Name: Freedom Quilt
SKU: 6350158dc96a9177cc0c183c
Price: 39.99 USD
Availability: InStock

About this resource

What's inside this resource

Are you ready to dive into Black History Month in a creative and engaging way? Introducing the Freedom Quilt Craft, a hands-on art project that not only celebrates African-American heritage but also teaches students about the incredible, hidden history of the Underground Railroad. This quilt is made from paper, no stitching is needed. Students will create their quilts with paper, markers, glue, and poster board. Check out the materials and directions below.

Quilts were more than just a comforting blanket; they were lifesaving tools, hiding coded messages that guided slaves to freedom. When displayed on fences or clotheslines, these unique patterns would discreetly mark escape routes and sanctuaries for those daring enough to follow their path to liberty.

Ideal for 2nd through 6th grade, this versatile project can be easily modified or extended, and even paired with research assignments throughout Black History Month. Our Freedom Quilt Printable lets students create their own quilt while learning valuable lessons about the Underground Railroad and slavery in the 1800s.

Within this resource, you'll find 16 patterns - eight of which tell the incredible story of escape! Choose from black/white or color options and encourage students to unleash their creativity with a blank template also included. Use it not only for Black History Month but also for any study on American history.

Join all those honoring the brave individuals who risked everything for freedom by exploring the remarkable world of Freedom Quilts. Let's start creating together our understanding of history and celebrate the strength and courage of those who came before us!

Materials:

Colored poster board for backing (½ sheet each)

Crayons, markers, etc.

Heavy Duty Glue sticks (Elmer's Craft Bond Extra Strength Glue Stick)

Copies of colored or black and white quilt squares for each student

Extra copies of blank squares for those students who wish to add their own ideas

OPTIONAL: included is a Freedom Quilt Title or students can create their own title

Directions

1. Color the squares or use pre-colored squares
2. Cut out squares
3. Decide on the design
4. Glue squares to the poster board leaving a border created by the poster all the way around. (see the cover of the resource for clarification)

In the classroom

Teaching tips & learning objectives

Learning objectives

Name the eight quilt-code messages on the KEY page and say what each one told a traveller to do
Place the eight story squares in the order the KEY sets out, so the assembled quilt reads as a route rather than a random pattern
Explain, from the story the quilt carries, how an everyday household object could be used to pass directions without being read as a message
Design four squares of their own that sit alongside the printed patterns

Teaching tips

The directions page and the KEY are the only two text pages; read both before printing, because the eight story squares are meant to go in a set order
The four blank squares are the built-in extension — students can add a message of their own or something found in wider Black History Month research
Print the black-and-white set when colouring is part of the lesson and the colour set when the build has to fit a single short session
Each child needs half a sheet of poster board or bulletin-board paper, so cutting those in half beforehand is the only preparation the file asks for
The directions page frames the quilt as a companion to African American slave stories, so pairing it with a read-aloud gives the squares their context before any cutting starts

Skills covered

Historical narrative sequencing — students place eight coded picture squares in the order the KEY gives, so the finished quilt runs from Follow the Drinking Gourd through to Cross the Ohio River to Freedom.
Reading symbols as instructions — each story square carries a directive such as "A light in the window is a safe house" rather than a decorative pattern, so students read the quilt as information.
Cutting and layout — sixteen printed pieces are cut apart and arranged on half a sheet of poster board before being glued into a grid.
Original design work — four blank quilt squares are left for students to fill, so the finished piece carries their own contribution alongside the printed patterns.
Finishing a display piece — colouring the black-and-white templates and cutting out the separate title turns the assembled squares into something ready to mount.

Good to know

Questions teachers ask about this resource

What does the KEY page do?

It names the eight story squares and shows where each one belongs in the finished quilt. The messages are Follow the Drinking Gourd, Follow the North Star, Walk thru the corn field, A light in the window is a safe house, Cross the Ohio River to Freedom, Go thru the field near the hills, Go thru the woods, and Cross the creek by the trees.

What does each student need beyond the printed pages?

Half a piece of poster board, or coloured bulletin-board paper cut in half, to lay the quilt out on and glue it to — plus colouring materials if the black-and-white templates are used. The directions page names nothing else.

Do the squares arrive ready to colour or already coloured?

Both versions are supplied. The directions page states that all the templates come in black-and-white and in colour, so the same quilt can be run as a colouring-and-cutting lesson or as a straight cut-and-assemble build.