Footprint "Get-to-Know-You" Project

          The footprint I created depicts many aspects of my life.  First, the fish and the tent depict my love for the outdoors and for my family. This is because camping and fishing are things that my family has done together since I was very little.  The violin represents my love for music, and the fact that I have played the violin since I was a third grader.  The dog collar with “Hercules” is for my Jack Russell Terrier and my boyfriend CJ because Hercy was a gift from CJ.  The cross country runner is there because I ran cross country for six years, and I still love to run recreationally.  The Twilight book is representative of the entire Twilight series, which is my favorite series.  The background of the foot, which may seem a bit over the top, is representative of my crazy, hectic, busy lifestyle.  Finally, I included my middle name, Anne, because it is a family heirloom that has been passed down from generation to generation.

          This footprint was created as a way to introduce myself to the entire class.  It can easily be used in a classroom to help your students feel comfortable, accepted, and get to know one another.  First, have the students trace their foot, and cut it out.  From there, have the students draw, cut, past, etc. things that represent their life.  In this particular project, we were required to use at least three different types of media, and I would suggest that you have your students do this also.  The only other requirement for this project was to include your name so that others would know whose foot was whose.  Also, once the footprints were finished, we had to present them to the class as a “get-to-know-you” activity.  One suggestion though would be to give students time to create their footprints.  Don’t provide them with only 10-20 minutes to create this.  If you want students to share this with the class, provide them enough time to create something that they are proud of and proud to share.

          This idea of using a footprint could be easily transferred into a history class.  You could have students trace a foot, and cut it out.  From there, they could research a person in history to create a footprint on.  As the teacher, you could required the students to choose a person from a certain time period, give them a list of people to choose from, or just let them choose anyone.  It is all up to you and what you want your students to get out of the project!  To make it even better, you could have the students either write a paper on the person, or have them present the footprint to the class.