Patchwork Quilt Class Project Thematic Unit

Objective:

Students will: (Social Studies) be able to explain the concept of slavery, the reasons for the Civil War, and the purpose of the Underground Railroad. They will also be able to tell about the Patchwork Quilt and how it came about. (Math) Students will be able to use mathematics to compute the area of a quilt based on square units, and the perimeter of a quilt based on linear units. Student will be able to describe fractions and relate them to thier part of the Quilt. (Writing) Students will write about their portion of the quilt and why they chose the items they included on thier part of the quilt. (Reading) Students will read the book "A Patchwork Quilt" by Valarie Flournoy, and describe the setting, characters, and plot.

Materials: "A Patchwork Quilt" by Valarie Flournoy, Various colors of fabric that include colors identified by students as their favorite colors, Questionairs that ask students thier favorite animal, book, color, and sport (This may be changed according to teacher preferences of course).

A Parent volunteer may be needed if you don't sew. (I Don't), but I asked for volunteers in my class of 20 students and had several who were glad to do it.

Iron on paper for printing photos and clip art. May be purchased at Micheals. Stuffing material

Procedures: (1) Explain to parents and students at beginning of the school year that you will be making a classroom quilt. (ask parents to volunteer to sew the quilt)
(2) Read the book to students during the first few weeks of the year and explain that they may document thier history by making a quilt during the first couple months of the year. (3) Students fill our questionairs, and have thier pictures taken (These will be ironed to thier favorite color fabric with transfer paper) (4) Find on internet with students pictures dipicting favorite sports, animals, and books. Each student will end up with four squares of 6" by 6". (5) Make a class picture using a square of 12" by 12". Also include any class pets or other special things going on in your classroom. (6) Once all the pieces are made, have your volunteers layout the squares and sew them together. Place inner material and make a sandwich with the backing material. You may also want to put a 2" inch boarder. (7) Once complete, have student write about thier part of the quilt and present to class. Also, use the quilt by asking student to figure out the area, perimeter, and what fraction of the quilt is dedicated to them. How many pieces Make a half, quarter, and so on. How does this quilt depict the student in this class, how are they alike, and how are they different. How did they all contribute to make it special.

Culminating activity: invide other classes to come see the quilt and have your student present thier special part to the other classes. I did this project last year. It was the envy of the school, and parents, administrators, and other teachers all enjoyed seeing it. We are talking now of doing a school wide Quilt Project with all classes.