SETON HILL UNIVERSITY

Lesson Plan Template Explanation

TOPIC Freedom Quilts CK
Name Miss Swiger
Subject Social Studies- Civil War
Grade Level 5th grade
Date/Duration 2 Class periods, 40 minutes ea.
Big Ideas Comprehension and interpretation of how society assisted each
other during times of crisis
Essential Questions What can we infer about the artifacts we find?
What are symbols?
How has the world changed?
How do groups of people come together in times of need?
Common Core Standard-8.1.U.A. Evaluate patterns of continuity and change over
Standards time, applying context of events.
Standard-8.3.5.A Compare and contrast characteristics of the
social, political, cultural, and economic groups in United States
history.
Standard-8.3.5. B Illustrate concepts of historical documents,
artifacts, and places critical to United States history.
Standard-8.3.U.A. Compare the role groups and individuals played
in social, political, cultural and economic development of the U.S.

Objectives Students will independently create their own interpretation of a

A-udience freedom quilt square using at least 2 symbolic figures to
B-ehavior represent themselves.
C-ondition
D-egree
Formative & Formative: Class discussion on symbolism, if there is any today,
Summative when do we use symbolism, use KWL about freedom quilt symbols
Assessment and the purpose of the quilts, create their own square
EVIDENCE Summative Assessments : class freedom quilt that describes each
student in the class. Students will orally report on what their square
means, and are there any similarities within the quilt. What does the
quilt say about our class?
21ST CENTURY SKILLS http://home2.fvcc.edu/~cgreig/final/blocks.html Examples of
TECHNOLOGY quilt patterns and meanings
Sample freedom quilt
http://www.edwardshistory.org/tales/undergroundrr/
ACCOMMODATIONS Provide adaptive art supplies for students (scissors, writing
MODIFICATIONS utensils)
ADAPTATIONS Provide hand over hand assistance
Label art supplies in bins
Stencils to create shapes and sizes

SUPERVISING Before you may proceed to creating the step-by-step lesson plan
TEACHERS procedures on the next page, your supervising teacher/cooperating
SIGNATURE teacher/professor must approve this plan with his/her signature/initials.
Note:
Before students can begin the lesson plan step-by-step procedures on the next page, they are required to
complete this first page and receive the supervisor/professors signature. The Education Departments
goal is to have students address critical components of the learning before they begin choosing activities.

Resources used:
www.pdesas.org
www.p21.org
www.iste.org

LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE STEP-BY-STEP PROCEDURES

RATIONALE for the Students will read and listen to a book that discusses freedom quilts CK
Learning Plan and examples of symbolism used during the Civil War to mark safe
spots. Students will create their own symbol keys with colors, shapes,
and sizes to create a class quilt.
Introduction Activating Prior Knowledge
Students will review previous lesson where freedom quilts
were touched upon with the book Sweet Clara and the
Freedom Quilt
Hook/Lead-In/Anticipatory Set
Show students pictures of quilts, ask if they have seen any of
these blankets in their homes or in relatives homes
Describe how one blanket in particular is actually like a book,
in which it uses symbols to create a secret message.
Explicit Instructions Big Idea Statement
How did people of the Civil War Era communicate through
symbols to show places of safety?
Essential Question Statement
What was the purpose of these quilts, and why was
symbolism important during this era?

Objective Statement
We will create our own symbolic statement quilt square
using at least two shapes in our own class freedom quilt.
Transition
Students pull out their copy of Under the Quilt of Night
by Deborah Hopkinson.
Key Vocabulary
Liberty, quilt, underground railroad, slave, oral tradition,
symbol (symbolism)
Lesson Procedure PreAssessment of the Students
Before reading Under the Quilt of Night, ask questions
pertaining to previous text, Sweet Clara and the Freedom
Quilt. Ask students if they can foreshadow what events may
happen in this new text based on what has been previously
learned.
Modeling of the Concept
After reading book, teacher will show pictures from Quilts
from the Civil War: Nine Projects, Historic Notes, and Diary
 Entries by Barbara Brackman to show students real life
examples of the quilts. Then teacher will utilize technology to
show different patterns and meanings of each square. Teacher
will then provide various shapes and color examples. Teacher
will have a completed example of her own freedom quilt
square using the symbols provided in a class key. Teacher will
explain how the whole class will create their own squares, and
then come together to create our class quilt to symbolize our
classroom as a safe space.
Guiding the Practice
Teacher will provide a key in which what different colors,
shapes, and sizes represent. The various symbols will
represent if the student is a boy or girl (circle or square that is
yellow), if they have siblings, (shape is a triangle,red if yes,
blue if no), if so how many, (# of triangles), where they fall in
birth order(small, medium, large triangle), and what month
they are born in (each month will be assigned a color, shape is
a rectangle). Teacher will go through each question and assist
students as they create their own quilt square. Teacher will
connect civil war era appropriate questions to the content
(were families big back in the civil war era? What was life like
then?)
Providing the Independent Practice
Students will determine independently what appropriate
shapes, sizes, and colors to use to create their own square.
Transition
Students will present to the class one by one their quilt, and
classmates will try to decipher the meaning in their peers
squares. Students will work together in putting their squares
together to create a class quilt.
Reading Materials Deborah Hopkins Under the Quilt of Night
Technology Equipment Computer- Examples of quilt patterns used that convey
symbols or meanings:
http://home2.fvcc.edu/~cgreig/final/blocks.html
Supplies Example of Freedom Quilt and meaning
http://www.edwardshistory.org/tales/undergroundrr/
Quilts from the Civil War: Nine Projects, Historic Notes, and
Diary Entries by Barbara Brackman- use book to show print
versions of quilts created during the Civil War if technology
does not work
Various colors of paper
Scissors
Glue
Pencil
Stencils
Symbol Key
Evaluation of the Formal Evaluation
Learning/Mastery of Teacher will use question answer during lesson to assess
the Concept student understanding. Documentation of any behaviors that
occur will be kept, as well as if task was completed
 successfully. Teacher will assess student understanding at the
end of the project when students decode their peers squares.
Teacher will ask students if the classroom is a safe space, and
how does it relate to the safe spaces that were mentioned in
the story.
Informal Evaluation
Observation of student participation and work during
experience will be noted. Teacher will interact with students
while task is being completed.
Closure Summary & Review of the Learning
Students will restate the big idea and objective, and how we
answered the essential questions. Ask students why
symbolism was important then, and how are we using it now?
Ask students how we created our own symbolism and what it
meant.
Ask students what the experience was like for them, and were
these quilts used during the civil war helpful for people
involved in the Underground Railroad?
Homework/Assignments
Have students finish square if it is not finished in class that has
the symbol key and description of each symbol.
Teacher Self-reflection Were students able to relate personal experiences with either
quilts or symbolism?
Were students able to create their own symbolic piece of art?
Were students able to create a connection between the use of
the freedom quilts to the purpose of our classroom quilt?