Sweet
Clara and the Freedom Quilt
- by Deborah Hopkinson, illustrated by James Ransome
Synopsis: Separated from her mother and sent to work as a field hand in North Carolina, Clara meets a new "aunt" who takes Clara under her wing. Clara learns to make a quilt, then must decide whether to set off in search of her freedom.
Tell the students they're going to hear a story about a slave girl and how she found her freedom. Read the story, or let students take turns reading. Then introduce a discussion about slavery and the story.
It wasn't so easy to gain freedom for a slave. There was a time in our American history when slavery was considered acceptable. We have spent a week starting to understand the feelings of a slave may have felt. Our new unit will show us some of the ways that slaves struggled to gain freedom.
Quilt making was an important activity for slaves. (If you can bring a quilt into the classroom, show it to the students now.) I'm going to show you a quilt that isn't old but we will be able to see the detail and skilled work that goes into making one. Look at all the little pieces of fabric and the tiny stitches.
What are quilts used for?
How did Sweet Clara feel when she was sent to Home Plantation away from her parents?
Why did Aunt Rachel teach Clara to sew?
What is the Underground Railroad? Do you have to buy a ticket?
| Explain that the Underground Railroad was not a train that ran on a track: rather it was a way for slaves to travel from one safe house to the next on their way to the Free states and Canada. The people who helped the runaway slaves were called 'Conductors.' |
 Located in the mountains of southern Pennsylvania, the basement this masion - home to the owner of an ironworks - was a hiding place for slaves using the Underground Railroad. |
How did Clara decide which designs to sew in her quilt?
Why didn't Clara take her quilt with her?
How did Clara know which way the group would need to run to get to freedom?
Did Clara make it to Canada?
What do you think happened to the people who were caught escaping slavery?
We're going to spend the next couple of weeks (you pick the time period) learning more about quilts, the Underground Railroad and journeys to freedom.
Next...
A Day Like Sweet Clara's
Copyright
© 2003 by the Network for Instructional TV, Inc.
All rights reserved.