Image of white sneakers with pink & green light up bottoms
iStockPhoto/Getty Images
Past to Present,

The History of Sneakers

How these super shoes got on everyone’s feet. 

By Meg Richardson
From the March/April 2023 Issue
Lexiles: 550L
Guided Reading Levels: M
DRA Level: 20-24
Featured Skill: Text Features, Key Details,
Vocabulary: canvas, popular, grip, style
Topic: Social Studies,
Common Core Standards
  • RI.2.1 Key details RI.2.4 Vocabulary RI.2.5 Nonfiction text features RI.2.10 Read grade-2-appropriate informational text SL.2 Participate in conversations about grade-2 texts L.2.4.a Use sentence-level context as a clue to a word’s meaning
TEKS Standards
  • Social Studies
    (13) Science, technology, and society. The student understands how science and technology have affected life, past and present. The student is expected to: (A) describe how science and technology have affected communication, transportation, and recreation (16) Social studies skills. The student communicates in written, oral, and visual forms. The student is expected to: (C) create and interpret timelines for events in the past and present

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People have played sports for thousands of years. But the first sneakers were not made until the 1800s. They were quieter than the hard leather shoes that came before. You could sneak around in them. That’s why people called them sneakers!

The first sneakers were made of a thick cloth called canvas. People wore them to play tennis and other sports.

Converse Makes Moves

In the early 1900s, sneakers started sneaking onto more feet. More people were wearing sneakers to play sports like basketball, baseball, and football.

The first really popular sneakers were made by the company Converse. They still make shoes today. 

Waffle Sneakers

Shutterstock.com

In the 1970s, a big change in sneakers came from a waffle iron! A running coach was eating waffles when he got an idea. He thought that sneakers with bumpy soles would help people run faster. The soles could grip the ground so runners wouldn’t slip. 

He put a rubber sheet into a waffle iron and pressed. Then he put the new bumpy, rubber sole onto sneakers. Later, he helped start the company Nike. Ever heard of it? 

Air Jordans

Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images

Michael Jordan

In the 1980s, everyone was talking about the amazing basketball player Michael Jordan. They were also talking about his Air Jordan sneakers. Tons of people wanted to buy them. Sneakers weren’t just for sports anymore. They became a part of people’s style.

Sneakers Today

Today lots of people wear sneakers to play sports and to show their style. 

There are so many kinds of sneakers. There are sparkly sneakers, light-up sneakers, and even sneakers with wheels! Next time you put on some sneakers, you’ll be part of the history of sneakers too!

Sneaker Timeline

Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Mrs. Albert Ogden in memory of Sheldon Stewart, 1964 (First Sneakers); Courtesy NIKE, INC. via American Federation of Arts (Converse); Bebeto Matthews/AP Images (Nike Waffle); Shutterstock.com (Air Jordans, Glitter Sneaker, Gold Sneaker); Rasoul ahadi borna/Alamy Stock Photo (Rainbow Sneaker)

1800s: The first sneakers

1900s: Converse sneakers

1970s: Nike Waffle

1980s: Air Jordans

Today: All kinds!

video (1)
Slideshows (1)
Activities (4)
Skills Activities
Quizzes (2)
Quizzes (2)
Answer Key (1)
video (1)
Slideshows (1)
Activities (4) Download All Quizzes and Activities
Skills Activities
Quizzes (2)
Quizzes (2)
Answer Key (1)

About the Article

Social Studies Focus

Long ago and today

Vocabulary

canvas, popular, grip, style

Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
Download the Lesson Plan

Essential Question

The essential question of this issue is: What can sports teach us? The articles below connect to this theme.

  • Background Builder: “Sports for All!” p. 4
  • Big Read:  “Ready, Set, Race!” p. 6
  • Mini Graphic Novel: “Pine School Pals #5: Soccer Struggles,” p. 13
  • Past to Present: “The History of Sneakers,” p. 22
  • Poetry: “A Few Words From Your Shin Guard,” p. 32

Through the above texts, students will dig deep into this essential question and make text-to-text connections.

1. BEFORE READING

Show “The Big Question” Video (10 minutes)
 
Watch “The Big Question: What Can Sports Teach Us?” (This video also goes with other stories in this month’s Storyworks 2.)
  • Before your students watch, ask them to think about the question “What can sports teach us?”
  • Watch the video.
  • After watching, ask the question again. Write students’ ideas on chart paper.

Text Preview Bookmarks (5-10 minutes)

  • Our skills page has both fiction and nonfiction options for kids to cut out to help them preview the text. They can use the nonfiction bookmark for this story.

2.  READ THE ARTICLE (10 MINUTES)

  • Now tell students they are going to read an article about the history of tacos. Students can read the article individually, in small groups, or as a whole class.

3.  AFTER READING

 

Play the Vocabulary Slideshow (3-5 minutes)

  • Now that your students have read the article, they have context for understanding the new words that appeared in it. Play the vocabulary slideshow after reading to reinforce these new words. Students can hear the definitions of the words read aloud and see photos illustrating each word. They can also practice saying the words out loud.

4.  AFTER READING: FOCUS ON ELA SKILLS (10 MINUTES)

Pick and choose from a variety of activities:
 
Assessment: Quiz (10 minutes)
  • Pass out the quiz to assess comprehension.
  • We offer this quiz in multiple-choice and written-answer formats.

ELA Focus: Design Your Own Sneakers (15 minutes)

  • Using the “Design Your Own Sneaker” printable, students can design and write about their own sneakers.

ELA Focus: Sports Chart (time amount varies)

  • Making text-to-text connections builds knowledge and comprehension. We layer Storyworks 2 with many ways for your students to make connections.
  • Kids can compare the texts by using our “Sports Chart” printable. How are the texts alike, and how are they different?

Whole Issue Scavenger Hunt (20 minutes)

  • On our website, go to the Resources section of this article. Scroll down to Activities. The scavenger hunt is there.
  • This is a self-contained group of slides that guide students on a scavenger hunt through the whole issue. It helps them make text-to-text connections.
  • It can be done independently by students at home or during class time.

Text-to-Speech