Lessons & Units :: Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt 4th Grade Unit

Paired Text Questions: "Debate: Better Late than Never?" and Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt

Lesson Plan

Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt | 680L

Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt
Learning Goal
Integrate information from the non-fiction reading passage "Debate: Better Late Than Never?" and the non-fiction text Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt to write or speak more knowledgeably about American slavery and its effects.
Duration
Approximately 20 minutes
Necessary Materials
Provided:
  1. Questions
  2. Non-fiction reading passage "Debate: Better Late Than Never?"

Not Provided:
Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt
 
  • Questions 1 and 2 refer to the non-fiction passage "Debate: Better Late Than Never?". Questions 3 and 4 refer to the book Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt. Questions 5 and 6 refer to both the passage and the book. 
  • Student versions of the questions are in the 'Texts & Materials' tab.
 

Part 1: "Debate: Better Late Than Never?"

 

Read the passage "Debate: Better Late Than Never?" out loud to your students. Alternatively, students can read the passage independently or as a group.

 
Question 1: What is the debate in this passage about?
 
Sample student answer: The debate is about whether states should apologize for slavery or not.
 
Question 2: Describe one argument on each side of the debate in this passage.
 
Sample student answer (may vary):
  • One argument on the side of states apologizing for slavery is that apologizing will improve relations between blacks and whites and make the two groups more equal.
  • One argument against states apologizing for slavery is that the United States has already shown it is sorry by fighting the Civil War, passing the Civil Rights Act, and giving money to help African Americans.
 

Part 2: Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt

 
Question 3: Why does Clara want to run away from Home Plantation?
 
Sample student answer: Clara wants to go back to her mother.
 
Question 4: Do other slaves at Home Plantation want to run away too? Support your answer with evidence from the story.
 
Sample student answer (may vary):
  • Yes, other slaves want to run away too. Young Jack runs away twice, and some slaves use Clara’s quilt to escape after she does.
  • Some slaves want to run away, but others don’t. Young Jack runs away with Clara, but Aunt Rachel prefers to stay.
 

Part 3: "Debate: Better Late Than Never?" and Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt

 
Question 5: What topic do the passage and the book have in common?
 
Sample student answer: The passage and the book are both about slavery.
 
Question 6: Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt has given you some idea of what being a slave in the United States was like. Using evidence from the book, explain whether it would or would not make sense for states to apologize now for the slavery that happened in the past.
 
Sample student answer (may vary):
  • Yes, states should apologize now for slavery. Slavery separated Sweet Clara from her mother when she was a child. It forced Clara and other slaves to do exhausting work in the fields. Injustice that big should be apologized for, even if the apology is late.
  • No, states should not apologize now for slavery. Although slavery made life hard for Sweet Clara by separating her from her family and forcing her to do exhausting work in the fields, an apology would not make any difference now. American slave-owners are dead, and so are their slaves. The people who should say sorry can no longer speak, and the people who deserve the apology can no longer hear.

Texts & Materials

Standards Alignment

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User Comments

I love this Story and read it every year with my class. We always make a quilt. This year I will do the debate also.
Thank you

Submitted by rosietutt on 2/1/16