Sacha Muller and Laura Wolff
| Title: Class Quilt |
|
| Date: Tuesday- January 11, 2005 |
Content Area: Social Studies, Art |
Objective: SWBAT understand how quilts can be objects of both everyday use and artistic expression.
EALRs / GLEs: Social Studies 3.3.2 Benchmark 1: identify the ways cultural traditions are expressed through artistic creations and use of the environment. Benchmark 2: explain how cultural communication contributes to societal cohesion and/or division.
Materials: picture books and art books about quilting. The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco
PROCEDURE:
Introduction:
Today we are going to look at quilts and read a book about quilting, then you are going to make your own quilt panel on a piece of paper. Many cultures in this country have and still do use quilts to communicate or say a variety of different things. There are quilts that represent things that have happened in history. There are quilts that tell stories. There are also quilts that remember people that have died.
If possible show various examples of actual quilts during the introductions.
Ask students about their own experiences with quilts in their families.
Throughout history, women and men have made quilts for many purposes: to keep warm, to decorate their homes, to express their political views, to remember a loved one. Made by hand -- often collaboratively -- using familiar materials such as scraps of clothing, quilts are personal and a community effort, pretty and functional.
Introduce the story and read it aloud to the whole class. (Should mention the story is about a Jewish family and address some of the potentially unfamiliar vocabulary in the story.)
After the story ask:
In what ways was the quilt used in the story?
Today we are going to make our own class quilt out of paper. You each are going to make a panel with one piece of paper and then we will put all of your pieces of paper together to make a big class quilt. (Decide which way you want the students to draw their panel, either horizontally or vertically.)
Your quilt panel needs to include something about yourself, it can reflect your family, your hobbies, or something else that is important to you.
Here is one that I did. (Show an example of a panel and draw one on the board)
Describe your panel and the symbols you used.
Tell students:
In some quilts people use symbols to represent people or things in their life. What are symbols? What are some things you might be able to show in a quilt? How can we remember people or describe people or things in pictures with out drawing a picture of them? What kinds of symbols can we use? What if the person is a mechanic? How about a teacher?
Write the answers to this brainstorming on the board. Use different colored chalk to visually separate the sections written.
Pass out materials:
There are baskets of markers and pencils available to you. I am passing out two types of graph paper, square and diagonal. You can use either type. I also have available up here at the resource table several books about quilts. You can use them to get ideas about what quilt panels look like and what symbols they have.
Assessment: Have students write in their journals describing the quilt panel they drew answering the following questions: What did you draw on your quilt panel. What do the symbols represent? (Questions should be written on the board). Afterward, have students present their panels in small groups of four or five students and describe the significance of their panel.
Accumulate all the panels and attach them to create a quilt to be hung in the classroom or in the hall.
This lesson draws from the lesson at
http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=346
There are more lessons on this site including useful books