Freedom Quilt and a Freebie!!!

Wow, double "free" in my post title tonight!!

First of all, I am SUPER excited because I uploaded my first item EVER to TPT tonight! Wooo hoo! I had been wanting to make a desk fairy note forever, and then I found these adorable St. Patty's Day monster graphics by the amazing KPM Doodles and decided to make a desk monster note instead! I know my boys will probably like this more than a fairy. :) So here it is.... my first freebie!

Click here to go to my TPT store to download the freebie!

If you use it, please leave me a note and let me know! 

I would really appreciate it!

Next up... our class freedom quilt!

After reading many wonderful books about the Underground Railroad, including Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopkinson, I put my students with partners to work on making a square for our classroom freedom quilt. In the story, Clara learns how to sew and makes a quilt with a secret map sewn in from scraps of fabric to show slaves what to look for on the path to freedom. 

Students worked with their partner to create a quilt square from scraps of construction paper that they ripped up. Their squares included symbols and pictures that provided information for the slaves on the Underground Railroad. Then the students had to write what they depicted in their quilt square. Here is the final product!

This lesson was inspired by a lesson that Dr. Nan McDonald did during a reading conference I attended this summer. Dr. McDonald is a huge advocate for integrating the arts into classroom lessons and is so inspirational! Here is her book that includes that lesson along with many other fabulous lessons! 

 Hope you had a great day!