Blessed Ted-fred: Famous Fathers Write to Their Children

By The Learning Page staff
Published on 01/20/2009

Elementary teachers tend to favor the visual images in the American Memory collections. Yet even among the text documents, there are gems that can be used to help elementary students experience the fun of working with primary sources.

One pair of sources that even very young students could work with are letters from Theodore Roosevelt and Alexander Graham Bell to their children. Roosevelt's letter, found in the Words and Deeds in American History collection, was written when Roosevelt was chair of the Civil Service Commission and was working in Washington, DC, while his family was in New York. The letter with illustrated fable, Theodore Roosevelt to Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., 11 July 1890 was sent to Roosevelt's three-year-old son. Accompanying the letter is an illustrated story about a pony and a cow who set out to see the world but are frightened by a bear and decide never to run away again.

Letter from Alexander Graham Bell to Elsie Bell Grosvenor and Marian Bell Fairchild, November 13, 1887 was written to Bell's two daughters; Elsie was nine at the time and Daisy (Marian) was seven. Bell wrote from Martha's Vineyard. Perhaps because his children were older, Bell's letter was longer, but it, too, contained a drawing. The letter can be found in the Alexander Graham Bell Family Papers collection.

These documents could be used in a language arts lesson on letter writing or in a social studies unit on families. A teacher might introduce the lesson by asking students if they have ever received a letter from a family member. Who wrote the letter? Why? Did the letter contain pictures?

If students cannot read the letters, the teacher might read them aloud, with the drawings from the letters projected on an overhead. Transcriptions of the letters could also be prepared for students who read but are not yet familiar with cursive writing.

Possible discussion questions include the following:

  • Who wrote the letter? (Theodore Roosevelt; Alexander Graham Bell

  • Who received the letter? (Ted-fred, Roosevelt's son; Elsie and Daisy, Bell's daughters)

  • Why did the writer send this letter? (In both cases, the fathers were away from home and writing to their children to stay close, express love, etc.)

  • How are the two letters alike? (Both are from fathers to children, both mention activities the fathers and children enjoy doing together, both include drawings, both express love.)

  • Do you think little "Ted-fred" was younger or older than Elsie and Daisy? Why? ("Ted-fred" was younger; his letter is shorter and has more pictures.)

  • Which letter do you think is most interesting? Why?

  • What do these letters tell us about families?(Family members love each other; they stay in touch when they are apart; parents try to entertain, educate, and provide guidance to their children.)

  • What do these letters show us about letter writing? (The top of a letter tells where and when it was written; the letter begins by saying who it is to and ends by saying who it is from; letters may be handwritten and include pictures.)


As a follow-up, students might write letters to family members who live far away or write letters to their parents, asking their parents to write back in response.

[send article to a friend]
[print full article]
[return to front page]		  
 
 
The Library of Congress | American Memory | The Learning Page | Contact us