Image of a pile of jeans and image of three different types of sneakers
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Jeans Take Over

How did all of America end up wearing the same type of pants?

By Allison Friedman
From the September 2022 Issue

Learning Objective: Students will compare and contrast the history of jeans and sneakers and the roles they’ve played in Americans’ lives.

Lexile: 700L-800L, 800L-900L
Guided Reading Level: Q
DRA Level: 40
Other Key Skills: vocabulary, text features, author’s craft, compare and contrast, key details, supporting an opinion, inference, applying ideas, explanatory writing

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UP CLOSE: Compare and Contrast

As you read this article, think about how both jeans and sneakers became American favorites. How are their histories similar and different?

Jeans Take Over

How did all of America end up wearing the same type of pants

It was 1870 in western Nevada. Thousands of men swarmed over dusty hills, all looking for the same thinggold and silver.

Finding just one shiny piece could make you rich. But searching for gold and silver was backbreaking work. All day long, the workers trudged through narrow tunnels and hunched over their shovels. As they dug and scraped and sifted dirt, many faced an annoying problem: They kept ripping their pants.

A tailor from Eastern Europe named Jacob Davis would help fix that. One day, a worker’s wife came up to Davis and begged him to make her husband a stronger pair of pants. Looking at the round metal pins he used on horse blankets, Davis was struck with an idea. He clamped the pinscalled rivetsonto the pockets and fly of the pants, where they most often tore.

And it worked! The strong metal rivets held the fabric together. The new pants were almost un-rippable. Soon, all the workers in the area wanted a pair

More than 150 years later, Davis’s riveted pants are still popular. In fact, you probably have a pair in your dresser drawer right now. You know them as jeans.   

Image showing a patent for clothing

Levi Strauss & Co., Archive 

Early ads for jeans, like this one from the 1800s, showed how tough and useful they were as pants for workers.

Tough Pants

Jeans had existed long before Davis came along. As early as 500 years ago, workers in India, Italy, and France were wearing pants made of thick, coarse fabrics. One of these fabrics became known as denim.

When Europeans began moving to America in the 1500s, they brought denim with them. The heavy cloth was perfect for work pants: It was sturdy enough to hold up during difficult jobs but comfortable enough to wear all day. To help hide dirt, the pants were often dyed blue. 

But it wasn’t until the 1870s, when Davis invented his indestructible jeans, that the pants started to become America’s work uniform. Almost right away, the new jeans flew off the shelves. Davis asked his fabric supplier, Levi Strauss, to go into business with him. Over the next 60 years, their riveted jeans came to be worn by almost all American workers: farmers, woodcutters, railroad builders, factory workers.  

Farms to Fashion

Black & white photo of Elvis performing one of his signature dance moves

Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images 

Known as the “King of Rock ’n’ Roll,” Elvis Presley was one of the most famous singers of the 1950s and ’60s.

So how did denim pants make their way into your lifeIt started in the 1930s. By then, Americans had fallen in love with Western movies, which featured heroic cowboys giddyupping across the Wild West. Tucked into the cowboys’ leather boots were . . . jeans, of course!

Little kids began begging their parents for jeans to play cowboys. Wealthy people wore them to look like their favorite movie stars

Denim companies realized, ‘Wow, there are a lot of people who want to wear jeans just for fun,’ ” says James Sullivan, the author of a book on the history of jeans

By the 1950s, blue jeans had entered the world of fashion. Rock star Elvis Presley twisted and shimmied onstage in his jeans. Superstar actors like James Dean wore them to play tough-talking teens in movies. Many schools banned the pants, which were seen as the outfit of troublemakers. But that only made them seem cooler to young Americans.

Over the next couple of decades, jeans became more and more popular. Dozens of new denim companies sprang up to feed what was becoming a blue jeans obsession.

Just for You

Today, 96 percent of Americans own jeans. Maybe you even have a pair from Levi Strauss & Co., which is still the world’s biggest jeans company today.

Jacob Davis would be amazed to see how the pants have changed over the years. There were the fancy designer jeans of the 1970s. There were the baggy jeans worn by hip-hop stars in the 1990s. There were the skinny jeans of the 2010s. “Every generation finds a new way to wear jeans so that they feel like their own,” Sullivan explains. 

And that might be the secret to their long-lasting power. Jeans have been around for more than 150 years. They’re worn by almost every person in the country. But your favorite pair somehow feels like it was made just for you.

Sneaker Nation

The history behind everyone’s favorite shoe

Image showing seven different kinds of sneakers

Courtesy of Puma.com/Mega Themegaagency.com/Newscom (White Sneakers); Shutterstock.com (All Other Images)

It was a Sunday morning in Oregon in 1971. As Bill Bowerman and his wife, Barbara, made waffles, they chatted about a familiar topic: running shoes

Bowerman was a track coach at the University of Oregon. For years, he’d been making shoes for the runners on his team. But now he had a problem

Like many running tracks across the U.S., the dirt track at the university was being replaced with one made of rubber. At the time, running shoes had metal spikes on the bottom so runners wouldn’t slip. But those spikes tore the new tracks and slowed runners down. Bowerman needed to find a solution.

Suddenly, Barbara pulled a hot waffle out of the waffle makerand something clicked in Bowerman’s brain. The pattern on the waffle maker was exactly what he had been looking for! The raised squares would keep a runner from slipping, but they wouldn’t tear up the track.

Bowerman snatched up the waffle maker and hurried off to his lab. Little did he know that he was about to change the future of sneakers forever

Image of Michael Jordan playing basketball and close-up of his Nike sneakers

Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE Via Getty Images (Michael Jordan); Shutterstock.com (Sneaker)

Michael Jordan wearing Air Jordans in 1985 

Shoes for the Rich

By the time Bowerman created his new shoes, sneakered feet had already been running around for about 100 years. The first sneakers appeared in the 1860s. Like diamonds or fancy boats, these early sneakers were a luxury. They were meant for games like croquet and tennis, which only wealthy people had time to play.

That began to change in the early 1900s. More and more ordinary Americans started to discover sports and exercise. And the price of sneakers dropped. By the 1920s, most people could afford a pair. 

But the options were limited. If you wanted sneakers, you could buy either Converse All Stars or Keds. These shoes were made of a rough cloth called canvas—and they only came in white, black, or brown (snore).

Dozens of Styles

It wasn’t until the 1970s, and Bowerman’s invention, that sneakers as we know them today took shape. To make his shoes, Bowerman had helped start a little-known company. You might have heard of itNike

Nike began selling Bowerman’sWaffle Trainersin 1974. The shoes were an instant hitand they led to a golden age of sneakers.

Dozens of new styles soon appeared: bright-blue Nikes, brilliant-yellow Pumas, sparkling-white Adidas. Yet these sneakers were mostly popular among die-hard fans of sports and fashion, particularly in cities like New York.

Image of three performers all wearing Adidas shoes

Shutterstock.com (Sneaker); Ebet Roberts/Getty Images (Run-D.M.C.)

Run-D.M.C. was one of the first hip-hop groups to make rap music well-known across America. Here, they pose wearing their Adidas Superstars in 1986. 

Sneaker Obsession

Then, in 1985, Nike launched a brand-new shoe for basketball player Michael Jordan. Jordan was new to the NBA, but his dunks, dives, and lightning speed had already dazzled crowds. Few people could play like this superstarbut they could at least wear his shoes. Nike sold half a million pairs of the new sneakers, called Air Jordans, in one month.

Then there was hip-hop music, whose artists began showing off sneakers in videos and onstage. One hip-hop group called Run-D.M.C. loved their Adidas Superstars so much that they wrote a song about them. “My Adidasbecame a huge hit in 1986, and sales of Adidas sneakers skyrocketed.

This kind of attention from famous athletes and musicians marked a turning point in our relationship with sneakers. What was once simply a comfortable, practical shoe had become a worldwide obsession.

Sneakerheads

Today, people buy more than $85 billion worth of sneakers every year. There are hundreds of styles, colors, and brands

We strut down school hallways in our Nike Air Force 1s. We race across the playground in our Converse All Stars. The release of a new sneaker can be a big event, with crowds of sneaker collectors, orsneakerheads,” camping out hours before stores open

So if you’re among the millions of sneaker lovers, you might want to say thank you to Bill Bowermanand to waffles.

What’s The Connection?

What various events or situations made jeans become popular? How are these the same or different from what made sneakers popular? Answer both questions using details from the articles.

This article was originally published in the September 2022 issue.

Slideshows (1)
Slideshow
Background Builder Slideshow: Jeans and Sneaker Stars

<p style="text-align: left;">Meet the celebrities who helped make jeans and sneakers popular before you read the paired texts “Jeans Take Over” and “Sneaker Nation.”</p>

Background Builder Slideshow: Jeans and Sneaker Stars

Meet the celebrities who helped make jeans and sneakers popular before you read the paired texts “Jeans Take Over” and “Sneaker Nation.”

Audio (1)
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Paired Texts: Jeans Take Over

September 2022
Paired Texts: Jeans Take Over
Paired Text Read-Aloud: Jeans Take Over (800L-900L)
(05:42)
Paired Text Read-Aloud: Jeans Take Over (700L-800L)
Lower Level (05:22)
Paired Text Read-Aloud: Sneaker Nation (800L-900L)
(04:53)
Paired Text Read-Aloud: Sneaker Nation (700L-800L)
Lower Level (04:21)
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Answer Key
Step-by-Step Lesson Plan

Table of Contents

1. Preparing to Read

2. Reading and Discussing

Close Reading, Critical Thinking

3. Skill Building and Writing

4. Differentiate and Customize

Striving Readers, Advanced Readers, Multilingual Learners

5. Can’t-Miss Teaching Extras

1. Preparing to Read

Watch a Slideshow, Introduce Vocabulary, Set a Purpose for Reading

2. Reading and Discussing

  • Have students read the articles independently or in small groups. They can read the on-level version (from the print magazine) or the lower-Lexile version. Alternatively, they can listen to the Author Read-Aloud of either level.
  • Discuss the close-reading and critical-thinking questions together as a class. 

Close-Reading Questions

  • What problem were many workers out West experiencing? How did Jacob Davis help solve it? (problem and solution) Many workers were ripping their pants from the backbreaking work they endured all day long searching for gold and silver. Davis helped make jeans stronger by using rivets to hold the fabric together in the places where they most often tore.  
  • The author, Allison Friedman, describes jeans as “America’s work uniform.” Which details from the article support this idea? (supporting details) The author states  that “jeans came to be worn by almost all American workers: farmers, woodcutters, railroad builders, factory workers,” and that the new jeans “flew off the shelves” 
  • According to the section “Farms to Fashion,” what factors helped jeans become popular in the fashion world? (cause and effect) Americans fell in love with Western movies, which featured heroic cowboys wearing jeans. People started wanting to wear jeans like their favorite movie stars did. Celebrities such as Elvis Presley and James Dean also helped jeans become more popular.
  • Why have jeans remained popular for so long? (summarizing) Jeans have remained popular for so long because they have been adapted over time. Each generation found a way to update jeans or change how they were worn. As a result, jeans have never gone out of style. 

 

"Sneaker Nation"

  • What inspired Bill Bowerman’s solution for the problem of sneakers with spikes not being suited for new rubber tracks? (problem and solution) Bowerman’s solution was inspired by a waffle maker that his wife was using. The pattern on the waffle maker led him to use raised squares on the bottom of sneakers to help keep a runner from slipping. 
  • How have sneakers changed over the years? (summarizing) Sneakers started off as a luxury item for the wealthy. They were meant for games like croquet and tennis, which only the wealthy played. During the 1900s, sneakers became more affordable and more popular with Americans. They were mainly used for sports and exercise. Then sneakers reached a golden age during the ’80s. Athletes and hip-hop music caused sneaker sales to skyrocket. Today, there are hundreds of styles, colors, and brands of sneakers, and they are worn as a fashion accessory. 
  • According to the article, what caused the turning point in our relationship with sneakers? How is this similar to the turning point with jeans? (compare and contrast). The attention from famous athletes and artists marked a turning point in our relationship with sneakers. Similarly, jeans became wildly popular once famous movie stars and musicians started wearing them.  
  • Reread the section “Sneakerheads.” What conclusions can you draw based on this section? (drawing conclusions) Based on this section, you can conclude that most Americans own and love sneakers. Sneakers are likely to continue to evolve in both their style and usage, and they will probably be around for a long time. 

Critical-Thinking Question

  • There is a saying that goes “Necessity is the mother of invention.” That means that people invent things to meet the needs they have. How does this saying apply to jeans and sneakers? Use details from the articles in your answer. (explaining ideas) Both jeans and waffle-bottomed sneakers were invented out of necessity. Jeans were invented because people needed stronger work pants that would not rip. Waffle-bottomed sneakers were invented because rubber running tracks started to replace dirt tracks. Runners needed sneakers that would keep them from slipping without damaging the track. 
  • Imagine you’re improving an article of clothing. Based on what you read in these articles, what might make this clothing become popular? (synthesizing) Answers will vary. Students may mention that a type of clothing might become popular if it is worn by popular stars and featured in movies. It also might become popular if it is worn by a talented athlete or if musicians wear it and/or write about it in their songs. The clothing can also become popular if it is offered in a variety of colors and styles or if it can be customized. 

3. Skill Building and Writing

Differentiate and Customize
For Striving Readers

Have students read the lower-Lexile version of the articles. Work with students in a small group to complete a Venn diagram about how the history of jeans and the history of sneakers are similar and different (available in our Activity Library).

For Advanced Readers

Have students reread the articles and highlight important dates in the history of both jeans and sneakers. Then have students create two timelines. One should be titled “The Evolution of Jeans” and the other “The Evolution of Sneakers.”  For example, the jeans timeline should include the arrival of denim in America (1500s), Davis’s riveted pants (1870s), jeans worn by almost all American workers (early 1900s), jeans in movies (1930s), jeans on celebrities and the school ban (1950s), and updated trends of the ’70s, ’90s, 2010s, and today. For each entry, students should include a visual representation (photo or drawing) as well as a brief description. Students may include information from their own research as well. 

For Multilingual Learners

As students read this story, point out figures of speech such as “flew off the shelves” and “sprang up to feed what was becoming a blue jeans obsession” in “Jeans Take Over.”  In “Sneaker Nation,” point out the phrase “something clicked in Bowerman’s brain.” Discuss the literal and figurative meanings of each phrase. (Note that these phrases have been changed in the lower-Lexile version of the articles.)

Can't-Miss Teaching Extras
Dig Deeper Into Denim

Find out more about the history of blue jeans in this video from Britannica.

Go Green

This article from Scholastic’s SuperScience magazine showcases a way to dye jeans blue without using chemicals.

Explore the History of Shoes

This video illustrates the evolution of shoes from 40,000 B.C.E. to 2020. It includes the Nike waffle sneaker mentioned in this article. (Note that this video starts with a short ad.)

Design Your Own Sneaker

Your students can use this sneaker template from DIY website Make Me to design their own shoe that reflects who they are. 

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