Objectives:

• Students will be introduced to Faith Ringgold and be able to define and describe what a story quilt is by listening to a reading of Tar Beach, as well as reading the biographical information about her and her art form.
• Students will develop a story quilt of their own by writing a story about a special time that they had with their family or a place that is special to them, drawing a picture for the center that helps to tell the story, transferring both of these pieces to their large "quilt" paper, and then bordering their story quilt with patches of wall paper samples.
• Students will begin to be exposed to African American quilts, their contributions to the arts and quilt making, as well investigating other famous or influential African Americans.

Materials:

• Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold (and any additions Faith Ringgold books
• Faith Ringgold by Robyn Montana Turner
• Lined paper for writing first draft of story
• White paper for draft of central picture
• Pencils and colored pencils
• Wall paper sample books
• scissors
• glue
• card board patter to trace 2x2 inch square for patchwork pieces.

Procedure:

1. Introduce the lesson by reading Tar Beach, after the book is finished give the students an opportunity to share or make comments. Show the large picture of Faith Ringgold in the biographical book and read to them sections about her life and her artwork. There are several photographs of her as a child on her tar beach roof top.
2. Show several other examples of her story quilts in the book Faith Ringgold and discuss the structure and design of a story quilt.
3. Explain to students that they will be creating story quilts of their own as we continue to study Faith Ringgold and many of her books.
4. The first step to the story quilt is for the students to write their own stories, this will be done at the writing center. As students finish their stories, they will have individual conferences with me to do some spell checking and editing.
5. Once the story is complete the student can make a draft of the picture that will be in the center of the quilt.
6. Before they can copy their stories and draw on the quilt piece you must prepare the paper. I used large tag board paper about 24x18 inches. Mark off a 2 inch border all around the paper, this will be the area for the patchwork squares, then according to the length of the childŐs story mark off sections for each child to write their story in.
7. Students will first copy their story in the designated area on the large paper, using small neat handwriting.
8. Draw the central picture in the middle of the quilt piece.
9. Using a 2x2 square of card board, students will trace and cut squares of wall paper to border the quilt. Gluing down the squares is the final part of the construction.
10. Once all of the students have completed their story quilts, there will be a time to share their stories to the rest of the class.

Evaluation:

1. Students will be evaluated throughout the project, in editing conferences, and upon completion of their story quilt. I am looking for a story that follows the assignment topic, the final draft having correct spelling, capital letters, and punctuation. They will demonstrate that they know what a story quilt is by completing the project and following the directions.
2. In a later lesson, students will be evaluated as a group about what they know about Faith Ringgold by writing a "report" or "article" about her as a class. (Students generate the sentences as I record in paragraph form on the board.)
3. Student exposure and interest will be evaluated by me through observation of students exploring Faith Ringgold books, puzzles, and dolls at center A (Reading Center).

Re-teaching/ Extension:

• Reading of her other books
• KWL of Faith Ringgold, with the viewing of the video "Portrait of an Artist: Faith Ringgold" in between the W and L portion.
• Researching and reading about important historical African Americans (emphasis on women).