Margolies, John. Largest cowboy boots, Access Road, I-410 [The sculpture, formally titled the "Biggest Cowboy Boots in the World" was copyrighted by artist Bob Wade.], San Antonio, Texas. 1982. Photograph. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. https://www.loc.gov/item/2017705892/.
Students will be presented with the picture of the world’s largest cowboy boots, making observations about the style and size. Then, students will explore items in other cities and towns that hold the record for world’s largest items. Students will choose one item they find and create a tall tale using the item as inspiration for their story.
Created by artist Bob Wade, the world’s largest cowboy boots are located in front of North Star Mall in San Antonio, Texas. Though originally created using scrap metal for the Washington Project for the Arts in 1979, the boots have been in San Antonio since January 1980.
Source: https://texashighways.com/travel/roadside-oddity-the-worlds-largest-cowboy-boots/
Source: : https://texashighways.com/travel/roadside-oddity-the-worlds-largest-cowboy-boots/
- What is the significance of the size and style of the boots in front of the San Antonio mall?
- Why do you think the artist chose to make boots instead of some other footwear?
- How do boots fit into the fabric of Texas’ history, culture, and folklore?
ELA Standard
4.9.A. Multiple genres. Demonstrate knowledge of distinguishing characteristics of well-known children's literature such as folktales, fables, legends, myths, and tall tales.
Social Studies Standard
4.17. Culture. The student understands the contributions of people of various racial, ethnic, and religious groups to Texas culture.
Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.
- Students will begin by viewing the image of the world’s largest cowboy boots. Discuss what they notice in the picture:
- What is the style of boots?
- What materials do they appear to be made of?
- What can you tell about the size of the sculpture from the picture?
- Why might the artist choose to make such a large sculpture of something so common, and why do you think he chose boots instead of some other kind of shoe?
- Share with students the fact that the sculpture is located in San Antonio, Texas, but originally, it was created for Washington, D.C. After three months, they no longer wanted the sculpture, and it was purchased by the owners of North Star Mall. You can show them images of the dismantling and moving process to help highlight just how large the boots are. https://texashighways.com/travel/roadside-oddity-the-worlds-largest-cowboy-boots/
- Why do you think the owners would purchase this piece of artwork that another city no longer wanted?
- What does this sculpture say about the importance of boots in the daily life and culture as Texans?
- Following the discussion, let students explore other world’s largest roadside attractions. There are multiple sites with curated lists (https://www.bigroads.com/articles-worldslargest.html or https://www.batchgeo.com/map/roadside-attractions). Have them write down their top 3–5 attractions.
- Once students have their list, have them choose one as the inspiration for writing their own tall tale. Before writing begins, review the characteristics of tall tales, reminding students of the genre’s extensive use of figurative language and exaggeration. Students can use a well-known figure from tall tales, or they can create their own.
- Allow students to read their stories to their classmates, encouraging the use of animated storytelling.
Margolies, John. World's largest buffalo (46' long, 26' high, 60 tons), Jamestown, North Dakota. 1990. Photograph. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. https://www.loc.gov/item/2017702790/.