American Dream Quilt

To unite students with diverse learning styles and ethnic backgrounds in a multilevel 11th-grade English course, teachers launched the American Dream Quilt project. Their students spent two months reading, interviewing, journaling, and reflecting, before creating quilt squares that captured the essences of their heritages and served as "snapshots" of who they were at that moment in time. These squares were united to become part of a class quilt.

Through the preparation, students learned how to interview family members, compose extensive journals, and assimilate and apply themes from the literature to the experiences of their own families. Different types of learners contributed to the team project. Students with strengths in specific areas &#151 such as art, math, and public speaking &#151 shared their skills and coached each other. The classes grew together as unified teams with the quilts as sources of group pride.

The class quilts were rotated around the town for public viewing, a testimony to the multicultural advantage of living in the community. A Quilt Breakfast, held for all juniors and their parents, became the largest celebration in the school year. The gymnasium was transformed into a museum of local heritage, its walls covered with colorful quilts. Student prepared favorite family dishes from a recipe recorded in their journals to share with peers and their family members.

Though the project was originally developed to address diversity issues within the multilevel English classes, it quickly grew in popularity, and all 11th-grade English teachers adopted it as part of their class work.

Adapted from "Community Lessons: Integrating Service-Learning Into K-12 Curriculum," 2001, Massachusetts Department of Education, Massachusetts Service Alliance, and Learn and Serve America. Used with permission of Massachusetts Department of Education, www.doe.mass.edu/csl, (781) 338-3000.