Introduce Hope Bear to the class. Explain that someone, possibly another student, sent Hope Bear to Oklahoma City after the Murrah Federal Building bombing in April of 1995. Explain that the bear is going to spend one month with the class. Tell the students that, while there, Hope Bear will learn about conflict in their community and the measures people take to resolve conflicts. The students will write journal entries to Hope Bear each day, explaining conflicts in their daily lives, the resolutions to those conflicts, and the ways the students feel before, during, and after conflict.
Younger students can draw pictures as journal entries.
Explain when Hope Bear goes home to the Oklahoma City National Memorial, the journals will go too. Each day, students will share the entries in their journals with the other members of their group. You might invite parents, community members, and others to the class to hear some of the journal readings if your students are comfortable with that activity. After a month of writing and sharing, mail the journals and Hope Bear to the Oklahoma City National Memorial Foundation at P.O. Box 323, Oklahoma City, OK 73101. Each bear and journal will be preserved and placed in the National Memorial Archives for possible future exhibitions in the Oklahoma City National Memorial Center.