Course: Teddy Bears' Trail | Propagate Learning

  • Welcome to Teddy Bears' Trail online area


    Age: Primary 1-3 /5-7 years

    All the resources in this online area are part of a comprehensive programme package to enhance both yours and your pupils' learning experience. There are a mix of learning resources to use in the classroom, outdoors or as homework activities; as you will see below they are split up into classroom and outdoor activities so you can easily find resources to suit your lesson plan - just select a section title to view that section. 

    Feel free to pick and choose the resources you would like to do and these can be done before and/or after your visit to the Garden; or follow our suggested learning pathway outlined below to get the most out of the resources. If you're not booked onto a guided session at the Garden, all the resources stand on their own and will bring a little bit of the Botanics to you instead!

    Learning Pathway

    Click on a step to view:

    • In the sections below all PDF documents will open in a new window/tab and Word documents will download.

  • Open all

    Close all

  • Instructions: Clicking on the section name will show / hide the section.

  • Read the Teacher Manual and open your mail to prepare your class and yourself for the adventure ahead! (If you're not attending a guided session at the Garden, we suggest you skip this Introduction section and dive straight into the activities)

  • Bring the learning outdoors! Outdoor activities help to extend your pupils' learning. Explore the different outdoor activities and teacher advice to help run a self-guided outdoor activity.


    • S.W.A.F. Game


      Duration: 10 - 15 minutes
      Activity type: teacher-led outdoor activity

      Curriculum link codes: SOC 0-08a / SCN 0-01a / SCN 0-12a / SOC 1-13b / SCN 1-02a

      Activity description:

      All animals need S.W.A.F. to stay alive. In this activity pupils will be a bear and practice finding S.W.A.F.; to help give a better understanding of what S.W.A.F. stands for and why S.W.A.F. is vital for all animals. 

      Follow the teacher guide for instructions and advice to run this activity.

    • File icon
      S.W.A.F. Game: Teacher Guide File
      PDF document
      An accessible version is available in Word document format.
    • File icon
      S.W.A.F. cards File
      PDF document
      As mentioned in the teacher guide S.W.A.F. cards are required to run this game! Print out the S.W.A.F cards double-sided on A4 paper - these have S.W.A.F. colours with the correct letter on each, and the correct word on the back. Alternatively, pupils could create and decorate their own S.W.A.F. cards to use.

      An alternative version is available in Word document format.



    • Castaway Teddies


      Duration: 20 - 30 minutes
      Activity type: teacher-led outdoor activity

      Curriculum link codes: SOC 0-08a / SCN 0-01a / SOC 1-13b / HWB 0-23a / SCN 1-02a

      Activity description:
      The teddies have landed on a desert island. There is nothing around and they are thirsty, hungry and cold. They need your pupils' help to build a mini-island with all 4 S.W.A.F. to help the teddies survive! Pupils will increase their understanding of S.W.A.F., putting their learning into practice by building an island for teddies to live on with everything they need to survive.

      Follow the teacher guide for instructions and advice to run this activity.

    • File icon
      Castaway Teddies: Teacher Guide File
      PDF document
      An accessible version is available in Word document format.




    • S.W.A.F. Spotting


      Duration: 20 - 30 minutes
      Activity type: teacher-led outdoor activity

      Curriculum link codes: SOC 0-08a / SCN 0-01a / SCN 0-12a / SOC 1-13b / SCN 1-02a

      Activity description:

      If you go down to the woods today, what would you need to survive? In this activity pupils will venture outdoors in search of all the S.W.A.F. keys of survival: Shelter, Water, Air and Food! This activity will help increase your pupils' awareness of S.W.A.F. through observation in nature.

      To run this activity download the S.W.A.F. Spotting sheet guide for your pupils and see how much S.W.A.F. they can find! To save printing we suggest printing a handful which can be laminated and reused.

    • File icon
      S.W.A.F. Spotting sheet File
      PDF document
      An accessible version is available in Word document format.


  • Activities back in the classroom enable pupils to transfer their understanding of concepts learnt in the context of the Teddy Bears' Trail to their own lives and surroundings. Explore the activity pack we have filled with ideas and inspiration to carry on the Teddy Bears' Trail adventure in your classroom!


    • Plant Care Activity Pack


      Activity type: activity cards
      Curriculum link codes: SCN 0-03a / SCN 1-03a

      Activity description: Explore this pack to discover a set of activity cards with a variety of suggested activities to do with your class about plant care. These activities link to S.W.A.F. as often as possible to help your pupils remember this important message.
    • File icon
      Plant Care Activity Pack File
      PDF document
      An accessible and printer-friendly version of this pack is available in Word document format.


  • Explore the following additional resources and links (all links below open in a new window/tab):