High School Lesson Plan One: Quilt - Art Institute of Chicago

Correspondence Art Related to Tale Type #510 1/3

High School Lesson Plan One: Quilt

Reclaiming an appropriated voice through needlecraft using
beads, appliqué, and embroidery to illustrate tale type #510.

Objectives/Student Outcomes:

Students will examine the Amazwi Abesifazane: Voices of Women website
http://www.cas.org.za/about/about.htm as prerequisite homework.
Students will become familiar with the process that the South African artists
utilized to voice their memories of apartheid; previously outlawed by the
government.
Students will be reminded of the criteria folklorists utilize to classify a folk tale as
#510. (Refer to #510 Background document).
Students will select a single scene/motif from tale type #510 to illustrate through
textile arts.
Students will design a storyboard for a single quilt piece. The piece will illustrate
a #510 scene/motif from their perspective and cultural influence. The story is
global. Students should feel free to tell the story influenced by their culture rather
than embracing an imposed stereotype.
Students will become familiar with needlecraft techniques.
Students will send their pieces to correspondent who will collect pieces from
partner school and assemble the entire quilt.
Students will receive the finished quilt for review and response later in the
semester.
Students will correspond with partner school about: tale type #510, and the
process of collaboration.

State Goals/Benchmarks

Fine Arts State Goal #25 Know the language of the arts.
A - Understand the sensory elements, organizational principles and expressive qualities of the arts
B – Understand the similarities, distinctions and connections in and among the arts.

Fine Arts State Goal #26 Through creating and performing, understand how works of
art are produced.
A – Understand processes, traditional tools and modern technologies.
B – Apply skills and knowledge necessary to create and perform in one or more of the arts.

Fine Arts State Goal #27 Understand the role of the arts in civilizations, past and present.
A – Analyze how the arts function in history, society and everyday life.
B – Understand how the arts shape and reflect history, society and everyday life.

Correspondence Art Related to Tale Type #510 2/3

Motivation/Anticipatory Set (Two- Three Class Periods)
Instructor will introduce Amazwi Abesifazane as an archive of "memory cloths"
that illustrate individual women's memories of apartheid. At the end of apartheid,
the Truth and Reconciliation Commission sought to develop a cultural and
historical archive of apartheid related events. Rural South African women's
recollections were not included in the official public hearings. The memory cloths
have become a public record as well as a memorialized artwork.
Instructor will show examples of the memory cloths to the students,
including the text in Zulu and translated to English.
http://www.cas.org.za/about/about.htm
Instructor will lead critical discussion about the history of Apartheid,
the women's collective and the reasons to create a memorialized
artwork.
Students will critically examine the positions of women and men and how they
effect and reflect societal beliefs.
Students and teachers will analyze their own positions within society.
Students and teachers will analyze the positions of power and privilege in tale
type #510.
Students will select a scene from tale type #510 to interpret and design as a quilt
piece. (They will be familiar with versions of the tale from previous lesson in the
unit.)

Art Activity (Two Class Periods)
Each student should respond with the spirit that all are giving voice to expression
through their craft; to think of the process as a dialogue not only an exchange of
art work.
Students will sketch out their design for the quilt piece of tale type # 510 on
paper, incorporating any symbols or codes previously developed transposing
images created for previous #510 lesson where possible (including Dadaist,
Fluxus, and Surrealist images created for flag, buttons, stencils, postcards see unit
map.)
Instructor will demonstrate basic techniques of needlecraft in small groups.
Students will then choose a square of fabric, beads, embroidery floss or fabric for
appliqué.
Students will transpose the designed sketch to the fabric square using
demonstrated techniques.
Students may write a note on the back of their quilt square to the individual who
will piece and assemble the quilt. (These written notes will be sewn into the
quilt.)

Materials

Correspondence Art Related to Tale Type #510 3/3

sketch paper, pencils, 8" square pieces of paper, pre-cut 8" squares of fabric,
embroidery floss, assorted beads and/or shells, needles, fabric swatches, fabric
glue.

Vocabulary:
textile, fiber, embroidery, appliqué
apartheid, Truth and Reconciliation Commission, memory cloths
tale type, motif

Assessment
Did the student make the connection between freedom of expression in society
and through art work? If so, how was that demonstrated? Did the student openly
participate in the discussion?
Did the student's sketch illustrate a scene/motif (using folklorists criteria) of tale
type #510?
Is the student's voice and/or cultural perspective evident in their Tale Type #510
Quilt piece? If so, in what way that is unique from classmates?
Was the intent of the design achieved?
Did the student incorporate symbols, codes or other cultural images developed
earlier in the unit, within the quilt design?
What impression does the finished quilt piece give to the viewer? Was there an
attempt to communicate to the correspondent who will be receiving the pieces to
assemble either through the artwork or the message on the backside of the quilt
piece?