Two Pairs of Shoes
Developed by Anne Brownell & Bonnie Barger for ArleeElementary School
Text Title, Author and Citation
Sanderson, Esther. Two Pairs of Shoes.Ill. David Beyer. Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada: Pemmican Publications, Inc.,1990.
About the Author
Esther Sanderson is from the Pas Reserve but now lives in Winnipeg. She has a Bachelor of Education from BrandonUniversity and a Masters of Education from the University of Manitoba. She has taught in Manitoba and northern British Columbia. Esther is currently employed as a Native Language Consultant for the Native Education Branch, Manitoba Education Training.
David Beyer was born in 1960 in Churchill, Manitoba to a German-Canadian father and a Cree mother. He attended the Ontario College of Art and went on to work as a designer for Ontario Indian and Sweetgrass magazines. His illustrations for children have included work for McGraw-Hill Ryerson, Nelson Canada, the RoyalOntarioMuseum and the CIRCLE program at the Ontario Institute for studies in Education.Many of the illustrations in this book have been inspired by his mother, Pat, and her stories and photos of her childhood in Fisher River, Manitoba. For this reason, he dedicates this work to her. He currently lives in Toronto with his wife, Julia, and his one-year-old daughter, Vida.
Text Summary
A young girl named Maggie receives a pair of dress shoes from mother for her birthday. They were shoes that she had wanted for a long time. She goes to show them to her grandmother, who is blind.Maggie’s grandmother compliments her on her new shoes and tells her to open a special box. In the box is a pair of beautiful beaded moccasins.Maggie is told that she now has two pairs of shoes and that she must learn when and how to wear each pair.
Tribe(s) Represented in Text
The author is from the Pas Reserve. The illustrator is Cree.
Setting of Text
Rural setting
Genre of Text
Fiction
Suggested Grade Level(s)
1st-2nd grade
Time Required
20 – 30 minutes
Supplies and Materials
If possible, each child should bring in two different pairs of shoes. Big paper or a marker board (for gathering data), markers, pictures of moccasins, real moccasins, pieces of leather, beads
Background Information
Become familiar with the tribal affiliation in your area. Research the use of moccasins and the steps needed to make them.
Implementation Level, Essential Understandings and MT Content Standards
Banks - O’meter / Essential Understandings – Big Ideas / Montana Content Standards4 / Social Action / x / 1-Diversity between tribal groups is great. / x / 5-History represents subjective experience & perspective. / Reading
1.1,1.3,1.4,2.2,2.6 / Social Studies
1.2,1.3,2.5
3 / Transformative / x / 2-Diversity between individuals is great. / 6-Federal Indian policies shifted through 7 major periods.
2 / Additive / x / 3-Oral histories are valid & predate European contact. / 7-Tribes reserved a portion of their land-base through treaties. / Science
1.2,2.1 / Math
1.1,4.3
Speaking & Listening
2.1-2.3
1 / Contributions / x / 4-Ideologies, traditions, beliefs, & spirituality persist / 8-Three forms of sovereignty exist - federal, state, & tribal.
Instructional Outcomes – Learning Targets
Content Area Standards
Essential Understandings
Essential Understanding 1: There is great diversity among the 12 tribal Nations of Montana in their languages, cultures, histories and governments. Each Nation has a distinct and unique cultural heritage that contributes to modern Montana.
Essential Understanding 2: There is great diversity among individual American Indians as identity is developed, defined and redefined by many entities, organizations and people. There is a continuum of Indian identity ranging from assimilated to traditional and is unique to each individual. There is no generic American Indian.
Essential Understanding 3:The ideologies of Native traditional beliefs and spirituality persist into modern day life as tribal cultures, traditions and languages are still practiced by many American Indian people and are incorporated into how tribes govern and manage their affairs.
Additionally, each tribe has its own oral history beginning with their origins that are as valid as written histories. These histories pre-date the “discovery” of North America.
Essential Understanding 5: History is a story and most often related through the subjective experience of the teller. Histories are being rediscovered and revised. History told from an Indian perspective conflicts with what most of mainstream history tells us.
Social Studies
Students will
1.2 evaluate information quality (e.g. accuracy, relevance, fact or fiction).
1.3 use information to support statements and practice basic group decision making strategies in real world situations (e.g. class elections, playground and classroom rules, recycling projects, school stores).
2.5 identify and explain the individual’s responsibilities to family, peers and the community, including the need for civility, respect for diversity and the rights of others.
Science
Students will
1.2 select and accurately use appropriate tools to measure, process and analyze results of a basic scientific investigation.
2.1 examine, describe, compare and classify tangible objects in terms of common physical properties.
Skill Sets
Reading
Students will
1.1make predictions and connections between new material and previous information/experiences
1.3provide oral, written, and/or artistic responses to ideas and feelings generated by the reading material
1.4demonstrate basic understanding of main ideas and some supporting details
2.2 demonstrate understanding of literary elements (e.g., plot, character, setting, problem, and solution).
2.6 develop vocabulary through use of context clues, analysis of word parts, auditory clues, and reference sources (e.g., dictionary, thesaurus, and glossary).
Speaking/Listening
Students will
2.1 recognize the techniques of listening in a variety of situations (e.g., focusing attention, reflecting, interpreting, analyzing, and responding to messages).
2.2 demonstrate appropriate speaking and listening behaviors in communicating with peers and others in formal and informal classroom situations.
2.3 speak and listen effectively for a range of purposes (e.g., reading aloud and listening to oral readings, sharing and listening to personal experiences, presenting and listening to oral reports, clearly giving and understanding directions and instructions).
Math
Students will
1.1 solve problems from many contexts using a variety of strategies (e.g., estimate, make a table, look for a pattern, and simplify the problem). Explain the methods for solving these problems.
4.3 identify lines of symmetry, congruent and similar shapes, and positional relationships.
Learning Experiences–Text-Based Inquiry
Before
Have each child bring in different types of shoes that they may have. (Example: dress shoes, tennis shoes, cowboy boots, moccasins, sandals, flip flops, etc.) Classify, chart, and label the different types of shoes. Lead a discussion about when and where we wear certain shoes.
During
Read the text for enjoyment. Ask comprehension questions to check for understanding.For example, how do you think Maggie felt when she received her new shoes? When would Maggie wear her moccasins?
After
Share the different pictures of moccasins that you have collected. If possible pass around a pair of moccasins. Pass around the pieces of leather and beads.
If possible have someone help make moccasins or make a sample of what a moccasin is made of with the leather and beads.
Assessment
Teacher observations and student products. The classroom graph and sorting of shoes activity.
Teacher Notes and Cautions
Check the pronunciations of the words in the book.
Research the use of moccasins.
Vocabulary
Nitanis – my daughter, my girl
Nosisim – my granddaughter
Kokom – grandmother (used when talking about any grandmother but your own)
Nokom – my grandmother (used when talking about your own grandmother)
Extension Activities
- Making moccasins
- Math: sorting, graphing, counting, grouping
- Venn diagram, classifying