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Sheep to Sweaters

Sheep to Sweaters

How does the wool on a sheep become a woolen sweater? Students will explore how the sheared fleece becomes thread that will be woven into clothing, then create a diorama that displays the process.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

Gather all the supplies needed to bring your craft ideas to life! From paints and markers to glue and scissors, our crafts section has everything to spark creativity and make every project truly special.

  • Chenille Sticks
  • Cotton Balls
  • Craft Sticks
  • Paper
  • Recycled Cardboard

Steps

  • Step 1

    Sheep were among the first animals to be domesticated by humans, with evidence dating back to around 9000 BCE. (Dogs are considered to be the first, and it is believed that they were domesticated around 13,000 BCE.) The first domesticated sheep were primarily raised for meat, milk, and skins. As people learned how to spin and weave, they began to shear sheep to turn their wool into thread and yarn. Have students explore the history of wool. How did weaving evolve from pulling fibers by hand to using foot-operated spindles to machine-based mechanics? How many sheep breeds are there, and what are some of the commonly used breeds for textile products? Why was wool historically considered an important import/export?

  • Step 2

    Have students create a diorama depicting sheep, sheep shearing, the weaving process, or a combination. A recycled box can serve as the base, which can be illustrated with markers. Cotton balls can be used to construct the shape or the sheared wool, craft sticks might be used for a loom, and chenille sticks could be the sheep's legs.

  • Step 3

    When the dioramas are complete, have students present their work and describe the scene they depicted.

Standards

LA: Read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the grade level text complexity band independently and proficiently.

VA: Use visual structures of art to communicate ideas.

LA: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade level topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

LA: Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

MATH: Convert among different-sized standard measurement units within a given measurement system (e.g., convert 5 cm to 0.05 m), and usethese conversions in solving multi-step, real world problems.

SCI: Construct explanations of how structures in animals serve functions of growth, survival, reproduction, and behavior.

SS: Describe ways in which language, stories, folktales, music, and artistic creations serve as expressions of culture and influence behavior of people living in a particular culture.

SS: Use appropriate resources, data sources, and geographic tools to generate, manipulate, and interpret information.

SS: Identify and use various sources for reconstructing the past, such as documents, letters, diaries, maps, textbooks, photos, and others.

VA: Use different media, techniques, and processes to communicate ideas, experiences, and stories.

Adaptations

What happens if sheep are not sheared? Ask students to explore the health implications to the sheep. Have them learn about the sheep named Chris that was spotted in Australia and rescued by an animal association. He had wandered away from a herd and lived in the wild for several years. Eventually, shearers, with guidance from veterinarians, removed almost 90 pounds of wool.

Have students learn about fiber artists and view some images of their creations. Suggestions include Judith Scott (1943-2005) a deaf artist who had Down syndrome, Vanessa Barragao who uses collected and waste yarn to create her art, Itchiku Kubota who fused the 16th-century Japanese art form called tsujigahana with modern textile art, and others.