National Museum of the American Indian
To Honor & Comfort Native Quilting Traditions
"Native American history leaps boldly off the colorful quilts and patchwork designs." Learners discuss Native American identity and symbolism by reading about a variety of Native quilters and their unique art process, and participate in...
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Painted Story Quilt
Emmulate some of Faith Ringgolds famous painted story quilts in your classroom. Have your class choose a story or you choose one for the whole class to portray. They will select their favorite scene to paint onto their story quilt. What...
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The Josefina Story Quilt Study Guide
Considering using The Josefina Story Quilt in your classroom? Check out this sample teaching guide for a list of pre-reading activities.
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Weather Quilt
Pupils observe weather conditions, record them in their journals for a week, and understand how weather affects their lives. They then represent how weather affects the way they play and live on a quilt square and document their study of...
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Diversity Tiles
Students examine various cultures and create a classroom quilt. They discuss family traditions and their heritage. Using Crayola Model Magic, students create a tile and decorate it with their favorite family traditions. Class tiles are...
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World's Fair Quilt Pattern
In this quilt patterns instructional activity, 7th graders identify and complete 6 different problems that include various patterns using shapes. First, they fill the square with the polygons listed on the left as stated. Then, students...
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Milton Hershey Quilt Activity
Students extend their understanding of Milton Hershey. In this notable figures lesson, students create a paper quilt about Milton Hershey. Students use the template provided to design their own quilt square, including an illustration and...
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Quilt Squared
Students study West Virginia quilts. In this mathematics lesson, students use symmetry, geometric shapes, and patterns to create their own quilt square.
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Folk Art: Bird of Paradise Quilt Top
Students examine a "Bird of Paradise Quilt Top" to discover what the themes and patterns tell about mid-nineteenth-century America. In this American Folk Art lesson, students discuss the possible creator of the quilt and the symbols...
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Quilt to Freedom
Students investigate the Underground Railroad. In this African-American history lesson, students listen to the book Clara and the Freedom Quilt and use map skills to identify the various locations in the book. Students create a freedom...
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Geometry and Quilting
Students create a quilt square for a class quilt using at least three, two-dimensional geometric figures. They research and write a brief description of at least two different quilt patterns that they find. Pupils discuss that quilts are...
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Making the Connection With Quilts
Fourth graders explore history of Underground Railroad in Indiana and discover how slaves were assisted on their journey using codes displayed in different quilt blocks. Students examine connection quilts have to ancestry and family...
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Creating a Geographical Fabric Collage
Learners create a geographical fabric collage with a template from their state using various fabrics and a fabric glue stick.
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Tolerance Quilt
Fifth graders read stories about giving and poverty and discuss why it is important to give to others. In this giving lesson plan, 5th graders make quilts to give to those in need.
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Gee's Bend Quilts
Third graders identify five new facts about the quilts, women, and community of Gee's Bend and finish their quilts by sewing the four edges of the quilt down. They review the color wheel and what the terms Primary, Secondary, Analogous,...
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Gee's Bend Quilts Three
Third graders identify and practice sewing a dashed line in an arch shape. They identify with five new facts about quilts, women, and the community of Gee's Bend. Finally, 3rd graders complete the quilt top, batting and backing together.
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Gee's Bend Quilts Two
Third graders identify the different types of lines. They name five new facts about the quilts studied, the women, and community of Gee's Bend and begin to stitch the pieces of the Quilt top together. When finished student put all their...
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Thanksgiving Quilt
Students discuss what they are thankful for this year. They create their own quilt square to illustrate what they are most thankful for. They use the quilt after it is sewn together by their teacher.
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Tar Beach Quilt
Students cut and design a pretend beach after reading Faith Ringold's "Tar Beach" book.
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What a SHAPEly Fit!
Learners identify and explore the attributes of polygons. They design and create a quilt square using polygons, and produce a class quilt.
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Arithmetic Artistry
Students create a classroom quilt that illustrates the many unique ways that students use math skills.
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Quilts of the Underground Railroad
Fifth graders work as a class to create a quilt mapping a route on the underground railroad. Each student create one quilt block using quilt symbols to contribute to the quilt.
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Family Picture Quilt
Learners explore family backgrounds and traditions while discussing how memories are preserved. In this patchwork quilt lesson, students create a keepsake by compiling pictures, drawings, and magazine clippings of things that are...
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Family Quilts Keep Us Warm
Students discuss and describe the differences and similarities in families. After reciting finger plays about families, they draw pictures of their own families. Next, they incorporate their family pictures into a paper quilt.