Teacher’s Guide for

Shoe Magic

by Nikki Grimes

Illustrated by Terry Widener

 

Pre- reading:

Brainstorm a list of all the shoes that you can. Then, decide all the different way that the shoes could be classified: color, style, function, price, season, etc. Talk about how a shoe could represent a person’s dream for the future.

 

 

Knowledge:

 

  1. How many different kinds of shoes are written about in Shoe Magic?
  2. When the author writes, “Who you grow/ Up to be/ Depends on/ The steps you take.”  Is she only talking about shoes? Why or why not?

 

Comprehend:

 

  1. Whose shoes in the collection represent their dreams for the future?
  2. Which shoes are just for fun?

 

Application:

 

  1. Predict who is most likely to reach their dream in their shoes. Explain why you think so.
  2. Ask your parents how their shoes tell about the kind of job they do. Share what you found out in a brief journal.

 

Analyze:

 

  1. Compare “Soft Soles” to “Running Shoes” How are they alike? How different?
  2. Which illustration is your favorite? Why?
  3. Which poem most reminds you of you? Why?

     

Synthesize:

 

  1. Invent a shoe for a job on Mars. What would the job be? How would the shoe help the wearer?
  2. Discuss whose shoes are most important for the wearer’s success. Take a survey.

 

Evaluate:

 

  1. Decide which character needs a new pair of shoes most. Why do you think so? Defend your answer!
  2. Make a list of all the similes in the book. Then, decide which one is your favorite.

 

Multiple Intelligence Projects for

Shoe Magic by Nikki Grimes

Illustrated by Terry Widener

 

Verbal/ Linguistic

 

Write a detailed description of a shoe in the classroom, but don’t reveal whose it is! Then, see if your classmates can guess the owner by your good writing! (If you’re feeling brave you could have each student donate one shoe to line up across the front of the classroom for easy viewing.)

 

Logical/ Mathematical

 

The average running shoe lasts about 500 miles. If you run five miles three times a week, how many times a year will you need to buy new shoes? What if you up your distance to 10 miles? 15?

 

Choose six of the following (or make a list of your own) shoes and compare the average prices: ballet shoes, hiking boots, running shoes, ice skates, sandals, scuba fins. Graph the results. (Or, students could graph the results of a favorite shoe survey). Use the graph below, or create your own.

 

Visual/ Spatial

 

Cut out a piece of construction or other paper in the shape of your favorite kind of shoe. Then, inside the shoe write a brief poem about your dreams you hope to enact in them. Haiku may be an idea option!

 

Body/Kinesthetic

 

Transfer the brainstormed list of shoes from the pre-reading activity to index cards or scraps of paper. Then, have students play charades as to the type of shoes they are “wearing.”

 

Musical/ Rhythmic

 

As the teacher reads aloud the poems, have the students lightly (demonstrate with the tips of the fingers on the desk) tap out the rhythm of the poem. For older students, discuss the stressed and unstressed syllables. For an experiment on rhythm, choose any end word, and look up a synonym to replace it with. Then, reread the piece with the new word. Discuss whether it makes the rhythm clunky or not, and why.

 

Interpersonal:

 

On a larger banner trace the outline of everyone’s shoes. Color and label each shoe. Then, brainstorm a heading for your poster. Examples: Taking Steps Toward Tomorrow, Dreams Walking Through, Follow Us to Poetry… then hang up for an instant bulletin board or hallway display.

 

 

Intrapersonal:

 

 

Have students choose a shoe that they would put in a time capsule to represent them right now. Write a journal about how they think they’ll be different in ten years. If possible, take a digital picture of each student with his or her favorite shoe. Keep the photo with the journal for future reference!

 

 

 

 

Shoe Magic Graph

 

Color in one block for each five-dollar increment. Be sure to label the graph

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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