The three bears theme

Goldilocks and the Three Bears - Teaching Children Philosophy

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Summary

Looking at this classic tale through a philosophical lens can prompt discussions about selfishness, ownership, and perfectionism.

Goldilocks goes for a walk in the forest and comes upon a house. She enters and helps herself to porridge, sits in the chairs, and sleeps in the beds. Meanwhile, the bears who own the house come home and much to their surprise they discover the outcome of what Goldilocks has done to their porridge, chairs and their beds. Goldilocks wakes with a fright when she sees and hears the bears; she jumps from the bed and runs away as fast as she can.

Read aloud video by Read to My Child

Guidelines for Philosophical Discussion

Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Robert Southey is one of many modern interpretations of one of the most popular fairy tales in the English language. Readers are often relieved to discover that Goldilocks makes a quick escape out of the window, running back into the forest, saving her from what could have otherwise been a devastating conclusion. The moral reasoning of the story is strung between self concern/preservation and transgressive social rule breaking.

Most of the students in the class have probably encountered the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears before. The facilitator of the philosophical discussion can thus ask if anyone has not heard of the story before. The teacher can also request that as Goldilocks and the Three Bears is being read, the students should be listening as if they are the bears themselves.

The theme in the story–how your actions might hurt others–is illustrated through the concept of trespassing (or possibly “breaking and entering”). When Goldilocks hears no answer after knocking on the cottage door, she enters and helps herself to the bears’ porridge, sits in their chairs, and finally falls asleep in the comfiest bed. Goldilocks has made herself right at home; apparently she does not consider whose house she is in and when they will be returning home. The first question set will guide the students in an explorative discussion on the definition of trespassing while asking them to refer to their own experiences.

The second philosophical discussion surrounds the issue of Goldilocks being motivated by selfishness. The common fable repetition of three involves Goldilocks trying three of everything until she finds something that is just right! Goldilocks feels a sense of entitlement to what does not belong to her. Modern terminology such as a “Goldilocks planet” or a “goldilocks economy,” named after the fairytale girl, suggest this driving towards perfect satisfaction. The second question set addresses how the students determine what is “just right”!

After the conclusion of the story and philosophical discussion, the teacher can follow up with optional activities. Such activities include the students pretending to be Goldilocks and writing an apology letter to the Three Bears, or another creative writing project that asks the student to be the author of the story, making it from the perspective of the Three Bears. The third question set offers possible resolutions to Goldilocks and the Three Bears which could serve as tools in the follow up activities.

Questions for Philosophical Discussion

In the story, Goldilocks goes into the house and uses the things in the house without permission.

Has anyone ever used something that belonged to you without your permission? How did you feel? Why did you feel this way?
Who can give examples of cases when it is okay to use something that belongs to someone without their permission? What makes these situations different?
Imagine that everything was owned by one person. Would you need that person’s permission to have a drink of water? Alternatively, what if everything was owned by others, but you didn’t own anything?
Why do we own things anyway? For any answer that is given, challenge students to find at least one example that questions that answer.

The story abruptly concludes with Goldilocks running back into the forest.

Why did Goldilocks run away?
How do you think the bears felt that someone was in their house without their permission?
How do the bears feel that Goldilocks ran away with no explanation or apology?
What could be another way to end the story?
Was Goldilocks sorry or was she just afraid? Can these ever be the same thing?

Original questions and guidelines for philosophical discussion by Joseph LaCoste and Mikala Smith. Edited June 2020 by The Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics.

Find tips for leading a philosophical discussion on our Resources page.

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About the Prindle Institute

As one of the largest collegiate ethics institutes in the country, the Prindle Institute for Ethics’ uniquely robust national outreach mission serves DePauw students, faculty and staff; academics and scholars throughout the United States and in the international community; life-long learners; and the Greencastle community in a variety of ways. In 2019, the Prindle Institute partrnered with Thomas Wartenberg and became the digital home of his Teaching Children Philosophy discussion guides.

Further Resources

Some of the books on this site may contain characterizations or illustrations that are culturally insensitive or inaccurate. We encourage educators to visit the Association for Library Service to Children’s resource guide for talking to children about issues of race and culture in literature. They also have a guide for navigating tough conversations. PBS Kids’ set of resources for talking to young children about race and racism might also be useful for educators.

Philosophy often deals with big questions like the existence of a higher power or death. Find tips for leading a philosophical discussion on our resources page.

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Goldilocks & the Three Bears : Action Song & Story Telling

Goldilocks & the Three Bears is a huge favourite action song & story telling and probably the most familiar of all the traditional fairytales. As with all the best stories, children never tire of them and will happily listen to them over and over again.

In fact, it is from this repetition and re-telling that children actually gain so many educational benefits. From this they learn new vocabulary and develop the ability to tell their own stories which is so wonderful for stimulating the imagination and great for building confidence.

Before singing the Goldilocks song together, it is a good idea to tell the story first. If you don’t already have it on the bookshelf, here is a good version for small children. You can use the pictures to prompt a series of questions to help children get involved with the story. Ask them how many bears there were? and how many bowls of porridge? ask them to answer in a low voice for Daddy Bear, a medium voice for Mummy Bear, and a high squeaky voice for Baby Bear.

This song is excellent for learning the difference between large, middle sized and small, and high, medium and low pitches. Once you have read the story together, the children will be very ready to join in with the actions and really engage with this action song and story telling.

When Goldilocks went to the house of the bears, (make a roof shape with hands)

Oh what did her blue eyes see? (peep through circled fingers)

A bowl that was huge, a bowl that was small, (show huge, and small with hands)

And a bowl that was tiny, and that was all, (make a tiny bowl with hands)

She counted them one, two, three. (count with fingers 1, 2, 3 )

(repeat for verses 2 & 3 but instead of 3 bowls, there are 3 chairs in verse 2, and 3 beds in verse 3)

When Goldilocks ran from the house of the bears, (pretend to run on the spot)

Oh what did her blue eyes see? (peep through circled fingers)

A bear that was huge! (pretend to be a huge bear)

A bear that was small, (pretend to be a smaller bear)

And a bear that was tiny, and that was all, (pretend to be a tiny bear)

They growled at her, GROWL, GROWL GROWL!! (growl as loudly as you can!)

Click the image below to download the free sheet music for Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Marching Bears

After singing the song you can develop the ideas further by comparing the Daddy Bear to Daddy Semibreve (whole note) and Mummy Bear to Mummy Minim (half note) and the Baby Bear to the Little Quaver Twins (1/8th notes). See our Fun Way To Teach Kids Note Values post for more details. Everyone can march around the room to the beat of a tambourine taking giant steps with a great big deep voice, middle sized steps with a medium voice and tiny little steps with a high squeaky voice. The children are usually very keen to get into character!

Check out our Bears lesson plan for lots more lovely teddy-bear themed activities combined in a 30 min structured lesson, with step by step teaching notes and supporting resources.

Reader's diary based on the fairy tale "Three Bears"

Author: people

Title: "Three Bears"

Number of pages: 3

Genre: fairy tale

Main characters: Girl, Mikhailo Potapych, Nastasya Petrovna.

Characteristics of the main characters:

Girl — Frivolous, unceremonious, careless.

Mikhailo Potapych - Angry, formidable, majestic.

Nastasya Petrovna — Not so angry, but also formidable.

Mishutka — A little bear cub who wants to appear formidable.

Summary of the fairy tale "Three Bears"

A girl got lost in the forest and ended up in a house.

Three bears lived there and were walking around at that time.

The girl tried the stews from all the cups, lay down on the beds and fell asleep in the smallest one.

The bears returned home and got angry.

Mishutka found the girl in bed, but she managed to jump out the window and ran away.

Plan of the fairy tale:

Lost in the forest.
Three cups.
Three beds.
The return of the bears.
The search for a thief.
Escape of the girl.

The main idea of the fairy tale "Three Bears"

The main idea of the fairy tale is that when you come to visit someone, behave decently, do not take anything without asking.

The main idea of the tale is that one should not be arrogant and unceremonious.

What a fairy tale teaches

The tale teaches caution and foresight when walking through the forest.

Teaches you not to enter other people's houses and not to take anything without asking.

Teaches you to behave carefully.

Teaches you not to get lost and quickly find a solution to any problem.

A short review of the fairy tale "Three Bears" for the reader's diary

After reading this fairy tale, I thought that those who do not respect the owners behave very ugly.

The heroine of a fairy tale came to a strange house and behaved disgustingly.

She broke everything and tried everything.

This is an interesting and instructive tale.

It tells about an ill-mannered girl who offended kind bears.

I was very sorry for little Mishutka, who suffered the most.

I advise everyone to read this story and never act like its heroine.

After all, people will judge us by our actions.

Proverbs for a fairy tale

Stand up for your own, don't grab on to someone else's.
An uninvited guest is worse than a Tatar.
They don't go to a strange monastery with their own charter.
Be at home, but do not forget that you are away.
What you teach a child to do, you will receive from him.

Dictionary of unknown words

Open - open.
Chowder - liquid food, soup.
Awkward - uncomfortable.
Upper room - a room in an old house.
Fits true to size.

Most shocking passage:

And suddenly Mishutka saw the girl and squealed as if he was being cut:

- Here she is! Hold it, hold it! There she is! Ay-ya-yay! Hold on!

He wanted to bite her.

The girl opened her eyes, saw bears and rushed to the window.

It was open, she jumped out the window and ran away.

And the bears didn't catch up with her.

Lesson "Three Bears" for a nursery group

Abstract of a game lesson for a nursery group of a kindergarten (3rd year of life), topic: "Three Bears"

Author of the lesson: Davydova Svetlana Alekseevna.

Objectives:

To teach children to listen carefully to a fairy tale and watch a table theater show, emotionally perceiving the content.
To form stable ideas about the size, color, quantity.
Continue to teach how to build from building material as shown by the teacher.
Improve the skills of sculpting, gluing, drawing with fingers and stamps.
Develop thinking, visual and auditory concentration, fine motor skills, coordination of words and movements.

Equipment:

Figures for the table theater "Three Bears".
Background picture depicting three bears of different sizes. Plates and spoons in three sizes.
A picture-background depicting chairs in three sizes, silhouette images of three bears. Glue.
Colored clothespins, silhouette images of hats with a round bubo, cut out of thick cardboard.
Colored buttons in three sizes, a picture of a she-bear with knitting and multi-colored balls-circles in two sizes, corresponding to the color and size of the buttons.
Geometric figures, a schematic representation of a house from these geometric figures.
Finger paints cut out of paper plates.
Bottles in the form of bear cubs with a cut hole-mouth, spoons, cereals in plates.
Sheet-background with the image of an apron. Stamps, pad with paint.
Silhouette images of three bears of different sizes, crib envelopes of the appropriate size.
Small pillowcases sewn from fabric. Cotton wool.
Background picture depicting a bear's muzzle without a nose and ears, black and brown plasticine.
Audio recordings: "Take the bear in your arms."

Our smart heads greeting game

Our smart heads
They will think a lot, deftly.
Ears will listen,
Mouth speak clearly.
Pens will clap,
Feet will stomp.
Backrests are straightened,
We smile at each other.

Three Bears Table Theater

One girl, Masha, left home for the forest. She got lost in the forest and began to look for her way home, but she did not find it, but came to the house in the forest.
The door was open; she looked at the door, sees: there is no one in the house, and entered. Three bears lived in this house. One bear was a father, his name was Mikhail Ivanovich. He was big and shaggy. The other was a bear. She was smaller, and her name was Nastasya Petrovna. The third was a little bear cub, and his name was Mishutka. The bears were just not at home, they went for a walk in the forest.
There were two rooms in the house: one dining room, the other bedroom. The girl entered the dining room and saw three cups of stew on the table. The first cup, very large, was Mikhaila Ivanovicheva's; the second cup, smaller, was Nastasya Petrovnina, the third, blue cup, was Mishutkin. Beside each cup lay a spoon: large, medium and small.
The girl took the biggest spoon and drank from the biggest cup; then she took the middle spoon and drank from the middle cup; then she took a small spoon and drank from a little blue cup; and Mishutkin's stew seemed to her the best.
The girl wanted to sit down and sees three chairs at the table: one large - Mikhail Ivanychev, the other smaller - Nastasya Petrovnin and the third small, with a little blue pillow - Mishutkin. She climbed onto a large chair and fell; then she sat down on the middle chair, it was awkward on it; then she sat down on a small chair and laughed: it was so good. She took the little blue cup on her knees and began to eat. She ate all the stew and began to swing on a chair.
The chair broke and she fell to the floor. She got up, picked up a chair and went to another room. There were three beds: one large - Mikhail Ivanycheva, the other medium - Nastasya Petrovnina, the third small - Mishenkina.
The girl lay down in a large one - it was too spacious for her; lay down in the middle - it was too high; she lay down in a small one - the bed fit her just right, and she fell asleep.
And the bears came home hungry and wanted to have dinner. The big bear took his cup, looked and roared in a terrible voice:
- Who sipped from my cup?
Nastasya Petrovna looked at her cup and growled not so loudly:
- Who sipped from my cup?
And Mishutka saw his empty cup and squeaked in a thin voice:
- Who sipped from my cup and sipped everything?
Mikhailo Ivanovich looked at his chair and growled in a terrible voice:
- Who was sitting on my chair and moved it from its place?
Nastasya Petrovna glanced at her chair and growled not so loudly:0175 - Who was sitting on my chair and moved it from its place?
Mishutka looked at his broken chair and squeaked:
- Who was sitting on my chair and broke it?
The bears came to another room.
- Who lay down on my bed and crushed it? roared Mikhailo Ivanovich in a terrible voice.
- Who lay down on my bed and crushed it? Nastasya Petrovna growled, not so loudly.
But Mishenka set up a bench, climbed into his bed and squeaked in a thin voice:0175 - Who lay down on my bed?
And suddenly he saw a girl and squealed as if he was being cut:
- There she is! Hold her, catch her!
He wanted to bite her. But Mashenka opened her eyes, saw the bears and rushed to the window. The window was open, she jumped out the window and ran away. So the bears did not catch up with her.

Didactic game "Give the bears dishes"

- Masha mixed everything up. We will help arrange dishes for the bears.

Children arrange plates and spoons according to the size of the bears.

Application "Seat the bears on the chairs"

- Children glue bear figurines on the chairs according to their size.

Building material "Stool"

- Place a cube on the table in front of you. Now take the block and put it on the cube. Like this. Got a chair. Try to make the second chair exactly the same, but yourself.

Construction "Build a house for the bears"

- Let's decompose the geometric shapes and find out which house the three bears had.

Children lay out geometric figures on a schematic representation of a house.

Dynamic pause "Three Bears"

Three bears were walking home.
(Stepping from foot to foot, body swaying, arms slightly rounded and lowered along the body)

Papa bear was big,
(Stand on your toes, raise your hands up)

Mom is a little smaller,
(Slightly bend your knees, lower your arms and slightly spread apart)

And the little son is simple.
(Squat)

The smallest he was
(Walked with rattles)

Ding - la-la, ding - la-la.
(Raise your arms to chest level and shake the hands of both hands)

Drawing “Porridge for bears” with fingers

- Let's draw porridge in a plate for bears.

Children leave fingerprints on the surface of the plate.

Didactic exercise "Feed the bear cub"

- Take spoons and feed the cubs with porridge.

Children use spoons to pour porridge into the mouth of a bottle in the shape of a bear cub.

Didactic game "Put three bears in bed" bed.

The children put the bear envelopes in the bed according to their size.

Drawing with stamps "Apron for a Bear"

- Let's decorate the bear's new apron with patterns.

Children leave prints with stamps on the plane of the apron.

Musical-motor pause “Take the bear in your arms”

Children pick up toy bears and perform movements with them according to the text of the song.

Exercise "Pillow for a bear cub"

- To make Mishutka sleep well, let's make him a comfortable pillow.

Children stuff a pillowcase for Mishutka's pillow with cotton.

Game with buttons "Bear and balls"

- She was knitting a hat for Mishutka, help her arrange the balls of thread.