Lesson Plan: The History of Sneakers/Ode to My Shoes

Essential Questions

• How do brands influence our everyday lives?
• What is personification and how is it used?

Literature Connection

• Nonfiction: Sneaker Century: A History of Athletic Shoes  by Amber J. Keyser
• Novel: Ghost by Jason Reynolds

Build Background Knowledge (5 minutes)

Have students take our fun, interactive prereading quiz “Test Your Sneaker Knowledge.” The quiz will prepare students to read the texts by activating prior knowledge, inviting inquiry, and offering some surprising  facts about sneakers.

Preview Text Features (15 minutes)

Guide students to locate the articles. Then preview the text features by asking the following questions:

• Read the article’s title and look at the image showing many different types of sneakers. What do the shoes have in common? How are they different? They all have comfortable soles (usually made of rubber). They can all be worn for athletic activities. They do not all have laces—that’s one way they differ. Also, they have different designs and are made of different materials (fabric, leather, etc.).
• Look at the images of sneakers alongside images of people wearing them. What do you think is the relationship between the shoes and the people? Make a prediction. Students may (correctly) guess that the people shown are celebrities promoting the shoes.
• Read the poem’s title and the bubble pointing to the word ode. Based on this information, what kinds of feelings do you think the poet will express toward his shoes in this poem: positive, negative, or neutral? Explain why. The poet will express positive feelings toward his shoes; the definition of ode states that it’s a type of poem that praises a thing. To praise something is to say nice things about it.

Preview Vocabulary (10 minutes)

• Point out the vocabulary box. Read the terms (ease, advertise, practical, obsession, ancient) aloud and discuss their definitions.
• Play the Vocabulary Slideshow.

Make a Plan for Reading

Before students start to read, walk them through a reading plan: 

• Set a purpose for reading by telling students that the article will tell them about the history of the sneaker and that the poem expresses the poet’s feelings toward his shoes, using a technique called personification.
• Tell students that after they read, they’ll complete a synthesizing activity by combining information from the texts.

Guide students to read the articles. Once they understand them well, discuss the following close-reading and critical-thinking questions.

Close-Reading Questions (20 minutes)

• In the article’s introduction, the authors say that Michael Jordan moved “like a ballet dancer” on the basketball court. What are they trying to say about Jordan? Why do you think they begin the article by saying this? (figurative language) This expression is meant to show that Jordan was a highly skilled and graceful basketball player. The authors begin the article this way to show how Jordan’s popularity and talent helped Nike sell sneakers. If Jordan had been an average player, people probably wouldn’t have cared as much about what he wore on his feet.
• What kind of people wore sneakers in the mid-1800s? What about in the 1900s? What caused this change? (compare and contrast) In the mid-1800s, mostly rich people wore sneakers. This was because only they could afford to have free time to play sports like tennis and croquet. Around 1900, this began to change. More and more people had vacations and weekends off from work. Gyms and public parks began to be built across the country, and a new sport, basketball, was invented. For all of these reasons, regular people (not just the rich) started playing sports and wearing sneakers.
• Based on the section “Hoops and Hip-Hop,” what are three reasons sneakers became popular from the 1970s on? (cause and effect) Shoe companies began making sneakers for a variety of activities and sports, such as running and basketball. Companies started using popular athletes in their ads. Finally, hip-hop helped make sneakers cool. The hip-hop group Run-D.M.C. even wrote a song about a pair of Adidas shoes.
• Why do you think the title of the poem is “Ode to My Shoes”? (central idea) The poem expresses the poet’s love and respect for his shoes, which cheerfully and comfortably take him wherever he goes. He is grateful for his shoes, so it makes sense for him to write an ode, or a poem of praise, to them. 

Critical-Thinking Questions (10 minutes)

• Why do you think celebrities have the power to sell products, such as shoes? Does it make sense to buy a product because a celebrity promotes it? Why or why not? (critical thinking) Sample answer: Many people admire celebrities, and it’s natural to think highly of the products a celebrity likes and uses. As consumers, we should be aware of this effect. Just because a celebrity promotes a brand or a product doesn’t mean that that brand or product is right for us. We should think about whether we’re buying something because it feels “cool” or because it will really serve us.
• Imagine that you were turning the poem “Ode to My Shoes” into a song. What kind of melody would you choose for it? Describe it using words or by giving examples of songs that it would sound like. Explain why you chose the melody you did. (tone) Answers will vary. Since the feelings in the poem are positive but the shoes in the poem are asleep, students will likely choose either a cheerful, upbeat melody or a lullaby. Encourage students to sing the poem the way they imagine it would sound as a song. The intent of this question is to have students think about the tone of the poem.

• Have students work in pairs or small groups to complete our Synthesizing Skill Builder.  (Click here to view all of your Skill Builders.)
• Writing Prompt: Think of something you own that you could write an ode to: your hat, your backpack, your favorite book, or anything else you’re thankful to have.  Write an ode to that item, in the same style as “Ode to My Shoes.” Use personification by imagining that the item is alive: What does it think, feel, want, and do?