"The Keeping Quilt"

We read a short story in class titled "The Keeping Quilt."  As an extension activity, the class created a quilt.  Each student received four pieces of card stock and yarn to tie their "square" together any way they wanted to.  On one square they were directed to write their name, on one square they were told to write their earliest memory, and on the final two squares they were to paste copies of their baby pictures.  The students loved it.  I teach 9th-12th graders and they really enjoyed looking at pictures of themselves as "innocent" children (their words).  Finally, students did an oral presentation of their square for the class.  

If you plan to do this activity with high schoolers, who sometimes have difficulty remembering to bring things in, I would start asking for baby pictures at the beginning of the year.  I had an assistant make copies during class time and immediately return their originals.  Also, there may be students who do not have any baby pictures.  One option is to try and get permission to make copies of pictures from their cumulative record- they often have elementary school pictures available.  One student requested that she be able to find a picture of a baby online and use that as her picture, which we let her do.  

I will continue to do this every year.  It was nice to see students (especially ones with challenging behavior) in this light.  

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