I friend I taught with introduced me to Hex signs. She grew up in Berks County, Pennsylvania, which is where most of the barns in the United States with Hex signs are located. When I first heard about these signs I thought they had something to do with casting spells. Turns out this is not true!
I spent a great deal of time researching, and planning for our trip to Berks County. Then we drove around and photographed the gorgeous barns. I learned a great deal about the Pennsylvania Dutch. The photo above is my favorite barn in Berks County.
Doing an authentic project about Hex signs will involve reading for research, and writing to explain the history and/or what Hex signs represent today. An authentic project can go in the direction of history, current barns and where they are found, or branch off into Pennsylvania Dutch Folk Art.
You don’t have to live in Pennsylvania to do a project on Hex signs, you don’t even need to live in the United States. Just like you don’t need to live in the UK to do a project about castles. While US Hex signs are predominately found in Berks County, Pennsylvania, a friend I sent the above photo to told me about similar folk art in Wisconsin. Except the Wisconsin folk art is done on furniture, and was brought over from a different area of Europe. He ended up researching that.
And if a leading question about Hex signs becomes an authentic project about another kind of folk art, that is authentic learning!
The Educational Journey 