How I did it

NEA Today, Sep 1999 by Masenas, Jane

Quilting is a passion of mine-one that I've helped other teachers incorporate into a curriculum that ties art, music, and writing together into integrated thematic units, For our school-wide theme, "Our Family Ties," I had to teach 20 teachers to quilt. These teachers agreed to have their students design and create a classroom quilt that reflected some aspect of the school's third to fifth grade curriculum.

Writing projects connected to the curriculum and inspired by the quilts served as evidence for the achievement of several Vermont Standards, including science, writing, social studies, and art.

For an art project, the students sewed wild flowers of Vermont and their names onto the quilt blocks. For a social science project, the students researched historical movements and settlements in U.S. history.

Flags of the children's ancestors were put on the quilt, along with other symbols highlighting immigration. The art standards were reached by using art forms for the quilts and solving technical problems involved with quilting.

My third grade class studied the history of Chittenden County, Vermont.

One group of students researched the time period when the railroad was being built in nearby Winooski, Vermont They wrote fictional journal entries, pretending their fathers had been working in the railroad. Then they embroidered a sledgehammer to represent the tool their fathers took to work. It was sewn into a quilt block made from old neckties that the children brought in from home.

The school received a combined $5,000 arts grant, which allowed us to bring four artists into the school for week-long residencies.

A folk singer helped students write songs about their areas of study. The physical education teacher worked with a folk musician to teach traditional dancing. A storyteller shared her stories and encouraged classes to collect and share family stories. Two puppeteers spent a week with students creating a puppet show.

At the end of the school year, the quilts and writing pieces were put on display for the community. The children performed songs and dances for the parents-some of whom volunteered on the quilt project.

The students were rewarded for their hard work by receiving a book published with samples of the writings and color photographs of all the quilts.