Around the World Reflection

For Around the World Day, I worked with Katie Smithmyer on the country of Pakistan. We focused on the art in Pakistan, particularly Ralli Quilts that are made in Southern Pakistan. We constructed a tri-fold board that showed the geography, children’s literature and an interactive piece on the art of Pakistan.


We began our lesson with having the students try and find Pakistan on an inflatable globe. We then asked them what continent Pakistan was located on. When asked this question at Woodward Elementary, the students had trouble identifying the continent as Asia, while the students at Robb were able to figure this out almost immediately. We then used literature as a way to connect the different arts that are made in Pakistan to the students. Students listened to descriptions of pottery, ceramic tiles and carpet weaving. Students enjoyed seeing the pictures and the piece of actual pottery we had on display. We also showed the students some different tapestries that showed the geometric and flower designs used in Pakistan art. This was also the segue into the Ralli Quilts. We had pictures of Ralli Quilts for the students to look at. We also explained where Ralli Quilts came from, what they were used for and what they mean to the people of Pakistan.

We then had students make their own Ralli Quilts using construction paper shapes on oak-tag paper. This is where we began to ask the students questions. While they were working we would ask them questions such as what continent was Pakistan on, what were they making, what Ralli Quilts stood for, etc. It was very interesting to see most of the students use symmetry in their Ralli Quilt design. We never mentioned symmetry as an aspect of Ralli Quilts and when we pointed this out the students didn’t even know they were doing it. It was just something built into their brains.

The students were able to learn about a country they did not have much experience with. This was true of the culture and the food they were exposed to, it was interesting to see the different reactions. Some students tried the different foods and liked it, some tried it and didn’t like it, while others wouldn’t even touch it. Some of the students had a bias to Pakistan based on the war going on overseas. Others seemed like they had never heard of the country. By the end of the lesson, students were able to tell us where Pakistan was located, what art they made from Pakistan and the main colors of a Ralli Quilt. As each group moved on to the country of Ireland, I felt that they were leaving with a little more world experience.

This experience has helped me to grow as a future teacher. I took a country I was not familiar with and was able to learn more about it. I knew the students would not learn any more than I did, so I had to learn as much as I could for their benefit and mine. I also realized the difference in students from different schools. When we were at Woodward Elementary, I was constantly asking student’s questions because I wasn’t sure they had remembered the information. Then when we were at Robb Elementary, the students were able to answer our questions right away or after being told the information only one time. This amazed me after the first experience. At this point I wished we had gone even more in depth with our research, so the students could benefit even more from learning about Pakistan culture. I was very happy we had this experience and think it was very worthwhile for the block students to take part in.