Image of a blue croc
Page 26: Realimage/Alamy Stock Photo (Blue Croc); Shutterstock.com (Boat, Hill); (c) Lcorsetti | Dreamstime.com (Orange Crocs); Marybeth Rivera (Child); Page 27: Marybeth Rivera (Jibbitz); Minecraft x Crocs/MEGA/Newscom (Minecraft); Shutterstock.com (Crocodile, Yellow Croc); Courtesy of Crocs (All Other Images)
Past to Present,

The True Story of Crocs

Crocs were invented more than 20 years ago.  Learn how this weird shoe took over the world.

From the September 2025 Issue

Learning Objective: Students will follow an infographic to understand how Crocs have evolved over time.

Lexiles: 330L
Featured Skill: Text Features, Key Details,
Topic: Social Studies,
Common Core Standards
  • RF.1.1 Features of print RI.1.3 Connecting information RI.1.5 Text features RI.1.7 Use illustrations to describe key ideas SL.1.1 Participate in collaborative discussions with peers and adults SL.1.2 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud
TEKS Standards
  • Social Studies
    (15) Science, technology, and society. The student identifies individuals who created or invented new technology and understands how technology affects daily life, past and present. The student is expected to: (A) describe how technology has affected the ways families live.

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1. The first Crocs were made to be worn on boats. Crocs can get wet.


2. The shoes looked funny! But they were comfy.

Kids started wearing them.

3. A lot of adults wanted them too. Soon there were even high-heel Crocs!


4. Then came Jibbitz. People could put their favorite things on Crocs.

Dogs can wear Crocs too!


5. Now there are so many kinds of Crocs! Which kind would you wear? 

Activities (3)
Skills Activities
Answer Key (1)
Activities (3) Download All Quizzes and Activities
Skills Activities
Answer Key (1)

More About the Article

English Language Arts Focus

Sequencing

Nonfiction text features

Social Studies Focus

History

Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
Download the Lesson Plan

Implementation

  • Whole group
  • Small group

Pairings and Text Connections

Suggested Reading Focus

Sequencing/How things change over time (20 minutes)

  • Preview the article with students. Explain that it is an infographic, which arranges pictures and text in a way that gives you information. Ask them what they notice about the nonfiction features.
  • Tell children that they will be learning about the history of Crocs. Build excitement by asking what they know about the shoes. Do they have a pair?
  • Read the article. After each section, pause and check comprehension by asking students to summarize how the shoes have changed.
  • After reading, ask students to recall how Crocs have changed over time. Summarize their learning through discussion or on chart paper.

After-Reading Skills Practice

  • Skills: ending punctuation; writing/self-awareness (15 minutes)

Text-to-Speech