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Summary and Objective
By looking at examples of quilts, students will understand that early American quilt patterns often consisted of geometric designs that represented and reflected aspects of everyday life.
Teaching Plan
Step 1.
Pre-activity: Students will get background information on early American quilt designs and American pioneer life from books such as "Papa and the Pioneer Quilt" by Jean Van Leeuwen, "The Seasons Sewn: a Year in Patchwork" and "Eight Hands Round: a Patchwork Alphabet," both by Ann Whitford Paul, and "The Quilt-block History of Pioneer Days" by Mary Cobb.
Step 2.
Students will be introduced (or review) the basic geometric shapes used in quilt designs; the class will create a chart listing the shapes, in order to compare the different quilts to be viewed.
Step 3.
Students will examine each quilt example using the "Look closer" feature, and identify the geometric shapes within each pattern.
Step 4.
As students fill in the comparison chart, they will be asked to consider the placement of shapes, looking for simple shapes within complex ones, and compare the overall effect of the use of color and repetition in each design.
Step 5.
When looking at the Sunburst and Stars Album quilt, students will read the label and discuss the purposes of album quilts during 19th & 20th century internal migrations. Students will also identify the states through which this quilt's owners traveled to their new home.
Step 6.
Follow-up activity I: students can view many more quilt designs either by looking at the Folk Art Museum website or the Library of Congress/American Memory website's Gallery of Photographs, or by browsing such encyclopedic books as "The American Quilt: a history of Cloth and Comfort 1750-1950" by Roderick Kiracofe or "American Quilts: the Democratic Art, 1780-2007" by Robert Shaw.
Step 7.
Follow-up activity II: students can go to the website of the Illinois State Museum and try their hand at the Log Cabin Pattern Quilt Design activity, where they can re-arrange quilt squares to create new designs.
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