3 Creative Ways to Make Crocs Work for You in Your Middle School ELA Classroom
Crocs became a “thing” when I was in high school, but I wouldn’t say they were a cool thing. A few moms wore them in their gardens. Maybe one kid in my class had a pair, and people didn’t say the nicest things about them.
But now all of the kids are showing up in Crocs, and as much as I don’t get it, I’m not one to pass up an opportunity to make a trend meet our ELA standards. If you’re an opportunist like me, here are 3 tricks to making Crocks work for you in your middle school ELA classroom:
1.Introduce Symbolism
Near the beginning of the year, ask your students to design Jibbitz (shoe charms for Crocs) that represent them as a person. If they’re really into music, they might draw a piano keyboard; if they love sports, they might draw a basketball. After everyone has designed their Jibbitz, you can casually mention that these images represent—or symbolize—their interests and passions. Their Jibbitz are symbols of their personalities. From there, you can begin to expound on the concept of symbolism. (Check out these symbolism activities to take the concept further!)
2.Analyze Book Characters
My students have 10-15 minutes of choice reading time every day during class, and one of the ways I check on their comprehension is with a fun activity using the same concept of shoe charms! First, I have my students decide which Jibbitz their book characters would wear in their Crocs. Then I have them back up their answers with textual evidence from the books they are reading. Once they have found quotes from their books to support their answers, they design the Jibbitz and glue them onto a shoe template that I give them. My students were so engaged in this activity!
3.Decorate the Classroom
Once my students have designed their Crocs and Jibbitz, I love to tape them all around my room as decorations. Besides looking bright and colorful, they also entice students to read books they haven’t thought about before as they see which books their friends have been reading. Win-win!
I can’t say I will ever wear holey, plastic, gardening shoes on my feet, but I have been pleasantly surprised to see how they have engaged my students in learning ELA concepts. When you try these ideas in your classroom, tag @distinguishedenglish on Instagram so I can follow along on your adventures!
