Quilts

This lesson plan in designed to be one part of a fourth grade social studies unit on the Appalachian Mountains. It is based on the mountain custom of quilt making. This plan uses the book The Quiltmakers Gift by Jeff Brumbeau. It also uses the book internet site and other related sites. Enrichments of this lesson would be to display quilts, have a real quilt maker visit, have the class create their own paper quilt, etc.

A lesson plan for grades 3–4 English Language Arts and Social Studies

By Barbara Waters

Learn more

Related pages

• Connecting folktales and culture in North Carolina and beyond: Students will explore connections to North Carolina culture as they engage in reading and analyzing three folktales of North Carolina Literary Festival author, William Hooks. After comparing these stories to other versions of the traditional tales, students will become authors and storytellers themselves as they rewrite a tale from a new cultural point of view. Opportunities are also included to extend this study to world cultures and folktales.
• Storytellers in the Mountains of North Carolina: Students will study five famous North Carolina storytellers: Jackie Torrence, Ray Hicks, Donald Davis, David Holt, and Sheila Kay Adams. They will research how their stories were collected and how they developed their storytelling styles that distinguish them from other tellers.
• First Americans of North Carolina and the United States: This lesson will use shared reading, center time, hands-on projects, and journal writing to help learners discover facts about first Americans, particularly those in the region that is today North Carolina, while at the same time developing their English language skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

Related topics

• Learn more about North Carolina, character motive, crafts, culture, language arts, mountains, quilts, read-alouds, regions, and social studies.

Help

Please read our disclaimer for lesson plans.

Legal

Learning outcomes

Students will:

• enjoy the beauty of a literary work and its art.
• increase knowledge of North Carolina heritage.
• make connections to personal history.
• think about the need to give as a part of life.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

90 minutes

Materials/resources

• The Quiltmakers Gift by Jeff Brumbeau
• One copy of “Find out about the author Jeff Brumbeau and The Quiltmakers Gift” worksheet for each student (see “Supplemental Information”)

Technology resources

time in the computer lab with access to the internet

Pre-activities

Students need to have had an introduction to the social studies unit on the Mountain Region of North Carolina.

Activities

Session 1

1. Remind students of the information that they have learned about the North Carolina mountains.
2. Discuss quilt making as a cultural heritage not limited to the mountains, but as a beautiful and thriving art form. Students should understand the art of quilt making from a practical need, using extra material and creating warm, beautiful bedding. Tell the students what they will by doing and introduce the the book The Quiltmakers Gift by Jeff Brumbeau.
3. Read the book and discuss why the old woman would not give the king a quilt. Discuss “It’s better to give than to receive.” Also, discuss the variety of quilt designs shown in the book.
4. Conclude the session by reminding students of next class and ask them to see if people in their families were quilt makers. (Often baby quilts are handmade and passed down in families. This would make a great display.)

Session 2

1. Ask students if any of their family members are quilt makers. Allow students time to discuss what they found out about their own history. (If there is great enthusiasm for the subject delay the computer session and make it session 3.) If there was a fairly large time gap between session 1 and 2 allow time to review the previous lesson.
2. Take students to the lab and give out worksheet and clipboards. Have students go to the Author and Artist section of the book’s website (sites may be marked in “Favorites” due to the time factor.) Allow students to work at their own pace.
3. Remind the students to continue collecting information about their own cultural heritage. Collect papers.

Assessment

Discussion and interest displayed in the subject

Papers collected (answers are available in the Answer Sheet in the “Supplemental Information” section)

Supplemental information

Attachments:

• Gift Worksheet: wps | rtf
• Answer Sheet: wps | rtf

Books:

• Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopkinson (Black History)
• Home Crafts by Bobbie Kalman (History)
• The Canada Geese Quilt by Natalie Kensey-Warnock (Family)
• Crazy Quilt by Kristin Avery (Easy/Family/Quilting project gone wrong)
• The Quilt Story by Tony Johnson (Pioneers)
• The Josefina Story Quilt by Eleanor Coerr (Pioneers)
• The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco (Jewish Heritage)
• Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold (Harlem/based on the author’s quilt painting)
• The Patchwork Quilt by Valerie Flournoy (Family)
• Debbie Mumm’s Project Kids

Comments

Quilts provides a multitude of opportunities to extend into other curriculum areas. A few are listed below:

• Math - Use the quilt blocks as a basis for geometry lessons. Survey of favorite quilt patterns.
• Art - Provide students with blank blocks of quilt patterns that they color or paint. Tape the blocks together to form a class quilt. This makes a great wall display.
• Science - Use the quote that the best time to quilt is in bad weather as a lead in to a discussion of old and new ways of predicting the weather.
• Character Education - The book provides an excellent starting point to discuss the power of giving. See the book site and the link to “Stories of Generosity and Community Involvement.”