Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt

by Deborah Hopkinson
paintings by James Ransome
 

About the Author

About the Illustrator

Respond to this book on the Powers Ferry blog

Words and Phrases to Explore

Big house

seamstress

contrary

beat up some batter

Underground Railroad

snorted

quilt

buzzing in the Quarters

silk

guide

winding road

skirting farms and towns

Curriculum Connections

• Before you begin reading this book assess student's prior knowledge about:  maps, quilts, slavery, Underground Railroad.
• To build background knowledge consider using physical items such as quilts and maps, websites, videos from unitedstreaming.

English/Language Arts

Reading Strategy:  Making Connections - After reading Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt students can make text-to-self, text-to-text and text-to-world connections.  Consider using The Quiltmaker's Gift and Almost to Freedom, previous Books of the Month, for text-to-text connections.  For more information on this strategy visit Making Connections Web Resources.  Have students use Kidspiration to publish their work.

Reading Strategy:  Inferring - A good place to teach inferring is on page 22. Students may not realize that each person was giving Clara information to add to her map. For more information on this strategy visit Inferring Web Resources. 

Writer's Craft:  Point of View - The story is told from Clara's point of view.  Be sure to have a discussion about dialect and if possible have students follow along in the text as you read aloud while stopping to discuss various phrases and their meaning.

Math

Patterns - Clara wanted to make patterns of color on her quilt.  Have students make and extend various patterns.

Shapes - Look at various quilt patterns and identify the shapes that make the pattern.  Have students use shapes to create their own quilt squares.  See "Webquests" below for more ideas.

Tessellations - Quilts designs are generally tessellations.  For web resources go to Nettrekker > Shared Searches > Stanton > tessellations.  This is only available to Powers Ferry teachers and students.

Social Studies

Map Skills - Have students create a map to show how to get from your classroom to the cafeteria or the gym.  Be sure to include a map key.

Slavery/Underground Railroad - Message quilts were one way that slaves made their way to freedom.  This book may spark discussions about other ways that slaves communicated.  There are many resources below for teaching this topic.  This is part of fourth grade curriculum.

Farming/Plantations - Do you teach types of communities?  Tie in plantations with rural communities.  Discuss the abundance of rural communities at the time of this story.

Geographical Features - After examining topographical maps of our country with your students, the teacher could pose the following questions: How would rivers, marshland, hills etc. affect the chances of a slave successfully making their way to freedom? What are the various ways that these geographical features could have been included on the quilts?  This idea came from Reading is Thinking.

Science

Plants/Natural Resources - The slaves were working in the fields tending to the crops.  What do plants need to grow?  This is the perfect opportunity to teach about plants and other natural resources. 

• Create patterns using stamps.
• Create tessellations with shapes.
• Create a quilt square.
• Create a literature response.  Write and illustrate.

Neighborhood Map Machine

• Create a map of the plantation where Clara lived.  Use clues from the story to create your map.
• Create a map of the school and surrounding area.
• Create a map of your neighborhood.

Timeliner

• Create a timeline for the Civil War.
• Order story events using Timeliner.

Video Streaming - Listed below are titles that are available at www.unitedstreaming.com.  Please preview any videos before using them with students.  You may also want to import the video into PowerPoint and then create questions to use with Beyond Question.

• Making a Quilt from Squares (primary)
• Animated Hero Classics:  Harriet Tubman
• Discovering Language Arts:  Reading - Previewing (Harriet Tubman) and Reasons to Read (The Underground Railroad)
• Civil War
• Geometry in My World - Tessellating Shapes
• Understanding Maps:  Key to Everywhere
• Maps:  Where Am I?
• Finding Your Way:  Using Maps and Globes
• Maps:  Types, Symbols, and Terms

Webquests

• A Quilt Quest - In this webquest student's compare Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt and Oma's Quilt.  They then construct a quilt square of their own.
• Quilting Your Way Through Geometry - In this webquest student's examine quilt squares and then design their own.  The focus is on symmetry and geometric terms.  A nice integration of math and literature.
• Cyber Guide - This cyber guide has 5 student activities that integrated technology, language arts, math, and social studies.  Best for students is grades 3 - 5.

Related Websites

The Underground Railroad - This site is a comprehensive list of websites, books, lessons, units, and webquests that can be used for teaching about the underground railroad.

Black History Month - This site is a comprehensive list of web sites, activities, and books that can be used during Black History Month.

Geography/Economics Lesson - This lesson, which is best suited for grades 4 and 5, directs a deep discussion of the book and what is happening historically.  Includes whole class and small group activities.

The Freedom Quilt - In this lesson students will draw an event, symbol, person, or place which depicts slavery during the Civil War from the timeline as a piece of the freedom quilt. This lesson is designed for intermediate students.

Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt - This plan defines some of the slavery related terms, contains explanation of what was common for slaves and is evident in the book, and links for related lesson plans.

Escaping Slavery - A 3-day plan for students in grades 3 - 5.  Students create a problems/solutions/events chart to help them understand the relationships between Clara's problems and how she solves them. Similar to Clara's map that shows the path north to freedom, students create their own map designing a key, a compass, and landmarks surrounding their home and school.

Updated On:  January 30, 2007