Chapter 7: A Patchwork of Selves: Exploring Identity Through Quilt-Making

The theme of identity is evergreen in art and literature. It is also a popular topic in the classroom, with natural connections to history, ELA, and socio-emotional learning. The following arts-integrated project, undertaken by seventh graders in an after-school literacy enrichment program, combines the theme of identity, the medium of quilting, and the genre of self-portraiture to engage students in artistic, personal, and interpersonal exploration.

The idea behind this project sprung from a classic text used in classrooms across the country: The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros (1984). Barely 100 pages in length, this novella consists of 44 sections more akin to vignettes and character sketches than chapters. Many readers have observed that its story structure is “pieced together by assembled patches like a quilt” (Bolaki, 2005). Inspired by this idea of a patchwork of stories, a project was born.