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Poetry
In Katherine’s quilt, Aunt Lucy teaches Momma different types of
decorative stitches to use on the quilt along with rhymes to help
Momma learn the stitches. Students can also incorporate poetry into
classroom quilt lessons. Several ideas are: “A quilt is…” poem
where each student writes one line of the poem to describe quilts
and quilting; a quilt quatrain (four line rhyming verse) about the
name of a quilt square (Yankee Puzzle, Monkey Wrench, Jacob’s
Ladder, Grandmother’s Flower Garden, Bear’s Claw, Whig Rose, etc); a
quilt acrostic poem where each line of the poem starts with the
consecutive letters in the word QUILT.
Some examples are:
Quilt Quatrains
Grandmother’s Flower Garden (abab)
In Grandmother’s Flower Garden
Hexagons grow from the ground
The flowers seem to say “Please pardon
The honeybees flying around!”
Hole in the barn door (abab)
This quilt has wood beams which are long
For strong barns with a roof and a floor.
But something is obviously wrong…
Look! There’s a Hole in that big Barn Door!
The Drunkard’s Path (aabb)
The quilt people call Drunkards Path
Must have taken a lot of math.
The pattern weaves here and there
Making your poor eyes hurt if you stare!
Quilt Acrostics
Q – Quietly stitching together
U – Unique pieces of my past.
I – I weave memories of my
L – Life that others can view.
T – They only see a quilt.
Q – Quaint little cover
U - Unique fabrics
I – Interesting stitching and patterns
L – Labor of love
T – Tangible memories
S – Sewn up in a square
More Language Arts
The
following engagements/activities offer a balanced literacy approach
to using Dr. Crystal Ball O’Connor’s Katherine’s Quilt Made for
Dreaming in the classroom. Activities are designed to help
students make connections to their lives as readers and writers,
learn something they will use in their reading and writing, offer
opportunities to practice what is taught and use it in an
independent context, and to share something they have learned. This
approach increases the likelihood that students will use what they
learn in their own reading and writing, and includes engaging
students with read aloud, group discussion, guided writing
activities, and independent work.
Introducing Katherine’s Quilt and Yourself
Use the introduction in Katherine’s Quilt as a literary model
to help students create a strong lead sentence, setting and
placement of characters. It will also help them understand and
demonstrate the importance of sensory detail and how to use it.
Have the students write the same introduction replacing Kay’s name
with their own, and her quilt with a personal item of their own.
Show how the kinds of things they would find on their dressers can
tell a lot about them.
Connecting to Text and to Papa
In this exercise, students analyze, respond to and make connections
with the text. Next they use prewriting strategies and then write
to learn, entertain, and describe. Have the students study
passages about Katherine’s Papa and the artwork depicting him. Their
writing should begin with the phrase: Papa was the kind of man
who…
Connecting to Others and Making a Difference
Ask students to begin with the phrase: ________ was the kind of
person who…, inserting the name of their own grandparent or
family member. Have students develop a story in which they do
something special for the person described. Students should describe
how their action affects the grandparent or family member selected
for their story. (Give examples that we all have something to give
that will help others, even a smile or sharing a story).
Poetry
Give students the names of other kinds of sewing stitches and have
them write verses of poetry to continue in the pattern of Lucy’s
Rhymes. Examples include back stitch, running stitch, slip stitch
and feather stitch.
I.
Back
Stitch
Back Stitch
is the strongest hand stitch and is used to imitate machine
stitches. Work backstitch from right to left.
·
Begin with a couple of
stitches worked on the spot, and then take a stitch and a space.
·
Take the needle back over the
space and bring it out the same distance in front of the thread.
·
Continue to the end of the
seam.
·
Fasten off with a couple of
stitches on the spot.
II.
Running Stitch
Running
Stitch is used for seams and for gathering.
·
Fasten the thread with a few
backstitches and work small stitches by passing the needle in and
out of the fabric.
·
Keep the stitches and spaces
as even as possible.
III.
Slip Stitch
Slip
Stitch is used for holding a folded edge, such as a double hem, to a
flat piece of fabric.
·
Work from right to left with
a single thread fastened with a knot hidden inside the hem.
·
Bring the needle out through
the folded edge, pick up a few threads of the flat fabric and then
work through the fold again.
·
Slide the needle along, come
out of the fold to make the next stitch.
IV.
Feather Stitch
Featherstitch
is best used as a decorative finish for children's underclothing,
and to accentuate certain lines, as at hem, or at top of pockets.
·
Mark a center line.
·
Make like blanket stitch,
slanting the stitches, first from right to left, then from left to
right on either side of center.
Journal Writing
Choose a character from Katherine’s Quilt Made for Dreaming.
Write a journal entry capturing your thoughts, questions, or
emotions of the journey from the character’s point of view.
Character Study
Assess Katherine’s motivations at the beginning, the middle, and the
end of the text.
Author Study
Conduct an author study. Ask students to compare and contrast
Jake and the Migration of the Monarch and Katherine’s Quilt.
Have students compare and contrast the themes characters, setting,
and plot, as well as Crystal Ball O’Connor’s style.
Suggestions for Better Understanding
I.
Suggestion for Establishing Prior Knowledge – Read “Katherine’s
Lullaby” to the students. Divide students into groups to create a
dreaming quilt. Ask each group to summarize the theme of the
lullaby. Then write the group’s summary on a large center patch on
the quilt. Each person in the group will add a patch to the quilt.
All students will write a dream they want to hold onto on their
quilt shape. Post the dreaming quilts in the classroom so that
students can see others’ dreams.
II.
Suggestion for Before Reading –
Discuss the many meanings of the word “dream” with the students. As
a group, look at the cover of the book and predict what they think
the story will be about. This activity develops understanding of
inference, character study, mood/tone, setting, plot/action, and
point of view.
III.
Suggestion for During Reading –
Read Katherine’s Quilt aloud. Pause after each page or two
and allow students to ask questions. Record the questions on a
chart. After reading the entire text, return to the list of
questions to see if the questions were answered. Code the questions
as follows: A=answered in the text, BK=answered with background
knowledge, I=inferred from the text, and C=confusing or not
answered. (From Strategies That Work by Stephanie Harvey)
IV.
Suggestion for After Reading
·
Communication –
As a way of instructing from non-print sources, discuss Valerie
Hollinger’s illustrations, Jim O’Connor’s photographs, and Sharon
Kazee’s music in Katherine’s Quilt. Talk about concepts
including the main idea, details, predictions, character or setting,
as well as things such as why the illustrator may have chosen
certain colors or designs, the photographer certain poses, and the
composer her tune.
·
Inquire –
Ask students to come up with inquiry questions about topics or
people that interest them and are related to family traditions.
Provide time for students to read and research information about the
questions they develop and present the information in a variety of
formats.
·
Research –
Investigate the role of quilting in South Carolina History.
