Pre-Lesson : My Favorite Shoes
Grade Level: Third-Fifth Grade
Adaptable: All Grades
Time: 3 or 4- Thirty Minute Lessons

Lesson Objectives:

Procedure:

1. Ask students to look at the shoes that they are wearing today. Ask if they have on their favorite shoes.
   
2. After this discussion, write down a list of the students' favorite shoes and what makes them special to the student...comfort, color, design of shape, style, function, etc.
   
3. Ask students what their favorite stores are for buying shoes. Have students explain what they like about that particular store for shoe buying.
   
4. Announce to the class that they will be studying how shoe styles have changed over the last 100 years. Ask them how we can find out about how they have changed....where we could look for the answers... who could we ask?
   
5. Write the students suggestions on the board. Some possible ideas may be to go to stores and look for examples, ask shoe salespeople, ask family members and friends.
   
6. Look at books such as The Costume Time Line: 5000 Years of Fashion History by Claudia Muller. This resource has a fold-out format of illustrations of how history has played a part in the changes of style in clothing including shoes.
   
7. Tell the students that they will be conducting a survey to find out about how shoes have changed over the past 100 years.
   
8. Ask them to divide into groups to determine where they will find their answers. One group may go interview store owner, another group may look in books or old advertisement in archives of libraries, and another group could interview older members of the community.
   
9. Have the students develop a list of questions based on the original questions asked them about their favorite shoes.