Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt
This is the story of Clara, a twelve-year-old slave on a southern plantation. The slaves were needed on the plantations because cotton and other crops were very labor intensive. Clara developed her human capital as she learned to sew well, so that she could work indoors. She saved scraps of cloth and used these resources, by sewing them into a quilt that could be used for a map to the north and freedom. She escaped to the north but left the quilt behind for other slaves to study and learn the path to freedom.
Economic Concepts
- Choices
- Costs
- Benefits
- Incentives
- Economic Freedom
- Voluntary Exchange
Grade Levels
- Intermediate (4-6)
Related Subjects
- U.S. History
- Geography
- Multicultural
Teacher Tips for Using this Book
Description of Online Lesson, Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt
From Economics and Geography – Montgomery County, Maryland
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/socialstd/grade5/Sweet_Clara.html
Students do a webbing activity as they explore the land in the story, and then they work on the Underground Railroad Worksheet and sketch their own quilts.
Description of Lesson 12, On the Plantation
From Adventures in Economic and U.S. History, Volume 2
After students have studied many details about life on a Southern Plantation, they use the Handy Dandy Guide to explore the choices of slaves, slaveholders, and landowners prior to the Civil War.