African Textiles - Brooklyn Children's Museum

information for the teacherWelcome!This case will introduce students to the rich traditions of some African textiles. By studying thematerials and completing the activities in this case, students will learn about Africa’s culture andits peoples through their textile art.The case’s activities and resources focus on three of Africa’s most well-known textiles: kente,adinkra, and adire. The case provides students with opportunities to create original adinkra art,make their own wearable adire cloth, and design their own kente pattern.The study of African textiles can extend in many directions, such as other African arts, and crafts,African American heritage and history, African geography, and even botany. We have includedsome suggestions on how to make these curriculum connections to serve as starting pointsfor your own and your students’ interests. Integrated classes were taken into consideration whendeveloping these activites, making many suited for students with special needs. For your convenience,you can download this guide from our website: www.brooklynkids.org.The objects in this case are real and authentic. Some are from the Museum’s collection andothers were purchased from stores that import African products. Because many are made ofnatural materials, they are especially fragile. It is important to emphasize and model to yourstudents that, like all museum objects, these are to be handled carefully.African Textiles | 6