Del Sur Senior Elementary, February, 2009, Lancaster, CA
Receiving the quilt was another opportunity for my 7th graders to connect technology to the world around us. As soon as we opened the box, the students gathered around to discover the clues of Quilt’s past and the inspiring messages it offered. While the students took charge of this activity, another student captured our discussion using the FLIP video camera.
Afterwards, our plan was to develop ideas to share the story of the Iditarod and the traveling quilt with the other classrooms within our K-8 campus. One group designed several PowerPoint slides to teach about the Iditarod. Another group helped to create a quilt scavenger hunt activity. Each day the students planned and organized pieces of the interactive lesson.
Our first collaborative lesson was with Mrs. Mekel’s 4/5 combo class. The lesson started with the students tracing both hands on paper and labeling one hand “What I Know” and the other “What I Learned.” My class shared facts about the Iditarod within small groups. The goal of the lesson was to define words related to success, search for synonyms, and brainstorm action words with 3 or more syllables. Students were encouraged to help each other answer the scavenger hunt questions and explore the quilt.
Through our discussions and activities we learned:
“Obstacles are just excuses.” –Isamar R.
“The Iditarod is spectacular. During the gloomy weather, the mushers conquer their fears. They struggle on the dangerous path and care for each dog. The racers see the finish line and sprint as quickly as they can without a panic.”
–Madison S.
“In the Iditarod you have to persevere.”
–Michael H.
Quilt also visited my daughter’s Junior Girl Scout Troop. Several girls said they had read an article about the dog sled race at school. Once the quilt was spread out, the girls sat around the outside to discuss the meaning of each square.
By the end of the month, Quilt also had a visit from Mrs. Krause’s 3rd grade students and Mrs. Mendes’ 6th grade students. Mrs. Mendes said her class had read several of Gary Paulsen’s novels, and they were excited to see the author’s signature.
Next, before I sent the quilt off to Nome, my principal Mr. Barker presented me with our school’s Heart of the Dragon Award for using my quilt lessons with Del Sur students.
Thank you Quilt for sharing the spirit of the Iditarod with our classroom. You have taught us the importance of believing that anything is possible if you just set your mind to it.
Best Wishes,
Mrs. Rickert’s 7th grade class
Click here to view Mrs. Rickert’s lesson plan and information.
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Click here to view a PDF document of Mrs. Rickert’s Powerpoint presentation.
