students talking about the theme(s), share a selection of the following books prior to reading Introducing Teddy:

• My Shadow is Pink by Scott Stuart (CBCA Notables 2021)
  • With an animated short film based on the book
• Who’s Your Real Mum? by Bernadette Green, illus. Anna Zobel (CBCA Shortlist 2021)
  • With a read-aloud by the author and illustrator
• Red: A Crayon’s Story by Michael Hall
• It’s Okay to be Different by Todd Parr
  • With a read-aloud by the author

Guide students to make connections with their own families, friends and experiences by asking such questions as:

• Do any of the characters in the story remind you of anyone you know? Who? (text-to-self connection)
• What is similar, or different, in this story compared to the book we read yesterday? (text-to-text connection)
• What did this story make you think about? (text-to-world)

(ACELT1582)   (EN1-11D)

Before reading

Show students the front cover of Introducing Teddy and encourage them to talk about what they notice. Ask:

• Who is Teddy?
• What is the same and different about the Teddy in the reflection? Why might the illustrator have drawn Teddy like this? If needed, direct students to the facial expressions as well as the location of the bow.

Point out the title and ask:

• What does it mean when you introduce someone?
• Why is Teddy being introduced?

Point out the subtitle and discuss its purpose. Ask:

• What does ‘being yourself’ mean?

(ACELY1656)   (EN1-1A)

Using a round robin or rally robin, have students discuss what they think Introducing Teddy is going to be about. Following the discussion, regroup and ask students to share their ideas. Then read the blurb on the back of the book to the class.

Lead students to participate in a ‘physical’ anticipation guide to bring together their thoughts from the previous discussions:

1. Prepare some statements based on the themes you will be exploring (e.g. being yourself, friendship, inclusivity, gender).
2. Explain to students that, as you read out each statement, they will need to decide whether they agree or disagree. Emphasise that there are no right or wrong responses, but that discussion will be important.
3. Allocate ‘I agree’ and ‘I disagree’ spaces in the classroom.
4. Read each statement aloud, one at a time, and ask students to move to the relevant space. Optionally, ask students to share why they have moved to this space, allowing them to change their minds and move based on discussion.
5. Keep a visual record of students’ responses by taking a photo to turn into a display.

Statements for this activity may include:

• People are the same inside even if they change on the outside.
• There are boys’ clothes and girls’ clothes.
• There are boys’ activities and girls’ activities.
• Boys and girls can be friends.
• It is important to share secrets with your friends.

(ACELY1660)   (EN1-4A)

Exploring the text in context of our community, school and ‘me’

During reading

Being a friend

Point out that Errol and Thomas (as Tilly is known at the start of the book) do lots of things together. Ask students if they do similar things with their friends. Also ask them to think about the things Errol and his friends do to make each other happy, and compare this to what they do to make their own friends happy.

(ACELT1582)   (EN1-11D)

After reading

Accepting our friends

Ask students to list the main characters in the story. Guide discussion around ‘Thomas the teddy’ and ‘Tilly the teddy’, asking students to compare and contrast the ‘two’ characters using a Venn diagram or table. Remind students to consider actions, appearance/clothing, feelings, behaviours and friendships.

Once the diagram/table is complete, ask students to discuss:

• Who is Thomas?
• Who is Tilly?
• Did Errol and Ava think Thomas and Tilly were the same friend or a different friend? How do we know?
• Why would the author create a book about these characters?

(ACELT1581)   (EN1-11D)

Our inclusive class, school and community

NOTE: For the purpose of tracking page numbers, the first page of the story is considered p. 2.

Introduce the word ‘inclusion’ to students (or, alternatively, ‘acceptance’) in the context of Errol and Ava’s response to Thomas becoming Tilly.

Reread the story, making lists of words, phrases or images that show what inclusion:

• looks like (e.g. playing together; Errol hugging Tilly on pp. 14)
• feels like (e.g. a smile)
• sounds like (e.g. Errol telling Tilly he will always be her friend on p. 12).

Model how to add these elements to a Y-chart.

Continue exploring by brainstorming other instances where students have noticed inclusive behaviour/actions in the classroom, on the playground, and outside of school. Have them create Y-charts (individually or in pairs) using written or drawn examples from the text, as well as those from their own experiences.

(ACELY1660)   (EN1-4A)

Rich assessment task

To explore the concept of ‘being yourself’, give each student a pair of paper chain people (PDF, 196KB) to cut out. Ask them to decorate one person in their own image: the one that everyone sees at school (e.g. in uniform). Then ask them to imagine that they are looking in the mirror on the front cover of Introducing Teddy. They will decorate the other person in a way that reflects ‘being themselves’. This may include clothing that they wear (or really want to wear) on the weekend, their preferred hair colour/length, or accessories to show what they really want to do or be.

Once students have finished decorating their paper chains, encourage them to use some of the phrases from the Y-chart to write a sentence or paragraph responding to the following prompt:

When I am being myself, I …

(ACELY1661)   (EN1-2A)

Responding to the text

Revisit the ‘physical’ anticipation guide that students completed before reading Introducing Teddy (Literature > Connecting to Prior Knowledge > Before Reading).

• Ask what the story made them think about and how it made them feel.
• Run the activity again, reminding students that it is okay to change their minds or keep their original opinion.
• Once they have decided to agree/disagree with a statement, encourage them to provide reasons, using examples from the text or from their own experiences.

(ACELY1660)   (EN1-4A)

Exploring plot, character, setting and theme

Exploring the themes

Me and my friends (being yourself/friendship)

Make a list of all the activities Errol, Tilly and Ava do throughout the book. Ask students to sort these into the following categories:

Prompt students to reflect on why some activities might be undertaken alone, while others might be undertaken with friends. Is it important to have a mix of both types of activities in your day? Why?

Place students in groups of four and use the round robin strategy to brainstorm activities students like to do by themselves, with one friend, and with lots of friends. Encourage discussion within groups, and as a whole class, about activities where there may be overlap (e.g. ‘sometimes I like to read by myself, but other times I like to share a book with a friend’).

Who is this for? (gender/diversity)

In preparation for discussing the concept of things being ‘for boys’ and ‘for girls’, select an activity that the characters enjoy in Introducing Teddy and use a think-aloud to query whether it is for boys, girls, or neither. For example:

When I was little, my sister and I used to have tea parties all the time. My brother never joined in, so I always thought tea parties were for girls. But, I see Errol enjoys having tea parties, so maybe they can be for anybody. What do you think?

NOTE: If you happen to be working on a ‘past and present’ unit in HASS, this activity will allow for direct comparisons between historical and contemporary attitudes/activities around gender.

Highlight some other activities from the book and ask students to think-pair-share to discuss their ideas and experiences with a partner. Finish by asking individual students to share interesting points from their discussion with the whole group.

See More Resources for some posters that counteract gender stereotypes by Canadian writer and illustrator Elise Gravel.

(ACELY1788)   (EN1-1A)   (ACELT1582)   (EN1-11D)

Rich assessment task

‘What if?’ drama activity

Compile several ‘what if?’ questions based on Introducing Teddy and the themes explored in the book. For example:

• What if Tilly hadn’t told Errol how she was feeling?
• What if Errol and Ava had reacted negatively to Tilly’s decision?
• What if one of your friends was feeling sad?
• What if you had a secret and it was making you sad?
• What if you told your friend a secret, or your friend told you a secret?
• What if you wanted to join in an activity but were told it was ‘only for boys/girls’?

Students will work in groups to prepare and present short ‘what if?’ skits that explore their responses to one or more of these questions. They may also come up with their own ‘what if?’ questions to use as a prompt instead.

(ACELT1586)   (EN1-10C)

Examining text structure and organisation

Features of a narrative: story mapping

Prepare a story map for the class (you can use your own template, if you have one). Invite students to contribute responses as you complete the following activity.

Reread Introducing Teddy, asking students to focus on elements of story. This includes:

• characters
• setting
• problem/complication
• resolution
• theme/message

You can do this over several sessions, depending on the amount of discussion and the extent to which each element needs to be unpacked. Questions you could ask during this time include:

• Are Thomas and Tilly separate characters, or the same? Why?
• Whose story is this?
• Who solved Tilly’s problem and how?
• What were the steps in solving Tilly’s problem?
• Who was involved in solving the problem?
• Did Errol have a problem too?
• Which setting is the main setting?
• What is the author trying to tell the reader?

Discuss Introducing Teddy’s plot, focusing on the beginning, middle and end of the story. For each section ask students which characters are present, what the setting is, and what the main event is (and whether it’s part of the complication or the resolution). Following the discussion, ask students to complete a story map or BME (beginning middle end) map to retell Introducing Teddy (more templates are available from Reading Rockets).

(ACELT1584)   (EN1-7B)   (ACELT1586)   (EN1-10C)

Visual literacy: feelings in the illustrations

Tell students that they are going to discuss feelings and emotions. Have them quickly brainstorm all the feelings they can think of using the rally robin strategy, then invite them to share with the class. Make a word chart from students’ contributions.

Select a few feelings from the list and draw up a retrieval chart. For example:

Complete the chart together as you work through some (or all) of the following activities:

• Show students some short clips that were used to promote the 2015 Pixar film Inside Out (see below). As you play each clip, ask students to identify any visual clues that help communicate the characters’ feelings. If needed, prompt them to think about facial expressions, gestures, posture and colours.
  • Joy
  • Sadness
  • Anger
  • Fear
  • Disgust
• Reread Introducing Teddy. Ask students to identify any elements (i.e. colour, facial expressions, posture, words) that provide clues about how Tilly, Errol and Ava are feeling.
• Show students some other books about emotions, such as:
  • In My Heart by Jo Witek, illus. Christine Roussey
  • The Colour Monster by Anna Llenas
  • Smile Cry by Tania McCartney, illus. Jess Racklyeft
  • Where the Heart Is by Irma Gold and Susannah Crispe

Ask students to sit in a circle so they can all see each other, and tell them that they are going to use their facial expressions to communicate. Instruct students to make a face that is happy, sad, angry, worried, scared, etc. and ask them what they notice about people’s eyes, eyebrows and mouths.

Show students one of the following videos on drawing simple facial expressions:

• Easy: Kids step-by-step drawing emotions
• Complex: How to draw 20 different emotions

As they watch, invite them to experiment with drawing their own expressions, thinking about the position of the eyes and eyebrows and the shape of the mouth. They may also work with a partner and take turns modelling and drawing different expressions.

(ACELA1444)   (EN1-1A)   (ACELY1660)   (EN1-4A)

Examining grammar and vocabulary

Super sentences: identifying the 5 Ws (and 2 Hs)

Introduce the 5 Ws and 2 Hs: who, happening, what, how, when, where and why. Discuss how including this information in a story or sentence can add interest for the reader and provide all the details they need to know.

Select a range of simple sentences from Introducing Teddy and write them on a display sheet or interactive whiteboard. This might include:

• Any of the sentences on pp. 2–3
• The sentence on p. 7
• The sentence on p. 9
• The first sentence on p. 13
• The last sentence on p. 20
• The sentence on p. 22

Ensure that you use simple sentences ONLY; using compound and/or complex sentences with coordinating and/or subordinating conjunctions increases the difficulty of this exercise.

As a class, identify the different pieces of information provided in each sentence. You may wish to highlight or underline these in different colours, such as:

• Who/what (participants) = red
• What (processes) = green
• How, when, where, why (circumstances) = blue

Examine the sentences once they have been broken down.

• What information is missing?
• Is there any other way readers can know this missing information (i.e. through illustrations, from other sentences, by making an inference)?
• Why do some sentences use ‘they’? Why don’t we use the characters’ names in every sentence?

What about the ‘why’? Even though this is not written, students might be able to infer why Errol and Tilly are doing different activities. Ask them to come up with a ‘why?’ for each sentence, remembering that emotions or feelings can constitute the ‘why’ as well.

Place students in partners or small groups and give each pair/group a sentence from the story. Ask them to add or adapt information to make it a ‘super sentence’. Encourage creativity. Students can share their new ‘super sentences’ with the class by reading them aloud, acting them out or creating an illustration.

(ACELA1451)   (EN1-4A)   (ACELA1452)   (EN1-9B)

Rich assessment task

Show students the picture above the acknowledgments on p. 1. Discuss what they see and what they notice about the characters’ feelings and emotions. Ask them to write their own ‘super sentence’ about this picture.

(ACELY1661)   (EN1-2A)

Being myself

Reread Introducing Teddy and discuss how the characters were able to ‘be themselves’. Highlight what the characters wore, what they enjoyed doing, etc.

Using the stand up, hand up, pair up strategy, ask students to first think about ways in which they can ‘be themselves’. They will then pair up to share their thoughts, rotating to a new partner every few minutes. Remind them of the importance of accepting all responses, just like Errol and Ava accepted Tilly’s feelings in the book.

Tell students that they are going to be making paper bag puppets of themselves. Demonstrate how to make a basic puppet, then allow students to use a variety of materials to create a puppet that represents their unique or special features.

NOTE: This would be a great activity to do with older ‘buddy’ students.

Once they have finished their puppets, students can share them with the class, identifying their special characteristics with the sentence starter: ‘I am being myself when I am …’

(ACELY1657)   (EN1-6B)

Tea party conversations

Talk about the differences between a question and a statement. You can play a short video-assisted game to get students moving and thinking about which is which.

Find examples of questions and statements in Introducing Teddy, highlighting the key features (punctuation and ‘wh-’ words) and reading them aloud as a group to practise the correct intonation.

(ACELA1449)   (EN1-9B)

Return to the tea party scene at the end of the book (pp. 28–29). Ask students what Errol and Tilly might be saying to each other (or what Errol, Tilly, Ava and the robot might be talking about). Suggest that they might be asking each other questions or making statements about different things. Brainstorm and list some possibilities as a class.

Tell students that they are going to stage a mini tea party using the puppets they created earlier. They will work in groups of three or four to create a short oral skit (up to two minutes) where their characters ask and answer questions. Encourage them to incorporate their understanding of what it means to ‘be themselves’.

Once all groups have performed their skits, create a display of ‘puppet tea parties’. Have students create speech bubbles containing their tea party conversations and add them to the display.

(ACELT1586)   (EN1-10C)

Rich assessment task

Working individually or in pairs, students will use Puppet Pals 2 to recreate the tea party scene OR innovate on another scene from Introducing Teddy (ensure that they only choose scenes with scope for conversation, such as when Ava, Errol and Tilly are playing in the park). They will need to develop a short script, design the characters and choose the setting, then record it all using the app.

NOTE: If you do not have access to Puppet Pals 2, you may choose a different platform (e.g. Book Creator) OR adapt this task into a drama activity and film it.

(ACELY1664)   (EN1-3A)