Deborah Hopkinson
Lesson plans for Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt, more

Deborah Hopkinson
The author's official site. Don't miss activities under the "For Teachers" link.

Apples to Oregon
No lesson plans here, but a nice collection of author information and links to activities related to apples. This 6-page document requires Adobe Reader for access.

The Humblebee Hunter
Discussion questions and crosscurricular postreading projects.

Escaping Slavery: Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt
When visiting the recommended website in this lesson, students learn about the Underground Railroad. They create a problems/solutions/events chart to help them understand the relationships between Clara's problems and how she solves them. Similar to Clara's map that shows the path north to freedom, students create their own map, designing a key, a compass, and landmarks surrounding their home and school. Designed for grades 3-5.

Mapping Slavery
From the U. S. Library of Congress: "The 1860 census was the last time the federal government took a count of the Southern slave population. In 1861, the United States Coast Survey issued two maps of slavery based on the census data: the first mapped Virginia and the second mapped Southern states as a whole." This infographic may contribute to student understanding of the background to the novel.

Quilt to Freedom
Students learn about the Underground Railroad and work with a map. This lesson includes an optional service project. Designed for grades K-2.

Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt
After listening to the story, students create a pictorial map to represent places and things on the way in route from their home to school or another familiar place.

Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt
This lesson integrates geometry into appreciation of the novel.

The Underground Railroad
Students assume the role of a slave and click to learn about the Underground Railroad. Designed for elementary students, sponsored by National Geographic.