SHOE FOR YOU

SHOE FOR YOU

Learning Description

Students will design a shoe for a classmate that reflects their personal qualities. They will use lines, shapes, colors, and symbols to show the traits and characteristics that make that peer unique.

 

Learning Targets

GRADE BAND: 5
CONTENT FOCUS: VISUAL ARTS & HEALTH
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"I Can" Statements

“I Can…”

  • I can create a shoe that conveys another person’s personality and character traits using the Elements of Art.
  • I can use lines, colors, shapes, and symbols to communicate meaning.

Essential Questions

  • How can we use the Elements of Art to design a shoe that conveys another person’s personality and character traits?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

HE5.1 Students will comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease prevention to enhance health.

HE5.1.c Describe and apply the basic health concept of mental and emotional well-being.

HE5.4 Students will demonstrate the ability to use interpersonal communication skills to enhance health and avoid or reduce health risks.

HE5.4.a Apply effective verbal and nonverbal communication skills to enhance health.

Arts Standards

VA5.CR.1 Engage in the creative process to generate and visualize ideas by using subject matter and symbols to communicate meaning.

VA5.PR.1 Plan and participate in appropriate exhibition(s) of works of art to develop identity of self as artist.

VA5.CR.5 Demonstrate an understanding of the safe and appropriate use of materials, tools, and equipment for a variety of artistic processes.

VA5.RE.1 Use a variety of approaches for art criticism and to critique personal works of art and the artwork of others to enhance visual literacy.

VA5.CN.3 Develop life skills through the study and production of art (e.g. collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, communication).

 

South Carolina Standards

Curriculum Standards

Standard 1: “Students will comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease prevention to enhance health” (NHES, 2007).

M-5.1.1 Describe coping strategies to promote mental health.

Standard 7: “Students will demonstrate the ability to practice health-enhancing behaviors and avoid or reduce health risks” (NHES, 2007).

M-5.7.1 Model behaviors that promote healthy relationships with family and peers.

Arts Standards

Anchor Standard 1: I can use the elements and principles of art to create artwork.

Benchmark VA.CR I can combine several elements of art to express ideas.

Indicator VA.CR NM.1.2 I can combine several elements of art to construct 2D or 3D artwork.

Anchor Standard 2: I can use different materials, techniques, and processes to make art.

Benchmark VA.CR NM.2 I can use some materials, techniques, and tools to create artwork.

Indicator VA.CR NM.2.1 I can use two-dimensional art materials to explore ways to make art.

Anchor Standard 4: I can organize work for presentation and documentation to reflect specific content, ideas, skills, and or media.

Benchmark VA.P NL.4 I can show and describe the idea of my artwork.

Indicator VA.P NL.4.2 I can describe my artwork.

 

Key Vocabulary

Content Vocabulary

  • Personal attributes - The qualities, traits, or characteristics that make up an individual’s personality and behavior
  • Identity - The set of characteristics, beliefs, experiences, and qualities that make a person or group unique and recognizable

Arts Vocabulary

  • Color - An element of art with three properties: 1) Hue: the name of the color, e.g. red, yellow, etc.; 2) Intensity: the purity and strength of the color (brightness or dullness); 3) Value: the lightness or darkness of the color (shades and tints)
  • Line - A continuous mark made on some surface by a moving point. It may be two dimensional, like a pencil mark on a paper or it may be three dimensional (wire) or implied (the edge of a shape or form) often it is an outline, contour or silhouette.
  • Shape - A flat, enclosed line that is always two-dimensional and can be either geometric or organic
  • Value - This describes the lightness or darkness of a color. Value is needed to express volume.
  • Texture - The surface quality, or "feel" of an object, such as roughness, smoothness, or softness. Actual texture can be felt while simulated textures are implied by the way the artist renders areas of the picture.
  • Space - The distance or area between, around, above or within things. Positive space refers to the subject or areas of interest in an artwork, while negative space is the area around the subject of an artwork. It can be a description for both two and three-dimensional portrayals.
  • Form - An object that is three-dimensional and encloses volume (cubes, spheres, and cylinders are examples of various forms)

Materials

A collection of 14 colorful, hand-drawn high-heeled shoe designs, each uniquely decorated with various patterns, symbols, and themes, are displayed in a grid on a white background.

A grid of 16 hand-drawn, uniquely decorated sneakers, each with colorful, imaginative patterns and themes, including animals, nature, holidays, and abstract designs. A website link appears at the bottom.

 

 

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

  • Display examples of shoe art from the Bata Shoe Museum.
    • Ask students what they see, what they think, and what they wonder about the designs.
    • Have students identify the Elements of Art that they see in the shoes.
    • Facilitate a discussion about what the different designs communicate and how the artist used the Elements of Art to do that.
      • Have students discuss what they think the artist’s inspiration and process might have been.
    • Have students pair up (the teacher can assign partners, have them choose, or draw from a hat) and interview each other to discover their personal likes, dislikes, hobbies, etc.
      • The following is a sampling of questions students could ask:
        • What are your hobbies?
        • Do you collect anything?
        • What's your favorite color?
        • What's your favorite animal?
        • Who is your hero?
        • What is something that always makes you smile?

Work Session

  • Tell students that they will use this information to create a shoe that represents their partner.
  • Show various examples of shoes, such as the ones in the “Materials” section. Have students discuss what they think the artist’s process was to design the shoe.
    • Students should identify where they see the Elements of Art in the shoe designs.
  • Have students brainstorm and generate ideas for their shoes in their sketchbooks.
    • Discuss how the information that they gathered about their partner can be expressed visually. Have students explore different ways to visually communicate information in their sketchbooks.
    • Students should narrow down their ideas and select their favorite.
  • Pass out final artwork paper and shoe templates (if you are using them), and have students draw their shoe outlines and designs using pencil.
  • Then, have students use markers or colored pencils to add color and interest to their shoes.

 

Closing Reflection

  • Hang the finished pieces of artwork and have students guess who each shoe is representing based on the designs.
  • Provide students the opportunity to share their shoe designs and describe their process.

 

Assessments

Formative

  • The teacher will observe students’ ability to identify the Elements of Art in shoe artwork.
  • The teacher will observe whether students can use color, shape, line, and symbols to communicate meaning about their partner throughout the planning and creation process.

Summative

 

Differentiation

Accelerated: 

  • Provide students with a choice of materials, including paint, markers, oil pastels.
  • Have students create a sculpture of their shoe instead of a drawing.
  • Have students draw their shoes by hand rather than use a template.
  • Have students add value to their shoes to make them look three-dimensional.

 

Remedial:

  • Provide students with shoe templates.
  • Brainstorm as a class how to represent ideas through visuals.

 

Additional Resources

  • Color chart showing common color uses for feelings and emotions
  • Symbols chart that shows common uses for color and emotions

 

Credits

U.S. Department of Education- STEM + the Art of Integrated Learning

Ideas contributed by: SAIL Grant Teacher Leaders–Chad Itnyre, Kristen Alvarez, Leah Patel, Lucerito Gonzalez, Tamu Clayton, Sandra Cash, Erin Smullen

*This integrated lesson provides differentiated ideas and activities for educators that are aligned to a sampling of standards. Standards referenced at the time of publishing may differ based on each state’s adoption of new standards.

Revised and copyright:  August 2025 @ ArtsNOW

 

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