Labeling Our Teddy Bears

Overview

This 45-minute lesson is aimed at Year 1 students (ages 5-6) and is the second lesson in the unit Teddy Bear Picnic Adventures. It focuses on developing basic writing skills through a hands-on, labelled drawing activity. Students will practise writing labels for parts of a teddy bear, using capital letters and finger spaces, aligning with the National Curriculum for England’s objectives on writing composition and phonics. The lesson is interactive, multi-sensory and aims to consolidate prior vocabulary learning while encouraging clear, neat labelling.

---

National Curriculum Links

English – Writing (Years 1)

• Writing – composition: "Write sentences by saying out loud what they are going to write about, simple sentences, and re-read what they have written to check that it makes sense."
• Transcription – spelling and handwriting: "Name the letters of the alphabet," "Sequence sentences to form short narratives," and "Sit correctly at a table, hold a pencil comfortably and correctly."
• Phonics and spelling: "Spell words containing each of the 40+ phonemes already taught," "Spell common exception words," and "Spell words by segmenting sounds in spoken words and representing the sounds with letters."

---

Learning Objectives (WALT)

• WALT label parts of a teddy bear using capital letters and finger spaces.
• WALT use phonics knowledge to support spelling in simple words.
• WALT create a clear, labelled diagram to communicate meaning.

---

Success Criteria

• I can write the names of teddy bear parts with a capital letter at the start.
• I can use finger spaces between words in my labels.
• I can carefully draw a teddy bear and add labels to its parts.
• I can say out loud my sentence before writing to check it makes sense.

---

Resources

• Large picture of a teddy bear (poster or projected)
• Individual plain paper or worksheets with a teddy bear outline
• Pencils, crayons, coloured pencils
• Word bank cards with teddy bear parts vocabulary (e.g., Head, Ear, Eye, Nose, Mouth, Arm, Paw, Leg)– with dyslexia-friendly fonts (e.g., Comic Sans or OpenDyslexic) and with corresponding images
• Finger spacers (e.g., small craft sticks)
• Alphabet chart with capital letters highlighted
• Whiteboard and markers

---

Lesson Structure

1. Welcome and Recap (5 minutes)

• Greet the children and briefly recall the previous lesson where they learnt teddy bear vocabulary.
• Show the large teddy bear picture and quickly name common parts aloud together.
• Model a sentence: "This is the bear’s Head." Emphasise capital letter at start and finger spaces between words.

2. Introduction to Labelling (5 minutes)

• Explain that today they will write labels to show parts of their teddy bear. Discuss the importance of labels as naming things.
• Show the word bank cards with teddy bear parts. Read aloud, underline capital letters, and highlight phonemes.
• Demonstrate using a finger spacer to separate the words in the phrase "Teddy Bear."

3. Guided Group Activity (10 minutes)

• Distribute teddy bear outline sheets and word bank cards.
• Guide students to carefully draw/trace features if they want to enhance their teddy bear outline.
• Together, as a class, label a few parts on the large teddy bear image, writing on the whiteboard, emphasising sentence structure, capital letters, and finger spaces.
• Students practise writing the labels on their sheet next to the corresponding teddy bear parts, using the word bank cards and the alphabet chart for spelling support.

4. Independent Writing (15 minutes)

• Children work independently to label at least 5 parts of their teddy bear.
• Encourage children to say each label out loud before writing to check spelling.
• Provide finger spacers and encourage use.
• Teacher circulates to offer support, especially with letter formation and finger spacing.

5. Sharing and Feedback (5 minutes)

• Invite volunteers to read out their labelled teddy bears.
• Praise use of capital letters and finger spaces.
• Display some work on the display board or wall for pride and encouragement.

6. Plenary & Extension (5 minutes)

• Recap key points about labelling and using capital letters.
• Extension: Prompt advanced learners to write simple sentences about their teddy bear (e.g., "The bear has a red nose.") with proper spacing and capital letters.
• Dyslexia-friendly option for some: use pre-written label cards to match and stick on teddy bear pictures, to reduce writing load but reinforce recognition.

---

Differentiation

• For SEND/Dyslexic Learners: Provide pre-written label cards with clear dyslexia-friendly fonts and pictorial support to match on their teddy bear diagrams. Use multisensory approaches like tracing over letters with fingers.
• For EAL Learners: Use picture-word matching cards to build vocabulary recognition. Pair with more confident peers during writing activity.
• For Advanced Learners: Challenge to write simple sentences describing their teddy bear parts using connectives (e.g., "and", "but") and adjectives (e.g., "The bear’s arm is soft.").

---

Assessment

• Formative assessment during lesson through observation of writing for use of capital letters and finger spacing.
• Check labelled parts correspond with correct parts of the teddy bear in independent work.
• Use anecdotal notes to record children’s phonic spelling and sentence construction skills for future planning.

---

Teacher Reflection Tips

• Note which letters/words caused difficulty for future phonics focus.
• Evaluate effectiveness of finger spacers and visual aids for spacing and letter formation.
• Reflect on engagement levels with hands-on drawing and writing activities to inform future lessons.

---

This lesson plan enables Year 1 students to practise essential early writing skills within a playful, tactile context, embedding vocabulary and letter formation in a memorable, empowering way. It balances structure and creativity, ensuring differentiated support and extension for diverse learners.