Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt

Underground Railroad

Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt

Lesson Length: 1 Day

Age/Grade Level: 3

Objectives:

To use literature at a primary level to convey the ingenious ways oppressed

people sought to seek freedom.

The students will connect the context of a reading passage to a real-world

experience.

The students will use visual arts to illustrate a secret code in a quilt

The students will present their quilt and discuss the secret code embedded in it.

Context:

This lesson was part of a series of lessons on the Underground Railroad. The

Kentucky shoreline of the Ohio River played an integral part in the escape of

hundreds of slaves via the Underground Railroad. Using literature the children

will gain an understanding of this civil rights movement. We began with a

discussion of what the children thought the Underground Railroad was. We then

proceeded to read, If you Traveled on the Underground Railroad to gain more

insight into this movement. We also read Aunt Harriett’s Underground Railroad.

My children had a hard time with this abstract railroad so I decided to create a

plantation scene and have a few slaves attempt an escape. We had

overseers, conductors, safe houses and the school office designated as Canada.

The children acted out the escape plan.

Materials:

If you Traveled on the Underground Railroad by Ellen Levine

Aunt Harriet’s Underground Railroad by Faith Ringgold

Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopkinson

Quilt block patternsPatience Square, Texas Star

6 inch square paper, crayons, glue, poster board

Procedure:

Discuss some background on a slave’ s life, the hard work, family life, and the

desire to be free.

Review the previous days experience of acting out a plantation scene and slaves

attempting to escape.

Read Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopkinson.

Discuss the idea that a quilt could be used as a map.

Discuss the importance of using coded pictures to convey the path.

Connect to our safe houses that we used yesterday ( computer lab, Mrs. G’s room,

Mrs. K’s room and the office.)

Have the children share the secretly coded pictures used in Sweet Clara and the

Freedom Quilt..

Have the children divide into 4 groups.

Each group must choose which places from the story they would want to illustrate

for the group’s quilt.

Create their quilt square and glue onto their poster board quilt.

As a group prepare a presentation about their quilt and the secret coded places

that they included.

Allow each group to present their poster quilt.

Quilt designs

by

the

third

grade

class

Rubric