Of Mice and Men

1. Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck

2. A little information about the author • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r02N-SM4atE

3. The American Dream • What is the American Dream? • Does it still exist? • What is your American Dream?

4. Anticipation . . . • This book is going to move us into some gray areas. Not everything is black and white. • When we are young it is easy to feel strongly about right and wrong. What are some things that you consider WRONG. (ex: cheating on a test) • What are some things you consider RIGHT. (ex: obeying traffic laws)

5. Topics in Of Mice and Men • There are several big topics in this tiny little novella! • The Great Depression • Intellectual Disability – what happened to the mentally handicapped in this time period? • Sexism – what is it? How were women typically viewed? • Racism – 1930’s style • Another issue important about this book: • Censorship and book banning – one of the most heavily banned books in history

6. Group Project • Find out what your topic of research is from Mrs. Russell-Read. • Research your topic and collect information to share with your group. • Summarize what you have learned and create a keynote of 4 panels. Share the most important information from what you learned. • 5th panel: What did you find to be the most powerful, surprising, or painful thing you learned about this topic? • 6th panel: How do you think this applies to the novel Of Mice and Men? • Be prepared to have your group present. I expect to see everyone in your group sharing this job.

7. Homework: • Read chapter 1 (it may only be a large break in the text) • Annotate as you read. Look for developing themes. (Themes develop around the topics – like what you researched with your group.) Write down any questions about the characters, time period, actions, motivations, etc. • We will finish presentations next block.

8. OMAM Day2 • Get out 5 index cards • In big capital letters, name each card: A, B, C, D, or E (one letter per card) • SAT Word of the Day • http://sat.collegeboard.org/practice/sat-question-of-the-day • Keep your cards!!!

9. Day 2 • Finish presentations • Discuss Chapter 1 • What themes are we already seeing develop? • John Steinbeck’s signature style of writing is present in chapter 1. Heavy descriptions of the land. Where do we see this? • Describe our 2 main characters. • It was pretty rare for anyone to travel with a companion under these conditions. Why do you think George and Lennie stay together? • George and Lennie in popular culture: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JlVqfC8-UI • Tell me about the rabbits, George:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24-zvMyxNAo

10. John Steinbeck • Brief biography (3+ minutes) • http://www.biography.com/people/john-steinbeck-9493358 • Nobel Prize acceptance speech (5+ minutes): • http://www.nobelprize.org/mediaplayer/index.php?id=1303

11. Summarizing Activity • Write a bio-poem for John Steinbeck. Write it below your paragraph. • Bio-poem example: • http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson398/biopoem.pdf

12. Homework • Chapter 2 • Continue to look for evidence of the themes. Underline, highlight, write notes (anything you feel needs to be noted – personal thoughts, ideas, observations). Of course, don’t WRITE or MARK in a borrowed book. Keep notes for yourself with page numbers. • Also tab or mark anything that stands out to you that you would like to discuss further. Especially write down any questions that pop up as you read. • This is information that will be used in the future for Socratic Circle AND an essay. • Example of Socratic Circle: https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/teaching-the-n-word

13. Chapter 2 • Note: opening description of bunk house • We meet Candy (minor topic of ageism) • What do we usually mean when we say the word “buck”? How is it used in this chapter? (pg 25) • Why does the boss think George is taking Lennie’s pay? (pg 28) • Although George is protective of Lennie, he is also very, very cruel to him. Why? • Curley’s description pg 31

14. Chapter 2 continued • Napoleon complex? Know what it is? Pg 33 • Foreshadowing: pg 34 • Curley’s wife: pg 34 and several references • George warns Lennie and tries to prepare him for Curley • Meet Curley’s wife, George warns Lennie about her, too • How do they handle having too many puppies? • What is inspiring Lennie to stay out of trouble?

15. With a partner: • Look through chapters 1 and 2 to find any references to Lennie in which he has animal-like characteristics. Ex: he hands are often referred to as paws. • After finding as many references as possible, work together to creatively express the “creature” that is described with these references. You can do a collage, draw a picture, make a keynote, or some other more-creative-than-me way to express it.

16. Homework • Read Chapter 3 • Continue to annotate

17. Day 4 (after reading Ch. 3) • Lennie gets promised a puppy. So now what is the problem? • Why has George stopped pulling pranks on Lennie? • A young girl claims that she was “raped” by Lennie? Let’s discuss why she would say that. (Very innocent, ignorant young girls) • Candy’s dog is “suffering.” Why do we put animals “out of their misery?” Why is it so hard for Candy to see his dog’s misery? How did you feel during this portion of the story? • Was the result of this scene a necessary evil?

18. Chapter 3 cont. • The stable hand has a name: Crooks • Crooks expresses concern for Lennie handling the puppies. • How do most of the men handle their money? How do they spend it? • Why is Candy so eager to join George and Lennie in their American Dream? What has happened to his own dream? (Like most everyone else’s) • Aaaannnnnd. . . The smackdown with Curley happened. Notice all of the words describing Lennie that are animal-like. • How does Slim get Curley to agree to keep quiet?

19. Do in class (finish for homework if necessary) • Read “Johnny Bear” by John Steinbeck (in iTeach documents) • This story was written as a precursor to Of Mice and Men • How many similar themes can you find that the 2 stories share? • Choose two of the strongest themes and identify and chart them on the handout. Turn the chart in when you are finished. It is homework if you don’t get it finished. You may work with a partner if you like, but both people turn in an assignment.

20. Homework for 9/17-18 • Read chapter 4 (finish book by 9/25-26) • Finish “Johnny Bear” assignment

21. FYI: • Still waiting on some John Steinbeck bio-poems to be turned in. You have a grade if you turned it in already. 2B: I do have one turned in that is typed, but without a name. If that is you, email me!

22. Looking to the future. . . • Next class you should have the book finished. • There will be little discussion about the ending. Save that for 2 blocks from now. We will focus on preparing for a Socratic Circle. • In two blocks we will do a Socratic Circle (duh!). • In three blocks we will be writing essays. You will focus on ONE theme found in the book and explain how Steinbeck develops that theme over the course of the novel.

23. Common Themes in JS stories • What did you find? • What else is similar in the stories? • Did you understand the ending? Why did Miss Amy commit suicide? Why did the guy hit Johnny Bear when he started talking? • Can you answer these questions? If you don’t feel sure, check with someone else before turning your assignment in. I will review this when we meet next. • TURN THIS IN!

24. Chapter 4 (Do not write these answers, jut be able to answer them!) • Let’s talk about Crooks. Describe him, his room, his attitude about people and his job. • Curley’s wife shows up in Crooks’ room. She calls them out for being scared. Why? • Crooks, Candy, and Curley’s wife all have something in common. What is it? • She also threatens Crooks. Let’s discuss. • After Crooks had been so hopeful about his future, the chapter ends on a sour note for him. Why?

25. Important things to note: • Crooks is lonely and bitter. Being black means that he can only be part of some things, and never fully part of anything. As the only black person in the area, he has no one. • All of these secondary characters are extremely lonely. Their place in life keeps them from being part of the bigger community. (racism, sexism, ageism) • Curley’s wife ranks higher than Crooks in this society. • Crooks wants no part in a world that won’t let him forget that he is black.

26. Poem/Song Lyrics • Together we will read/listen to the lyrics and poem. • I will assign one of these to you and your partner. • Together you will create a 4 slide Keynote (Title page with both your names and THEN 3 slides) explaining how these pieces relate to OMAM. • Email to me! • You may be asked to present next class. • There will be a test on OMAM next time we meet.

27. Finish reading the book! • DO NOT TALK TO ANYONE ABOUT THE ENDING IF THEY HAVE NOT FINISHED IT! DO NOT STEAL THAT FROM THEM! IT IS IMPORTANT! • If you do, then I will wait until you graduate and then I will jump you in a dark alley and steal your lunch money. I’m terrible at beating people up (I assume) so don’t make me do this.

28. You should have finished the book. • Now you know. • I have already known. • Now we know together. • Now you know what society knows. • Welcome to a new world. • DO NOT DISCUSS WITH ANYONE THAT HAS NOT READ THE BOOK! REGULAR SOPHOMORES WILL READ IT NEXT QUARTER!

29. Check your grades! • End of quarter is Friday! (Fastest quarter EVER!) • 0 – means I never got it. • Blank – I am waiting to get it still. (some have emailed things that haven’t come through) • Any questions or concerns? Ask now!

30. Presentations! • You and your partner are going to present your Keynote about the poem and song lyrics.

31. Prepare for Socratic Seminar • Handout: this handout is a guide for preparing. This is a minimum expectation for your preparation. You should also have bookmarked key information in your novella so you can use it to support your ideas. Have that ready to be used in the circle. • Your Socratic Circle participation will be worth 50 points. Half of that will be your preparation (this worksheet, ability to find references in your book, etc.) The other half will be your vocal participation in the circle.

32. Socratic Circle Reflection • I was so impressed! You guys are SMART! You even brought up stuff I had not considered. • You made me very happy and my husband is probably pretty annoyed by how much I bragged on my classes this weekend. • That being said, he has asked for all of my materials about Socratic Circle so he can use it in his classes.

33. Let’s discuss a few things: • Raise of hands: Who thinks that George made the right decision at the end of the novel? • What about Slim? (a frequently forgotten character, but important) • Let’s look at the parallels between the death of Candy’s dog and Lennie . . .

34. Poems: • “To A Mouse” by Robert Burns (original and translation) http://www.essentiallifeskills.net/toamouse.html • How does this phrase (or entire poem) apply to the story of George and Lennie?

35. Let’s Recap . . . • http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/english_literature/prosemicemen/

36. Writing a Theme Essay • My expectations: • Choose 1 theme from the novel that you feel you can turn into a 5 paragraph essay. • A theme is a lesson from the story. Be very specific about what that lesson is. Ex: Money can’t buy love. (Don’t just say “The theme is loneliness.”) • 5 paragraphs: Opening, 3 support paragraphs, and closing. • Handwrite only, please. • 50 points • When you are finished: • Write a reflection about the Socratic Circle (likes, dislikes, etc.) • Go to PHSiTeach and fill out the Teacher/class evaluation and email it to me (this will not be anonymous)