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Summary and Objective
Students will understand that quilts serve purposes other than to keep us warm. Students will look at quilts to appreciate the designs as well as the artisanship. Students will learn that historically quilts were not only works of art but also made to tell people’s stories. Quilt squares show special events, honor people, and are a way to document daily lives of people. Students will create a quilt square that tells something about them. The goal of this activity is to integrate the historical aspect of quilting and the students’ experiences.
Teaching Plan
Step 1.
Pre-activities: Discuss children’s prior knowledge of quilts. What is a quilt? Talk about important life cycle events when a quilt might be an appropriate gift(births, coming of age ceremonies, weddings, holidays, college, moving away). Compare and contrast a quilt to a blanket.
Step 2.
Read “The Keeping Quilt” by Patricia Polacco. View quilts from the digital collection on the American Centuries website. Discuss what possible stories they might tell or memories they may hold. What stories do you think the Peony Quilt, made by a mother and her daughter, might tell us? What significance do you think the "rising star" might have? What do you think the "crazy" in the Crazy Quilt stands for? Why do you think the maker picked this design? In the Sunburst and stars album quilt why are there names on the quilt and what might they mean?
Step 3.
Brainstorm and list important events from the school year that will become a part of a class quilt. The quilt will tell about their year together.
Step 4.
Have each student use fabric crayons and/or paint to draw their event onto the center of an 8” square of muslin that has been marked with a 1” border.
Step 5.
Arrange the finished squares, as they will be sewn together. Children should have input as to the arrangement.
Step 6.
Steps 6-8 "PostActivity Steps"
With adult assistance, children will sew their squares together into strips. Adults will sew the strips together and finish assembling the quilt. The adults will bring the finished quilt to the classroom. The students will be shown how to “tuft” (tie it together with knots)the quilt.
Step 7.
Students will write about the event in their square. Students assemble their stories in one book.
Step 8.
The finished quilt will be displayed with the storybook in the classroom.
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