What’s in a Shoe? -- Linsey Cull

Lesson Plan and Teacher Resource (CLICK HERE!)

By: Linsey Cull

The Bata Shoe Museum is home to over 15,000 shoes and related artifacts from across the globe, representing more than 4500 years of human history. The mission of the Bata Shoe Museum is to share with its visitors the central role of footwear in shaping the social and cultural life of humanity.

This lesson plan is intended for Ontario public school students in grades 4-6. It uses examples from the BSM’s current exhibition, Obsessed: How Shoes Became Objects of Desire, to examine connections between shoes and socio-cultural identities. 

First, the Critical Analysis Process, a central component of the Ontario arts curriculum, is used to generate discussion around two examples from the exhibition. Then, students will engage in the creative process and make personal connections to the exhibition through a drawing activity.

OBSESSED: HOW SHOES BECAME OBJECTS OF DESIRE

Big Idea: Shoes do more than protect the feet; they have social and cultural significance. Shoes can be used to express personal and group identities.

PURPLE HIGH HEELS, FRENCH, 1860s-70s

Questions to Consider:

What is your first impression of these shoes?

How do these shoes make you feel?

Who do you think wore these shoes?

What occasions or activities do you think these shoes were used for?

Who do you think was meant to see these shoes?

COWBOY BOOTS, SANTA DIEGO BOOTS, 1980s

Questions to Consider:

What do these boots bring to mind?

What meaning do you think these boots communicate?

How does your partner’s view of the boots compare with your own?

What cultural movements, events, or traditions may have influenced the designer of these boots?

Whose voices do we hear, and whose voices do we not hear?

CAR SHOES, BETH LEVINE, 1960s

Questions to Consider:

Do your shoes express your identity/identities?

What do your shoes say about you?

What can others learn about you from looking at your shoes?

What can’t others learn about you from looking at your shoes?

ACTIVITY

Draw a pair of shoes from your own collection, or design a new pair from your imagination, that tells us one important thing about you. When you have finished, share your design with a partner.