Ever since clothes were developed people have found ways to enhance their own appearances and express beauty by adorning or decorating their garments. Painting, dyeing, stitching, and attaching ornaments are just some of the ways people have decorated clothes. Today many individuals still think of clothes as more than just body coverings. The clothes people wear show that they are concerned with appearance and the expression of beauty.
The techniques, or methods, for decorating clothes developed many centuries ago, were hand methods. Some are still done by hand today, although many have been modified, or changed, to be done by machine. Other techniques once used to decorate clothes are no longer in use today. However, many museums have collections showing examples of these and other ways people have decorated clothes.
Painting with dyes made from natural materials made in the environment has been done for thousands of years. The Polynesians painted designs on tapa cloth, or bark cloth, made from the paper mulberry tree. Indians who lived in the plains regions in North America painted animal skins that they prepared for clothing. Today people still do hand painting on fabric, but machine methods of painting designs and colors are used for producing large quantities of fabrics.
Therefore, my challenge as an educator would be to arrange and implement a student library of learning experiences which will allow all students to begin an appreciation for the complexity of dyeing cloth in the area of Home Economics.
My unit,
How To Dye Cloth
, is an attempt to instruct and orchestrate a challenge in the area of Home Economics. It is being designed for usage among sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. The curriculum unit consists of four main areas of concentration: the History of Dyes, The Types of Dyes and the Natural Dyes; How Dye is Applied to Fabric; Suggested Teaching Strategies, along with specific classroom activities; and finally, a list of resources for both the student and teacher.
This unit is being designed primarily to introduce how cloth may be dyed. So often, the discipline of science is omitted in the classroom. A ready example of dye would be the red cabbage versus the white cabbage. Why do your hands turn red to reddish purple? This exposure will be looked at in the form of cloth. Everyone puts on a variety of colors. They may or may not know how the cloth was prepared. Therefore, throughout this unit, we as educators will explore the cloth and the application of color in the creation of a new look.
This unit is designed to be used over a ten to fifteen week period. Students will be encouraged to examine the complexity and interaction between technology and society. The activities suggested may be carried out in a variety of ways. Individual and group work, class discussions and demonstrations will be teacher led activities through discussions and visual presentations.
The primary goals and objectives of this unit are the following:
To emphasize the importance of society and technology as a root for modern science.
To provide teachers with relevant, current curriculum materials which can be infused into their home economics curriculum.
To use the excitement of clothing industry as a catalyst for our youth in the area of science.
To use student achievement in reading and comprehension activities in the home economics curriculum.
To provide relevant material and information for the student’s achievements.
