PS 46, Edward C. Blum School, Fort-Greene, Brooklyn, District 35

Laura Vila, Building Manhattan: A Comparative Study of New York

Visit 1: May 4, 2010
Visit 2: May 11, 2010
Visit 3: May 18, 2010

During their social studies unit on New York, third grade students read Laura Vila’s Building Manhattan, a beautifully illustrated book that traces the dramatic changes Manhattan has undergone over the centuries. Over the course of two workshops with the students, Ms. Vila taught the students about research, writing and illustration. She also led a field trip to the South Street Seaport, where the author conducted much of her research for her book. The students were given a map and a worksheet where they tracked their walking tour and made notes of what they saw at each stop.

With Ms. Vila as a guide, each student researched a part of the history of New York. Then each student wrote and illustrated a short piece based on their research topic on a small square. The students’ squares of writing and illustrations were combined to form a class quilt which the class hung on their bulletin board in the hallway. Ms. Vila created a cloth centerpiece for the quilt which she sewed by hand. The quilt squares were also scanned and made into a book, using the online publisher Blurb.com. The classroom received a copy of the book as did the school principal. The link to order the book was shared with the classroom parents.

Laura Vila leads students on their field trip to the South Steet Seaport.		Students ooh and ahh over Ms. Vila's hand-crafted quilt centerpiece. lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
A student jots down his observations at the South Street Seaport.		A student tracks the walking tour on her map.
A shows off the draft of his illustration. .		Each student's writing square and illustration has a place on the class quilt.

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