Pistes d'exploration

Generate ten questions that can be answered by reading the book. Take turns answering each other’s questions.

Create a poster or media presentation to explain the history of denim to the class. Use visuals to explain the story.

Make a KWL chart about jeans.

Read the table of contents page and predict what each chapter will be about.

Make a poster or a media presentation to explain to the class three facts you learned by reading the story.

On your own, create a word web for jeans. Add to it with a partner and finalize it as a class.

Create a timeline of changing styles of jeans, from their conception to the present. According to the author, why are jeans still popular today?

With a partner, create a storyboard for a 15-second Internet advertisement for jeans. Target an audience such as labourers, professionals or teens.

Mr. Frank

Mots-clés

Non-fiction , 20th century , clothing , fashion , illustrations (cartoon) , jeans , social change

Commentaire descriptif

When a high school prank lands JD and Shred in detention hall, the principal assigns them a daunting report on the history of blue jeans. Readers accompany the sleuths on their quest to dig up the dirt on how a durable pair of work pants evolved into a 13 billion industry. Along the way they discover some of the key players, such as Levi Strauss and Henry David Lee, and learn about jeans through the ages: from wartime to rodeo to rock ’n’ roll. Their research takes them through the gamut of jean styles: flared, ripped, acid-washed, skinny, straight legged, “jeggings.” They learn the cultural origins of different styles, including the low-riding prisoner jeans that inspired '90s hip-hop fashion. Denim today is “as personalized as an iPod playlist.” A traditional narrative text format is combined with humorous comic-style art. Additional information capsules are set in sidebars resembling denim scraps. The eclectic layout and multi-format approach will engage even reluctant readers. As for JD and Shred, their hard work on the assignment earns them a gold star!