Back to School with Paper Quilts and Partnerships
Make a commitment to collaboration, and build classroom community by integrating art and classroom objectives to create a paper quilt.
By Alison Panik
At the start of the school year, one of the first goals of every teacher is to make each group of students feel like a team. Working cooperatively and collaboratively on a whole-class art project is a great way to form the bonds of classroom community. And art teachers can also be role models for these concepts by forming partnerships with classroom teachers, and working together to deliver integrated lessons that form teaching partnerships right from the start of the school year. Here's how...
1. Pull apart an art lesson. Decide which part of the lesson is best taught by the art teacher. Which part relates to content area curriculum and is best taught by the classroom teacher? Which parts could be best taught together as a teaching team? Plan your schedules to deliver each part of the lesson.
2. Integrate art objectives with reading, writing, social studies, science, and math. Meet as a teaching team to find places where curricula overlap. Plan your schedule so the classroom teacher provides background that can be built upon in the art classroom. Find ways to introduce art concepts that integrate well with content area objectives.
Creating a paper quilt is a way for students to share their understanding of integrated art and content concepts. Each child can contribute a piece to the quilt to show the content knowledge they have learned, and they can demonstrate art concepts they have practiced. The art and classroom teachers can work together to facilitate a discussion about the finished artwork, using art and content vocabulary to compare and contrast the contributions to the quilt. The lesson plans below are a great fit for teachers committed to collaboration and community: This lesson works well as a co-teaching lesson. The classroom teacher gathers children for a discussion about families and introduces family vocabulary using a finger play. The art teacher and classroom teacher show sample quilts and information and books they have gathered about quilting as folk art. The art teacher works with children to design quilt squares and assemble the finished family quilt. Designed to include three social studies lessons, a math lesson, and an art lesson, this lesson for upper elementary students includes history, measurement, and folk art to create a collaborative paper quilt wall hanging. Integrate geometry and art with the study of culture, the alphabet, or history using the book "Eight Hands Round" by Ann Whitford Paul. Read the book aloud, with reading partners, and independently in both the art and regular classrooms. Classroom teachers can also extend the lessons to include reading and writing connections to the book as well as to the art experience. This lesson can serve as a model for integrating art with content area subjects. Investigate quilt history in your region of the country. Review the extensions for possible connections to all curriculum areas. Include the school librarian in your partnership using this lesson that also integrates well with writing standards. This can provide plenty of ideas and resources for the primary grades. Art Lesson Plans: