Abby’s
Quilt: An Amalgam of Literature, Culinary Art, Visual and Auditory Art
Sandra L. Devonshire
This
curriculum unit has been prepared for use during Black History Month. The population to be targeted is a predominately African
American group of first graders with limited background in Black History.
The unit is intended to familiarize students with African American
traditions and their impact on contemporary life. The curriculum will cover four
areas: cooking, quilting, music and storytelling.
The
idea behind this group of explorations into Black history and tradition is to
solidify in children’s’ minds the glory and joy that is family.
It is especially provident at this time in our social history that we
remind children and their parents of the value of their past and how it affects
their future. This unit will focus on the areas of cooking, quilting,
storytelling, and singing in this study.
We
expose children to a wealth of materials regarding significant Black leaders and
events. My aim is to make children aware of the resources that are available to
them in every day life: the family member with stories to tell, the piece of
cloth, paper, or shell with a story to tell, the well-cooked meal and its roots
in history, the song they sing to move their day along
“He
who eats alone dies alone.” This
is an African aphorism that flavors many Black culinary ventures. This appears
to be especially true in the area of family and community formed in Africa and
brought to the Americas. Eating,
sharing, and community are valuable condiments when it comes to food. The group
that works together to make a meal and share it increases the life of its
members and society. There is
social and scientific evidence that supports this view of life. For example, in
an article in Consumer Reports on Health, the benefits of community are touted
as healthy and useful in the combat of illnesses, and the perpetuation of a good
life. Another article in Vegetarian Times names the town of Roseto, Pennsylvania
as a special town, which could boast health, and longevity as benefits of its
close familial and community ties.
Africans
lived a simple life before their forced slave migrations.
Their basic diet consisted of grains, beans and greens.
People learned to supplement this simple fare with spices and different
combinations of the mainstays to create tasty and sustaining foods. Meat was
usually a secondary item in their diets, used for flavoring and interest.
Families shared and often ate communally. Their lives were agrarian and simple.
This changed with the coming of the slave trader.
In
the early days of African slavery, one of the few places where a Black person
could have true autonomy was in the kitchen.
It was in the kitchen that the cook reigned supreme.
It was in the kitchen that the master was subservient to the slave. It
was in the kitchen that Black chefs created many of the glorious Southern foods
that we love. It became almost a stereotype of the black cook that he was the
epicurean master of the house. Many
comments written in the days of slavery praised the black cook as the kitchen
god. There are remarks about the ambrosial breakfasts, the remarkable lunches,
the splendid suppers prepared by the African cooks. In one instance, a visitor
to Louisiana plantation describes breakfast, ”grilled fowl, prawns, eggs and
ham, fish from the coast, potted salmon from England, preserved meats from
France, varieties of hominy, mush, and African vegetables.” (Harris, xvi)
Let’s
explore how this praise for African- American cooks was earned.
Early
African slaves came to many countries, but it is in the four areas of the
Americas: Brazil, the Caribbean, Louisiana, and the southern United States that
they left their mark of culinary excellence. Because of the slave influx, the
local cuisines got new flavors. The slaves maintained many of their African
dishes and managed to incorporate them into the indigenous foods
In
the 1500s, slaves were first introduced to the Caribbean.
They brought their yams, okra, and ackee. The Africans tried to keep the
tastes of home when they could. They had to improvise when it was not possible
to recreate the flavors of their homeland. They were introduced to sugar, both
as a source of backbreaking work and as a condiment for cooking.
Coconuts were used in new and delicious ways. Caribbean slaves got
coffee, corn, and tropical fruits from the natives.
The Africans tasted European foods from the Spanish, Dutch, French and
English who came with olive oil, chives, onions, basil, sweet preserves, and a
variety of spices. Those spices were the linchpins upon which much of Caribbean
cooking and the intermingling of various ethnic foods hung. The African also
learned some new ways of cooking from their new associates. They learned the
skills of barbacot (our barbecue, slow cooking over a green fire) from
the Amerindians and frying from the Europeans.
When the Chinese and East Indians joined the racial mix in the 1800’s,
green peas, bok choy and rice completed the culinary mix.
Caribbean foods have many similarities: lots of fish, stews, and beans
and rice creations. (Cusick, 20)
Another
area, to which many Africans were shipped as slaves, was the Bahia Brazil.
Here the newcomers found a climate and foods that were similar to their
own African land. Because the Portuguese were more tolerate of racial diversity,
the Africans were able to maintain many of their homeland customs and culture.
The African element is very strong in this area of Brazil, comprising 80%
of the population. The African descended populace was able to maintain their
sense of continuity through the practice of oral tradition and traditional
African cooking.
The
Bahia Brazilians were able to corporate the Catholic religion into their culture
as a parallel to their African root religions, For example, According to Cusick,
Saint Barbara has a equal in Africa, the goddess, Iansa, and the Virgin Mary is
Iemanja, goddess of the sea. What
this means in terms of food is that many Christian holy days and special foods
have become a combination of the African-Bahian-Brazilian tradition.
For example, the Black Brazilian might celebrate a Catholic feast day
with African foods. He might offer African gods, chicken, okra and beans in the
shadow of a Catholic church.
Is
it any wonder, then that the African influence is strong in Bahia and that it
should show so strongly in their foods? The
staples of the Bahian area and the reason for slave induction were sugar, cacao
and coffee. The foods most often used in African-Brazilian cooking are fish,
okra, coconut milk, and oil.
In
conjunction with Caribbean food and Bahia Brazilian, students will be creating
coconut-based foods, both sweets and main dishes. It will be fun to see what
ideas they create out of this mish-mash of culture and food! Once again, they
will also be exploring the differences in tastes and textures that arise from
the variety of spices and foods used by African Americans.
Louisiana
Creole cooking is another good example of the influence of the African on native
foods. Creole means of mixed
heritage and that is exactly what the African created in this area of the
country. Their influence began in
the 1700s and continues today. Once
again, the African showed their prowess as great students. They took the butter and cooking techniques of the French,
the beef, pork and olive oil of the French, the crawfish, corn, and file of the
Native Americans and created a truly unique culinary region.
The
last aspect of the African incursion is that of soul food.
Originally, this food was made by the Black man from the simple
plantation diet he had. This was usually bread and milk for breakfast, peas and
cornbread for dinner and milk and bread for supper with leftovers from the
master’s table. Since many
Africans had the penchant to take what they had and make it a little better, the
simple fare became special when they added their own African spices to it.
The addition of Native American foods also helped to make dinner a more
endurable, even special meal once the African added their special magic to it.
The use of lard in their foods helped to add crispness and flavor to
their diet. The hard work they did kept them from being plagued by heart disease
and worries over cholesterol. Gravy, rice and beans are also mainstays of the
soul food menu, which is usually served to the table all at once.
One
of the last aspects of Southern cooking, which typify African American cooking
at its best, is the barbeque. It is
here, over slow cooked meats, that African-Americans gather to share their
community with family and friends. It
is here that they gossip with friends, admire the new babies, laugh at the
latest jokes and create some of the best foods with the cheapest ingredients.
Barbeques are an aspect of African American life that extends from coast to
coast. It was part of the northern
migration earlier in the century when visitors to the North would look for a
“rib joint.” It is a part of the contemporary scene when we see the half
drums of ribs smoking on the sidewalks of Pittsburgh.
It
is with a special love, that I introduce this section.
The love of fabrics, quilting and color that I have in my heart makes me
love to talk about the special joy and beauty that arises from quilting.
Quilting
is the putting together of layers of fabric which are then held together with
stitches or knots. It is a skill that Africans have used for many centuries and
there is evidence of quilting in Kemet as early as 4,000 years ago. Quilted
fabrics were used in Africa as battle dress, as decorative pieces, as catalysts
for healing and as signs of stature. In
the African-American lexicon of family and community, quilting is a synonym for
unity, thrift and talent.
Originally,
it was men who were the weavers of the cloth and the creators of complicated
woven patterns in Africa. The most
well known example of their industry is Kente cloth, which is woven narrow
strips and assembled into larger garments and coverings.
The loose assembly of the cloth allows for cooling air to circulate and
the abrupt changes in style and pattern creates a dynamic interpretation of
color and light. Dr. Robert Farris calls the deliberate changes in pattern and
color, a visual syncopation reminiscent of African and jazz rhythms. (Wilson
p27)
The
variety of color scheme, weave and pattern served a second purpose in Kente
cloth. . The stylistic changes foiled the attempts of evil spirits to reach a
person’s soul. Everyone knew an
evil spirit could only travel in straight lines. So, if a cloth were woven in a
variety of lines, the spirit could not break through!
When
the African slaves were brought to the Americas, African family units were
fragmented, customs were denigrated and culture was scorned. People were often
purposely separated to prevent any ideas of escape or collusion.
An
interesting sidebar to this struggle to form a society is the custom of calling
unrelated adults, “Aunt” and “Uncle” and children, “Brother” and
“Sister.” It seems that this was a way for a disparate group of people to
create new “families.” By teaching the children to address adults with a
family name, the community created new families in the new land
New
ways to preserve old ideas and create community cohesion had to be devised. One
of these was the creation of quilts and quilting bees. These meetings led to
conviviality and industry. In the beginning, quilts were made at the behest of
the slave owner. These were made in the plantation sewing room under the eye of
the mistress. They were styled after the European tradition of repeated patterns
and tiny stitches.
But,
we are not concerned with the plantation quilts created for the slaveholder. The
sewing room quilts were beautiful and skillfully made. They were boring! It is
the quilts made for and by the slaves that call for our attention and
consideration. .
First,
there were quilts that were made from the plain necessity of keeping warm.
These were utilitarian and made with the leftovers from the
slaveholders’ sewing room or from clothes too old and tattered to be worn.
They were heavy and the filling was often lumpy due to the inferior
materials with which slaves had to work. These were often made by slaves who
would “step over” to a neighbor’s to work with others on quilting after a
long day of toiling in the fields or barns. Imagine the endurance it took to
work all day and then quilt into the night!
Everyone would work on the quilts until there were enough warm coverings
for all. Once a person was ensconced under one of these quilts, it was not
likely he would move until dawn!
Slave
owners tolerated the gatherings, as they were productive and generally quiet.
What they did not recognize was the camaraderie and community that was
being created. Slaves were even allowed to go to other plantations to help make
quilts. Quilting bees became a reward for good work in the fields and a conduit
for slave communication.
Another
quilt that the African American tailor, now a woman, would make would be one
that carried mystical powers. These
spirit quilts would have amulets, spices, and herbs sewn into them.
Plantation slaves used these quilts for healing, securing love,
comforting, and solving any number of problems. They had their own special
beauty, reflecting the continuation of family and caring that was the mark of
the African community.
Spirit
quilts were also reflections of the respect for ancestors that permeates the
African psyche. The quilts were
often created from the possessions of the elders and gave continuity and
stability to the family. In the
book, Communion of Spirits, Roland Freeman talks about the special quilt
his family preserved and about how it was used as a tool of healing as well as a
memorandum of ancestors. He
describes how a new family baby was placed on the healing quilt and how the
baby’s reactions to it were interpreted as a prediction of its future and
place in the family. The spirits in
the quilt frightened some children and heartened others. Freeman says that of
the thirty grandchildren in the family, it was the twenty who were vetted by the
quilt that “to a person, their sense of connectedness to the family remains
stronger than that of any of those who were not put on the quilt.” (Freeman,8)
I
love the idea that quilts are talismans for family and continuity.
I love the idea that quilts formed a bond for generations much like the
one shown in the movie, “Daughters of the Dust.” I appreciate the mystical
connection that ads a special value to African American quilts through the
communion of spirits displayed in their creation and use.
Another
aspect of African American quilting that is especially interesting is quilting
which contained secret messages. In West Africa, there were many slaves taken.
In this area, there were also numerous secret societies that promoted the
nurturing of young men and women. Two of these were the Poro and the Sande.
The
Poro society was one of the men’s secret society.
Its purpose was help young men reach their majority. It had many secrets,
passwords, language, amulets and signs. The signs of the Poro were to identify
themselves and each other. Some of
the symbols used by the Poro were a bunch of leaves, a bunch of twigs, a plume,
a spiral, and two pyramids placed point to point. (Tobin 40) This last symbol is
still used extensively in African American quilting.
The
Sande society was a secret society for women in West Africa. Its purpose was to
initiate young girls into the womanly tasks of child bearing, homemaking, beauty
and the arts. (Tobin 40) The
Sande had many significant signs and secrets The Sande used song and dance to
convey messages and remember important historical events. Sande used color as
their sacred sign.
When
Africans first came to the Americas, they used their quilts to “write” their
secrets and help to remember them. These signs of Africa are seen in old quilts
where patterns from Africa are used in the new world.
As time passed and slaves became more comfortable with each other, they
created quilts which kept secrets in plain view. Africans managed to
re-establish some of their secret society customs in the new world.
Secret signs were incorporated into quilts to identify members.
Secret messages were stitched into quilts, which would enable slaves
preparing to escape to know the time, place, and direction of their path to
freedom.
In
the book, Hidden in Plain View, the chronology of an escape is detailed.
According to Ozella McDaniel Williams, the first quilt to be displayed was the
Monkey Wrench pattern. This
signaled that slaves were to gather the tools they needed to take with them.
Second, the Wagon Wheel quilt would appear. This quilt signaled the need to pack
things needed on a journey. When the Tumbling Blocks quilt appeared, the slaves
knew it was time to leave. Other
patterns showed different clues to the escaping slave.
A pattern of Bear’s Claw advised the slaves to follow the mountain
paths of the bear. A Sailboat patch
would indicate the escape route included a ship.
Depending on the colors used, a Log Cabin pattern could indicate a safe
haven or a warning of peril. The color of a quilt’s center would tell if the
“coast was clear or not.” If the center in a Log Cabin pattern were red,
danger was near. If it were yellow,
a slave could get help at the place where the quilt was hung.
If a quilt with the North Star was flung over a fence or roof, a slave
could go to that house for help. If
it was missing, the runaway could wait until it came or bypass that stop on the
road to freedom.
Slaves
used not only patterns and colors to communicate but also stitching.
A quilt sewn under the attentive nose of an overseer or mistress might
contain a topographical map of the plantation. The simple looking knots on the
back of a quilt might indicate distance and scale.
Color,
style, warmth, tradition. These are
the cornerstones of African American quilting. These are the values that I hope
to instill in my students.
The African American Musician
“We
are almost a nation of dancers, musicians, poets. . . . Thus every great event,
such as a triumphant return from battle or other cause of public rejoicing, is
celebrated in public dances, which are accompanied with songs and music suited
to the occasion.” This is how Olaudah Equiano describes his fellow Africans.
This is the power of the music in African life: that they can bring music
and power to communicate with their gods, and each other. (Epstein, 5)
In
the 1500’s, Africans were brought to the Americas forcibly.
They had no choice in how or when or where they could live. They had no
choice in determining the circumstances of their lives.
Early slaves were brought to the Americas for the sole purpose of making
life profitable for the slaveholders. Many
were torn from their families and could not even communicate with their fellow
slaves.
In
the early stages of this movement, music was a great solace to the Africans. In
spite of the fact that the slaves were from disparate places, they managed to
find a common bond with their fellow travelers through music. According to one
of the earliest slave ship captains, the newly enslaved would be allowed
familiar instruments and music on board of the ship because he found that it
kept them cooperative in their new circumstances. This was a common practice on
slave ships because it not only kept the slaves docile but it provided much
needed exercise. (Epstein, 8)
In
the early days, when the new slaves were brought to the Americas, they were
encouraged to enjoy their music and create instruments reminiscent of their
homeland. Especially, in the Caribbean, slaves could maintain their homeland
customs, songs and dances because there were so many of them brought together on
sugar plantations. This freedom was
not to last long. Slaveholders soon
came to realize that when slaves gathered together, they could plot escape and
form liaisons for mischief.
On
mainland America, the music and dance of the African was not so well preserved.
Due to the fact that there was not as high a concentration of slaves,
African music and customs became blurred as they were integrated into the white
colonial culture.
As
time passed, slaves were of three types: new-from-Africa, slaves born here and
those from others parts of the Americas. There was a disparity in culture and
custom. Music once again overcame
this difficulty and new American rhythms were born.
There
were work songs to speed the plow. In
the Sande society of Western Africa, its female members were taught ”the
necessity of singing all through her day—to keep herself company, to entertain
herself, to calm her anxieties, to keep her mind on amusing and encouraging
topics, to pace her movements, to lighten the toil, and help the hours fly . . .
songs are a tool, like a hand or a machete, a component of the production
process; without songs it would be literally impossible for Mende to grow crops
successfully . . .” (Tobin p 41) Music then was of central importance to the
enslaved.
Both
the slave and the master used music as a work tool.
The slave could pace his work and engage his mind as he did backbreaking
work in the fields. The music was often of the call and response type. A leader
would sign a line and the rest would join in.
The songs could be story songs, spirituals or derisive comments on their
lives. Sometimes the music contained what to the master’s ears were nonsense
syllables, but to the educated ear, were instructions on escape. None the wiser,
the master encouraged the work song as a metronome for quick and efficient work.
One song with which most contemporary Americans know is,” Michael, Row the
Boat Ashore.” The slaves who rowed a boat used this song. It set the pace for
speeding the boat along the water.
And
there were spirituals. To my mind,
these songs were the crowning achievement of the African American musician.
Spirituals arose from amalgamation of African and Christian religions. They captured the syncopation of the African rhythm and the
psalmody of the European Christian tradition. The musicologist Arnold Shaw
divides spirituals into three categories: sorrow songs, jubilee songs and cult
songs.
Sorrow
songs were the beginning of the blues. They
recounted the daily struggles of the slave and called upon the Lord for
sustenance in their trials. Good examples of these are “Sometimes I Feel Like
A Motherless Child.” And
“Nobody Knows the Trouble I See.” Needless to say, these songs were not used
as work songs. Their tempo and subject matter precluded them from fieldwork.
These songs were slow in tempo and were paeans to the hard work and trials the
slaves suffered.
Jubilee
Songs were songs that expressed joy and were especially expressive of love and
reverence for Jesus and God. They
were fast tempo and had complex syncopation. (Stewart p 26) They were often sung
in camp meetings and revivals.
The
last category, and to me, the most interesting, is the cult spiritual.
These were special songs used by the slaves to communicate about escape
and freedom. They contained special meanings to those who sang them and to those
who heard them. In conjunction with quilts, and secret signs, these songs formed
the foundation of the Underground Railroad. For example, if the slave owner had gotten out the dogs to
pursue an escapee, slaves on a plantation might sing about “Go Down To the
River” to advise a runaway to walk in the water to fool the bloodhound’s
nose. Plantations singers might remind the northern-bound travelers to “Follow
the Drinking Gourd,” another name for the North Star and direction of Canada.
Harriet
Tubman used a simple Methodist melody to signal her passengers when all was
safe,” “De first time I go by singing dis hymn, dey don’t come out to me.
. . til I listen if de coast is clar; den when I go back and sing it again, dey
come out.” (Tobin p 146)
By
exploring these songs, their words, their rhythms and rhymes, I hope to show the
rich history of Black music and its value as a tool and a toy.
The
last category that I plan to explore for this unit deals with the storyteller
and family stories. In this section, I hope to examine ways for children to
share family stories by listening to storytellers, reading family–based
stories, and sharing their own tales of family and friends. What I hope to
extract from this study is an appreciation for the skill, and delight with which
African storytellers convey moral messages and family values to the listener.
The wealth of stories that come from the African
culture is quite overwhelming. I
think this is due to the fact that, as Olliver points out, African was an oral
continent for a much longer time than were other portions of the world.
Due to their geographical isolation from literate cultures, Africans were
able to maintain and nurture the oral tradition to a greater extent than other
people.
I
ran into a quote recently while reading a mystery book. It fascinated me and
crystallized some of the things I have been learning about oral traditions. “
Poetry was likely initially invented as a memory aid…’ Rhymes are the Velcro
of the mind.’
According to McLuhan, poetry became appreciated as an art form only after
writing made oral memory unnecessary.” (Levinson, 28) I think this statement
pinpoints much of the value and fascination that oral tradition evokes. The
rhythm, flow and rhyme that are essential to good storytelling also help the
teller to tell his story and the listener to remember and appreciate it. African
story telling is often accompanied by song and dance.
The African knew and employed a variety of ways in which to communicate
his tale. This ancient form of
interacting is the precursor of the modern idea that in order to educate an
audience you need to present a story in as many significant ways as possible.
Sounds, smell, words, music, dance, body movements, and moral education all
contribute to a good story and appeal to a variety of learning styles.
There
are many ways that one can look at African storytelling.
The way in which I choose to see it is as a good way to teach children a
variety of lessons. I plan to
center on rhymes and rhyming tales. I plan to use these stories to help children
remember values and be able to convey them to others.
The
first way that values can be presented is through short and sweet rhymes about
common values. Ben Franklin’s
“Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise” is a
good example of a purely American aphorism. Let’s see what Africans have to
say in a similar vein. Here are some simple doggerel poems that convey good
ideas and could be used for discussion both at home and in school.
“Before you try
To heal others
First heal yourself.”
And then your brothers.
“He who can do
Nothing at all
Will never walk.”
Nor
will he crawl.
“It is better to
walk
Than
curse the road.”
You’ll always lose
If you explode.
“A tree not
taller
Than an ant
Cannot shade you.”
No, it can’t.
“Anger’s removed
By some good word.”
It disappears.
Or so I’ve heard. (Olliver, 111-117)
I imagine the discussion of these morals and making
related stories, drawings and symbols synthesizing their message was the job and
the joy of the African mother and father. I
know I could see my Mom repeating these things to me and expecting me to develop
the understanding that comes from repetition!
Another
aspect of African storytelling that I enjoy is that of the trickster tales.
Olliver has once again provided some fun and interesting ways in which to share
the stories of Anansi in rhyme. In the poem, “Anansee the Spider,” Olliver
depicts the spider as a greedy creature that tries to keep all of the world’s
wisdom in a bag. He takes the bag,
hanging in front of him, and tries to hide it in a tree.
Needless to say, climbing is difficult.
Anansee’s son mocks him for his stupidity in carrying the sack in front
of him. In response, Anansee gets angry, hurls the bag to the ground where it
bursts and releases wisdom to mankind. The moral of the poem is dual; both greed
and wisdom are part of the human condition. It is our choice.
The
last part of the storytelling trilogy which I would address with my first
graders, is the legends that tell why things happened.
African considered many natural events as reason for superstition. They had no easy explanations for thunder, lightening, severe
storms, death or the origin of fire. Therefore, they created legends to explain
these phenomena and the rituals they employed to appease the gods.
These attempts to avert natural disasters came to be part and parcel of
rituals, which encompassed the life of the African.
The melding of fact and fantasy made for some interesting and possibly
efficacious rituals and certainly gave rise to some great stories!
I
plan to increase student awareness of the tradition of cooking as a skill and as
a community activity. The students will prepare a “Soul Food” dinner in
celebration of family and Black History Month. In anticipation of this event,
the children will be introduced to some of the foods from various antecedents of
the African slave Dias
I
hope to increase awareness of quilting as an art and as a social tool. The class
will learn about the Underground Railroad and the ways in which the people who
ran the Underground Railroad used quilts to communicate. . They will explore the
various patches, be able to retell the meanings, and color and design of the
patches. The students will create a
quilt made of found materials that will express each child’s unique vision of
the family and community around him. The child will be able to express the
individuality of his family through the patch.
I
expect to increase the student’s awareness of music as a tradition of
communication and enjoyment. Here, the students will learn the significance of
secrets told in public and perform spirituals dating from the Freedom Train
days. The children may learn to do some simple tasks such as moving a knotted
rope in unison or rowing a boat to show the efficacy of song and rhyme in
speeding work and creating a working rhythm. The children will perform songs and
ditties that they learn during these lessons for Soul Food Dinner night.
I
intend to improve the student’s feelings about family and storytelling. Here,
the students, in conjunction with interested family members, will share stories
passed down in their families or shared as part of the community of folktales.
The children may bring in community members to share stories that will enrich
the oral tradition of the class and enhance the feeling of community and history
which we are trying to foster.
I
will increase the students’ knowledge of Black artists and their crafts. I
anticipate augmenting the students’ skills in the areas of cooking, sewing and
music making. In fine, I want to make students more conscious of the role of
their families and tradition as unifying factors in their lives
Strategies:
Some things I may use to implement my goals in the
classroom are:
1.
Distribute, color and assemble patchwork squares.
2.
Create learning centers
where children will match quilt squares with appropriate messages.
3.
Create reading corner
dedicated to African American books on cooking, quilting, music and
storytelling.
4.
Create a listening center with African American music in it.
5.
Make masks out of pare, foam and found objects celebrating African
heritage.
6.
Teach children an Anansi story, and show them how to make a “cat’s
cradle" from string.
7.
Make chalk drawings of spider webs on black paper.
8.
Make and decorate drums, rain sticks, and shakers to use in telling
stories.
9.
Make a map of African and the Americas.
Have string attached at African end.
Have children bring string to an American destination.
10.
Have “animal studies” of indigenous African animals like the
rhinoceros, the hippopotamus, the giraffe, and the monkey. Make books about the
animals to display. Perhaps the books could be in the shape of the animal.
Perhaps the child might write a poem in the animal shape.
11.
Invite a storyteller or a reader to class to share a story.
12.
Invite a quilting club to show their work and share with the class.
Roland Freeman’s book, A Communion of Spirits is an excellent
resource for locating quilt clubs in your community.
13.
Create a treasure hunt or a scavenger hunt using an icon-based map.
Objects to find could include Kente cloth, a seashell, cooking utensils,
pictures of famous Black people, and quilt squares. These searches could be
book-based, room-based, or for the adventurous, school-based!
14.
Place pictures in your recording center. Have the children orally tell a
story about the picture, answering the questions: who, when, where, why and how.
15.
Make up a puppet show or write a reader’s theater story for children to
perform.
16.
Children can write recipes depicting home favorites. They can incorporate
these into a cookbook to use as a gift for the Soul Food Dinner night or save
for Mother’s Day or other special occasion.
17.
Children will retell and summarize stories read to them in class.
18.
Children will create a vocabulary quilt where each square is a flap with
a word on it and a picture and definition under the flap. Suggested words are
Underground Railroad, North Star, Drinking Gourd, safe house, runaway, quilt,
Big Dipper, master, monkey wrench, wagon wheel, nine patch, and bear’s paw.
19.
Children will make dioramas with the help of their family. The dioramas will depict an incident in their daily life.
20.
Children will use a graphic organizer to retell a story they have read
this month.
21.
Children will read a story about Black History with a peer, a reading
buddy (an older child assigned to work with a first grader), or an adult.
Together, they synthesize their reading into a written or oral book
report, a book cover, puppet show, or poster.
22.
Children will learn a poem to perform.
23.
Teacher will make simple puzzles of from three to ten pieces with the
names of the stories we read or vocabulary words for children to assemble and
read. The puzzles will be of
different colors but will be in one container.
Classroom
Activities
Objective: To help children associate family and
history through quilting.
Students will be able to listen to The Patchwork
Quilt, and answer questions about it. Materials: The Patchwork Quilt
by Valerie Flournoy.
Procedures:
Opening: Teacher will introduce a story about a
girl and her grandmother and how they work together to make something special.
Middle: Teacher will do a text talk for the story
of The Patchwork Quilt, pausing at various pages to illuminate the story
and have children answer critical questions. For example,
1.
Tanya was “restless.” Do you know what that means? Have you ever been
restless? Show me how you can be
restless in your chairs.
2.
Tanya was anxious. What do you think that means?
Can you figure it out from the sentence?
3.
What do you think Grandma is doing with all of the scraps of cloth?
What would you do?
4.
Grandma had to flex her hands. Do
your fingers get tired from writing? Let’s all flex our hands to keep them
from getting stiff.
5.
Why do you think Mama did not like the quilt scraps? What did Mama say
that makes you think that?
6.
What is a masterpiece? Have you ever made a masterpiece? Is a masterpiece
something sloppy and poorly done? Do you think the quilt that Tanya and Grandma
are going to make will be a masterpiece? Do you think a year is a long time?
Could you work on a quilt that long?
7.
What kinds of pieces of cloth did Grandma look for to put in her quilt?
What do you think she meant when she said, “It can tell your life story.”
8.
Do you think Mama is changing her mind about Grandma’s quilt? What do
you see or hear in the story that makes you think she is?
9.
Everyone came to pay Grandma respect at Christmas. Who do you pay respect
to in your family? Why? How? When?
10.
What happened to Grandma? What do you think Tanya will do now that
Grandma is sick?
11.
Tanya cut Grandma’s quilt. Was
that a good thing?
12.
What do you Tanya learned about her family from making the quilt?
13.
Do you think you would like to make a quilt?
Closing: If you were going to make a quilt, what pieces of
cloth would you put in it? What symbols would you use?
Evaluation:
Teacher will use casual observation and text talk to determine how well children
assimilated the story.
Extension:
Children will go home to tell story to family. Teacher will request that each
child bring a special piece of cloth to school to assemble in a quilt. Student
will write a story about the cloth.
Objective: Students will be able to make a quilt
block, tell what it means to them and display it.
Materials: fabric, wallpaper, glue, scissors,
mounting board.
Opening: Teacher will show pictures of
quilts from Africa. Teacher will discuss what it takes to make a quilt. Teacher
will discuss history of quilts and what they meant to Africans. Teacher will
address the secret societies of men and women and how signs conveyed secret
meanings. Teacher will show some of the signs that have secret meanings to
Africans. See Appendix A for pictures.
Next the teacher will discuss what the women’s secret
society, the Sande, used as their symbols. The teacher will talk about how
color, especially white was a symbol of the Sande. The teacher will point out
that bright bold colors were used because they could be seen and read from a
distance.
Middle: Teacher
will give students squares of paper on which to draw their secret signs. The
teacher will encourage the use of bold colors and geometric shapes.
Closing: The teacher will display the
completed projects under the title, “ Our Heritage of Secrets.”
Evaluation: The completed projects will be evidence
of attention and work.
Extension: Children will continue their
study of signs and symbols in African art.
Objectives: Student will be able to listen to story
of Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt. Students will make a map and put it
into a quilt for display at Soul Food supper.
Materials: Storybook of Sweet
Clara and the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopkinson, paper, cloth, ribbon,
scissors, glue, large brown paper for mounting work.
Procedures:
Opening: Teacher will talk about Sweet Clara and how she
was taken from her mother. Teacher
will discuss how she must have felt. Teacher will ask how students will feel if
they were taken away from their moms and did not know how to find her.
Middle: Teacher will read book to students, directing
their thoughts to Clara’s predicament. Teacher will do text talk about story:
1.
How old was Clara when she got sent away from her Mom?
Was she happy to be away? How
do you know?
2.
Was Aunt Rachel Clara’s real aunt? How did she help Rachel? What is a
seamstress?
3.
Why do you think Clara couldn’t eat?
Have you ever been so scared you couldn’t eat?
4.
The Missus thought Clara’s work was good. How do you think that made
Clara feel?
5.
What is a map? Have you ever seen a map?
Could you draw one about your house? What would you have on it?
6.
Did you know we have the Ohio River right here in Pittsburgh? It is at
the Point. How many of you have
ever been to the Point?
7.
Why do you think Clara wants to know where Canada is? Do you think it was
near or far?
8.
What do you think Clara took Jack to the hill?
9.
Why do you think all of these people are telling Clara things about the
land around her?
10.
What do you think will happen next?
11.
How do we know Clara’s Mama was glad to see her? Do you hug your
parents when you are glad to see them?
12.
The story goes back to Aunt Rachel? Why do you think that is so?
Closing: We are going to make a map of our
neighborhood and we are going to make it into a quilt like Clara’s.
Where do you think we should start?
What do you think we should put on it? Are there trees?
Where will we put your house? Where will we put the school? How can we
make it look like a quilt? What
things do we know make a quilt? (Symmetry, shape, size, color, fabric.) Teacher
may provide a template of neighborhood map.
Evaluation: Suggestions for rubric: Is map
coherent? Does it show home of child? Are names of street spelled properly?
Objectives: Student will see that quilts have
variety but still have pattern and form. Student will create a word quilt of
their own after listening and looking at the story.
Materials: Cassie’s Word Quilt by Faith
Ringgold, magazines, scissors, paste, construction paper, tacky board.
Procedures:
Opening: Teacher will read Cassie’s Word Quilt
to students, sharing the pictures with the students.
Middle: Teacher and students will discuss how this
story compares with The Patchwork Quilt by using a Venn diagram.
Look for similarities of family, brother, Mom and
Dad, colors, sharing. Note differences in painting style, quilts, patterns,
shape and color. Ask which family would student like to belong to? Why?
Teacher will distribute materials and invite
children to create their own word quilts. Teacher
may distribute word cards with suitable reading words already written, depending
on the individual child. Teacher will encourage children to keep pattern, color,
shape and symmetry in mind. Teacher will mount the word quilt blocks on tacky
board for presentation.
Closing: Teacher to encourage children to
finish project and remind them that all of our hard work is to be displayed at
Soul Food Dinner at end of month.
Evaluation: Completed project will be evidence of
student’s understanding of word quilt. Rubric will be based on whether child
understood the concept of matching word with appropriate picture. Is work
symmetrical? Was child able to
complete more than one square?
Objective: Student will learn a song about the
Underground Railroad called “Follow the Drinking Gourd.”
Student will learn the song, and relate it to previous lessons about
maps, the Underground Railroad and prepare to perform for parents at Soul Food
Dinner.
Materials: CD or tape with “Drinking Gourd”
song,
Opening: Teacher
will review concepts of Underground Railroad as depicted in Sweet Clara and
the Freedom Quilt and in previous lessons on quilting.
Middle: Teacher will play song, “Follow the
Drinking Gourd” for student. Teacher
will then explain how the “Drinking Gourd’ in the song is the Big Dipper and
will show students pictures of the Big Dipper from story in reader’s library.
Teacher will explain that slaves used the big dipper to find the North Star and
Canada. This “map song” includes both general and some specific direction.
Including a reminder to find the way North. (“Dead trees will show you the
way!”)
Teacher will teach the children the song:
Follow
the drinking gourd, flow the drinking gourd
For
the old man is waiting for to carry you to freedom
Follow the drinking gourd.
When the sun goes down and the first quail calls
Follow the drinking gourd
For the old man is a-waiting for to carry you to freedom
.
Follow
the drinking gourd.
The riverbank would make a mighty good
road
Dead trees will show you the way
Left foot, peg foot traveling on
Follow the drinking gourd.
The river ends between two hills
Follow the drinking gourd
There’s another river on the other side
Follow the drinking gourd.
(Words and music from Steal Away, Songs of
the Underground Railroad, Kim and Reggie Harris, Appleseed Recordings, West
Chester, 1997)
Closing: Children will sing the song for dinner.
Evaluation: Children will be able to sing or recite
the song with at least one other student.
Extension: Children
could also draw Big Dipper on large paper for decoration. Child may also pin
prick the bottom of a film canister in the shape of the Big Dipper and North
Star.
Objective: Student will learn a song about the
Underground Railroad called “Children, Go Where I Send Thee.” Student will learn the song, and relate it to previous
lessons about maps, the Underground Railroad and prepare to perform for parents
at Soul Food Dinner.
Materials: Numberline, copy of song.
Opening: Teacher
will review concepts of Underground Railroad as depicted in Sweet Clara and
the Freedom Quilt and in previous lessons on quilting. Teacher will relate
to children that one way that the people who hid slaves in the Underground
Railroad knew how many people to prepare for was when they were warned by
counting songs. In this case, the
number in the song told how many people they would have to hide.
Middle: Teacher will play song, “Children, Go
Where I send Thee” for student. Teacher
will then explain how the song tells people in the Underground Railroad how many
people were going to be coming in to spend the night. :
Middle: Teacher will teach children song:
Children, go where
I send thee
How shall I send thee?
I’m gonna send thee one by one
One for the bitty baby
That was born, born
Born in Bethlehem.
Children, Go where
I send thee
How shall I send thee?
I’m gonna send
thee two by two
Two for Paul and Silas
One for the bitty baby
That was born, born in Bethlehem.
Three for the Hebrew children.
Four for the four that stood at the door.
Five for the gospel preachers.
Six for the six that never got fixed.
Seven for the seven that never got to heaven.
Eight for the eight that stood at the gate.
Nine for the nine all dressed so fine.
Ten for then commandments.
Eleven for the eleven disciples.
Twelve for the twelve Apostles.
Closing: Children will sing the song for dinner.
Evaluation: Children will be able to sing or recite
the song with at least one other student.
Extension: Children will draw a picture for each
number in the song. Children will model people in clay for each person in song.
Children will dress as characters in song.
Children might make up a play about each person who comes and how it
taxes the household.
Music/Lesson Plan Three
Objective: Children will learn how a song can make
work move quickly. Children will move a knotted rope around the room with and
without music. They will determine
whether music helps to make the work go quickly or whether it slows down the
work.
Materials: Oars, a 50 feet piece of knotted rope.
Knots should be placed about a foot apart.
Opening: Class will discuss how songs make work go
faster. Teacher will sing a slow
song like” Amazing Grace” for the children.
She will ask them to pretend they are rowing to the song. Ask them how
fast they could go to a song like that? Ask
children if they could work together and keep a rhythm. Ask if they know a good
song for work. Have children practice moving the rope in a circle from hand to
hand without faltering or arguing.
Middle: Teacher will then play or sing,” Michael,
Row the Boat Ashore.” She will ask the children to learn the song and use it
to pass the rope around the class again. Hopefully, the children’s speed and
rhythm will have improved and the singing will speed the rope on its way.
Michael, Row the
Boat Ashore
Chorus
Michael, row the
boat ashore, alleluia,
Michael, row the boat ashore, alleluia.
Sister help to
trim the sail, Alleluia,
Sister help to trim the sail, alleluia.
Chorus
Brother lend a
helping hand, Alleluia,
Brother lends a helping hand, alleluia.
Chorus
The river is deep
and the river is wide, alleluia,
Milk and honey on the other side, Alleluia.
Chorus
Jordan'. Jordan's
s river is chilly and cold, Alleluia,
Chills the body but not the soul, Alleluia.
Chorus
Closing: children will sing song and practice for
parents at Soul Food Dinner. Children
will use oars at presentation to mime action.
Objectives: Students will discuss family
gatherings. Students will listen to
story Family by Isabell Monk. Students will make and eat pickles and peppermint
sticks.
Materials: Family by
Isabell Monk, dill pickles, peppermint sticks, chop sticks, sandwich bags and
napkins.
Procedures:
Opening: Teacher will introduce the idea of
a family reunion. Teacher will ask
students how many have been to a family reunion. Teacher will encourage children
to share their family gathering stories. Teacher
will tell students that we are going to read a story about a little girl named
Hope and her family reunion. As the class reads the story, ask questions which
relate story to children’s experiences.
Middle: Teacher will do a text talk with the story Family.
As story progresses, teacher will write the names of all of the family on the
board. Teacher will ask students to identify traits of various family members.
Closing: Teacher will have students wash their
hands.
Teacher will have pickles, peppermint sticks,
napkins, and bags assembled.
Teacher will invite a child at a time to come up,
poke pickle with chopstick, insert peppermint stick and make one of Hope’s
sweet and sour pickles.
Teacher will have students enjoy pickles.
Teacher will have students write a recipe for the
pickles.
Evaluation: Rubric for recipe:
Are ingredients listed?
Are procedures in sequence?
Is grammar and punctuation correct?
Objectives: Students will prepare food for a
“Soul Food Dinner” for family.
Procedures:
Opening: Teacher and students will discuss what
they like to eat. The students will
name their favorite foods. Teacher
will talk to students about what they like best to eat and how to make them.
Teacher will talk about procedures for preparing a meal.
Middle: Teacher
will have students make a list of chores for preparing a dinner on the board or
chart paper. Chores should list
menu, preparation, decoration, serving, and clean up and what adults we can ask
for help.
Teacher will assign groups to complete each item.
Group 1 will be responsible for creating menus and
invitations and decorating them. Have students answer questions about who will
be invited, what we will serve, when will we have the dinner, where will we have
it and tell why we are having it.
Group 2 will be responsible for making a list of
the work that has to been done in preparation for dinner: What will we have.
where we get it, how we will cook it, what will we drink, where will we set it
up.
Group 3 will be in charge of serving plans: They
will answer how food will be served, how will we give out drinks, what plates,
cups, and flatware will we use.
Group 4 will determine who will clean up and what
we will do with leftovers.
Group 5 will decide about what we tell parents
about our decoration, quilting project, songs and storytelling.
Closing: This project will be ongoing for a number
of days and culminate in an evening with parents and friends celebrating our
African American heritage and our families.
Objectives: Student will be able to experience the
spices of Africa. Student will make lemouroudji, a West African lemonade and
toast almonds.
Materials: Recipe for lemouroudji:
2 thumb-sized pieces of fresh ginger, peeled and
grated
Dash of cayenne pepper
1 gallon of water
½ pound of sugar
Juice of 1-pound lemons (students to squeeze
lemons)
Place the grated ginger and the cayenne in a piece
of cheesecloth, knot it, and allow the ginger and cayenne to infuse the water so
that it takes on their flavor. Add
the sugar and lemon juice and mix well. Chill
and serve cold. (You can leave out the cayenne if you wish.)
Recipe for roasted almonds:
1 pound blanched almonds
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
Salt to taste.
Place the blanched almonds on a cookie sheet,
drizzle the olive oil over them, and bake in a 350-degree oven and drain them on
a paper towel. Salt the nuts to
taste. Roasted almonds should be served warm.
Opening: Teacher will discuss spices of Africa.
Teacher will give students spices to smell, taste, and feel. Teacher will
do a guided writing on board to demonstrate how we can list characteristics of
spices, eliciting describing words.
Middle: Teacher will give students bags with spices
concealed to test students’ awareness of spices and their smells.
Teacher will have students prepare lemouroudji and
toasted almonds.
Closing: Students will have fun, recognize some
spices, have used their senses to identify said spices and cooperated to create
a snack.
Objectives: Student will be able to identify and
discuss the difference between nuts. They will focus on coconuts and peanuts,
which they will roast.
Opening: Teacher will discuss kinds of nuts.
Teacher will have students identify kinds of nuts and their various
characteristics. Teacher will list
on the board. Teacher will talk
about how coconuts are from the Caribbean and how peanuts are from African and
are grown in the South.
Middle Teacher will then have students prepare
peanuts for roasting. Teacher will also open and share a coconut with students
and then roast it as well.
Recipe for oven-roasted peanuts:
2 pounds raw peanuts in the shell
Preheat toaster oven to 350 degrees F.
Spread the peanuts on a baking sheet in a single
layer. Roast until the shells are
crisp and the peanuts are cooked through, about 20 minutes. Check by opening one
and tasting. Let cool and serve.
Recipe for coconut savories (Jamaica)
1 ripe coconut, shelled and peeled
Salt to taste.
Remove the brown rind from the coconut and pare the
white meat into long, thin strips with a potato peeler or grater.
Place the pieces on a cookie sheet and brown them under the broiler for
about five minutes until they are crisp. When
ready, remove and sprinkle them lightly with salt.
They should be served warm.
Closing:
Students will then share their thoughts in shared writing about a coconut and a
peanut who meet and want to be friends.
Cusick,
Heidi Haughy, Soul and Spice: African Cooking in the Americas, Chronicle
Books, San Francisco, 1995. (Describes African American cooking in the
Americas: Caribbean, Bahia Brazil, Creole, soul food, barbeque and traditional
African.)
Epstein,
Dena, Sinful Tunes and Spirituals, University of Illinois Press, Chicago,
1977. (African American music, history and criticism)
Freeman,
Roland, A Communion of the Spirits, Rutledge Hill Press, Nashville,
Tennessee 1996. (Describes the author’s photographic travels throughout
America in search of contemporary African American quilts and quilters.)
Frye,
Gladys-Marie, PhD, Stitched from the Soul: Slave Quilts from the Anti-Bellum
South, Dutton Studio Books, New York, Penguin Books, 1990. (History of
quilts before the Civil War.)
Hamilton,
Robyn, Africa Activity Book, Edupress, Dana Point, CA, 1996. (A
useful teacher’s guide that provides, history and classroom activities
suitable for Black History Month.)
Harris,
Jessica B., Iron Pots and Wooden Spoons, Atheneum, New York, 1989.
(Informative cookbook about African American cooking.)
Harris,
Kim and Reggie, Steal Away, Songs of the Underground Railroad,
Appleseed Recordings, West Chester, PA, 1997.
Olliver,
John J., The World of African Mythology, Top of the Mountain
Publishing, Largo, FL, 1994. (Explains many African legends and traditions, uses
rhyme to express universal truths.)
Silverman,
Jerry, Gospel Songs, Chelsea House Publishers, New York, 1994. (Words and
music about gospel songs.)
Silverman,
Jerry, Children’s Songs, Chelsea House Publishers, New York, 1993.
(Words and music about songs that children would sing.)
Southern,
Eileen and Wright, Josephine, Images: Iconography of Music in African American
Culture (1770s-1920s), Garland Publishing, Inc, New York, 2000.
((Photos, art and representations of Black music and musicians.)
Stewart.
Earl, African American Music: An Introduction, Schirmer Books, New York,
1998.
Tobin,
Jaqueline L., Dobard, Raymond G., Hidden in Plain View, Doubleday, New
York, 1999. (Describes the Underground Railroad and how quilts, music and
symbols led slaves to freedom.)
Wahlman,
Maude Southwell, Signs and Symbols: African Images in African American
Quilts, Tinwood Books, Atlanta, 2001. (Explains the symbolism in African
American quilting.)
Wilson,
Sule Greg, African American Quilting: The Warmth of Tradition, Rosen
Publishing Group, New York, 1999. (Children’s book which explains the art and
craft of quilting among African Americans and describes its roots in African
textiles and traditions.)
Booklist
for Students
Beatty,
Theresa, Food and Recipes of
Africa, The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc, New York, 1999. (A
children’s book describing some of the foods enjoyed in the different regions
of Africa and provides recipes for dishes popular in those areas.)
Erdesh,
George, The African American Kitchen: Food for Body and Soul,
Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. New York, 1999. (A Children’s book which
describes the influences and the evolution of African American cooking.
Includes recipes and suggestions for healthy eating.)
Flournoy,
Valerie, The Patchwork Quilt, Dial Books for Young Readers, New
York, 1985. (A children’s book about a little girl and her grandma and the
unifying of a family over a quilt.)
Hopkinson,
Deborah, Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt, Alfred A. Knopf, New York,
1983. (The story of a young black girl and her quest for a map to freedom made
on a quilt.)
Monk,
Isabell, Family, Carolrhoda Books, Inc., Minneapolis, 2001.
(Hope’s new and unusual dessert blends with the traditional dishes prepared by
her cousins and Aunt Pogee at their annual summer get-together.)
Musgrove,
Margaret, The Spider Weaver, Blue Sky Press, Scholastic, Inc., New York,
2001. (This the legend of how a beautiful spider created the original Kente
cloth.)
Nabwire,
Constance and Montgomery, Bertha Vining, Cooking the African Way, Lerner
Publications, New York, 1988. (Children’s book describing East and West
African cooking with information about the area, the continent and recipes.)
Ringgold,
Faith, Aunt Harriet’s Underground Railroad in the Sky, Crown Publishers
Inc., New York, 1992. (With Harriet Tubman as guide, Cassie has to follow the
Underground Railroad to catch up with her brother.)
Ringgold,
Faith, Cassie’s Word Quilt, Alfred A, Knopf, New York, 2002. (Names of
people and objects that makes a girl’s New York apartment, school, and
neighborhood special.)
Rochelle,
Belinda, Ed., Words with Wings, HarperCollins Publishers,
Singapore, 2001. (Pairs twenty poems by Black poets with twenty works of art by
Black artists.)
Turner,
Ann, Nettie’s Trip South, Scholastic Inc., New York, 1987.
(Describes a Northern white girl’s trip South in 1859 and how she returned
North a committed abolitionist
Wilson,
Sule Greg, Rosen Publishing
Group, New York, 1999. (Children’s book which explains the art and craft of
quilting among African Americans and describes its roots in African textiles and
traditions.)
Appendix A
This appendix contains drawings and figures used in lesson plans.
Figure
One
Leaves were sometimes used to show membership in the Poro.
