Week 6: Of Mice and Men 

Mon: (day 1) Writing 1:
We will discuss important relationships and the elements necessary for a mutually beneficial or "win-win" relationship.  We will also write an essay about mutual relationships: possible examples: a relationship you currently have or have had with person / a mutual between two people you know / details of the necessary elements/ traits/ characteristics of a successful mutual relationship.

Tues:  (day 3)
Discuss "Big Ideas", "Theme" and "Essential Questions" that appear on the right hand side of this page. 
Define "Expository Text"
"Living in Sym" Symbiotic relationship
http://botit.botany.wisc.edu/courses/mpp/LivinginSym.html     
OR Cut and paste the following address:
http://learn.tkschools.org/shicks/English%2010B%202nd%20tri/Living%20in%20Sym.doc
Chart Summarizing Material

Big Ideas
• relationships, balance, mutualism

Theme
• Relationships serve many purposes

Essential Questions
• What are the benefits of having relationships?
• Are all relationships equal?
• How do relationships support our lives?
• What are the trade-offs in relationships?
• What determines the relationships we have?
• How does class, religion, race, and culture determine our relationships?
• What place does a dream/ vision have in one's life/ relationships?

Wed: (day 4)
Background: The dustbowl (5:18) and Hoovervilles (1:38) Current Tent Cities (3:01) Photo Essay
(day 9)
Study the genre of realistic fiction

Take a sheet of note paper.  Title it "The Dream Chart" and divide it into 5 rows.  Label the rows George, Lennie, Candy, Crooks, and Curley's Wife. 

Steinbeck, John.  Of Mice and Men pgs 1-16. 
Students perform the Choral Reading of pages 13-15.

Brooks, Gwendolyn.  "The Explorer"

Thurs-- Vocab
Bindle
Stake
Buck
Cathouse
Fawning
Crestfallen
Derogatory
Pugnacious
Reprehensible
Molify

Fri: (day 10)
Read aloud pp. 17-37. 
Dream Chart: Of Mice and Men 
Character Charts: Of Mice and Men

Essay Question  2: Why is George worrying about having trouble with Curley?
Answer Plan:
1. Restate the question to introduce the answer.
2. Provide plausible reasons for George's fears.
3. Predict what will happen.

Historical Information
Roosevelt's New Deal http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Deal 

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAnewdeal.htm   

Thomas, Dylan.  "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night"

Noble, Ray.  "The Very Thought of You" 1934, Range Road Music. As performed by Billie Holliday

Steinbeck, John.  Nobel Prize in Literature acceptance speech, 1962

Week 7: Of Mice and Men   

Mon: (Day 11)
Read aloud pp. 38-65. Focus for Listening: Listen for the events and exchanges in this section that may foreshadow what will happen later in the novel.
Foreshadowing: Review foreshadowing--what might the "mercy" killing of Candy's dog foreshadow? 

Essay Question 2:  The author details events and exchanges between characters that seem to foreshadow what will happen later in the novel.  Summarize the important events of this section.  Answer Plan:
1. In one sentence, introduce the question's topic.
2. Detail the events that may foreshadow what will happen later in the novel.
3. Conclude by commenting on the author's craft in foreshadowing. 

Tues:  (Day 12)
Read aloud pp. 66-83.
Focus for Listening: What is Crook's attitude toward life?

Essay Question 3: What is Crooks' attitude toward life? 

Choral Reading #3, p. 74

Wed: (Day 13)
Prior to the reading, students will write a prediction about what will happen between Lennie and Curley's wife.  Students are asked to back up their predictions with evidence. They should be able to identify the clues the author has placed throughout the story that have let the reader know what is going to happen before it happens. This Author's Craft technique is foreshadowing.

Read aloud pp. 84-98; Focus for listening
Verify your predictions. Take mental notes of anything to be clarified.

Thurs- Fri (Day 14-15)
Have students make a prediction as to how the story will be resolved. Then have students record their thoughts in a Quick Write.
Read final section aloud. pp. 99-107

Essay Question 4: Why did he have to do it?
Answer Plan:
1. Restate the question to introduce the answer.
2. Provide plausible reasons for George's actions.
3. Conclude with a summary.

1. Men's Relationships: Discuss the book's view of relationships between men.
2. Mercy Killing: Discuss George's actions at the end of the story. How can we justify what he does to Lennie? How can we condemn it?
3. Nature: Discuss Steinbeck's descriptions of the natural world. What role does nature play in the novella's symbolism? Of Mice and Men opens and closes in a natural setting. The chapters in between take place in various man-made settings - the bunk house, the barn, Crooks' room. Why does Steinbeck organize the novel in this way? In general, what does he propose about the relationship between man and nature? 
4. Analyze the characters of Slim, Crooks, and Curley. What role does each character play?
5. Dreams: What is the importance of dreams in Of Mice and Men?  What role do they play in people's lives?  How do people use dreams, and how do various characters' dreams affect them?
6. Friendship:  How does Steinbeck portray friendship in Of Mice and Men?  How does its presence or absence affect different characters, in their actions and in their relationships?  What does it require of people, and what does it offer them in return?
7. Loneliness:  Many of the characters in Of Mice and Men seem lonely.  Why are various characters lonely, and how does it affect them?
8. Power: Think about different characters in Of Mice and Men, and the power that they have.   What different kinds of power do different characters have? Where does it come from?  What do they do with it? How does it help them, or hurt them?

9. Foreshadowing: Of Mice and Men is often studied as an example of "foreshadowing" in literature. What important actions and plot points are foreshadowed?  How do these important events differ from the events that foreshadow them?  How does foreshadowing help us understand the important turning points in the novella?  How does Steinbeck foreshadow the pivotal events of the book? What does this effect do for the tone of the book?
10. Setting: How does the setting of Of Mice and Men influence the book's thematic development? In answering, consider the connection between the novel's setting and the characters' vocations. Also, how does Steinbeck signal the importance of setting in his choice of place names?
11. Curley's wife: Is she a sympathetic or an unsympathetic character? Would you characterize Steinbeck's portrayal of her as fair, or do you detect misogyny in his depiction? Analyze Steinbeck's portrayal of Curley's wife as the lone female on the all-male ranch.
12. Impairments: Several of the characters in Of Mice and Men display physical and mental impairments. Identify and describe these characters. How do these impairments influence or reflect these characters' roles in the novel?
13. Crooks:  Consider the scene in Crooks' room. How does Steinbeck characterize Crooks and the others, and how does the conversation in the chapter play out in the context of the novel as a whole?
14. Appropriateness for School: Of Mice and Men has a controversial history. School boards have repeatedly chosen not to use it.  Why might this book have been passed over? Is such an action justified?  Consider both the language and the content. 
15. Discrimination: Look at the various examples of discrimination in Of Mice and Men.  How does discrimination affect different characters?  How do characters respond to discrimination, and how does it affect their lives, and the outcome of the story? 

In a persuasive essay, explain whether you think the relationship between George and Lennie was a mutually beneficial, win-win relationship.  Support your position with specific and relevant details and examples.

In a comparison essay, analyze the relationship between George and Lennie and compare it with another fictional relationship.   This may be in either a book, a short story, or a film. 

Spare: "Soldier's Home"  pg 653  by Ernest Hemingway (biography, pg 650-1)           Online Textbook   

alliances
apocryphal
atrocity
consequences
elaborately
engagements
exaggeration
hysteria
intrigue
nauseated

This portion of the unit will we will also study the importance of historical context.  We will be assisted in this by the readings on pg 652 and "The Decade that Roared" on pgs 656-7 of our textbook. 

This week's activities will fulfill the following Content Expectations as required in Michigan's High School Content Expectations for English:
Xxx CE 3.1.4 Study of a Specific Author
Xxx CE 2.1.3 Expand Vocabulary
Xxx CE 2.1.7 Demonstrate Comprehension
Xxx CE 3.1.8 Demonstrate an understanding of historical and cultural themes and questions raised
Xxx Xxx by literary works.

Terms
Alienation

Anti-Hero

Harlem Renaissance

Imagism

Stream of Consciousness

Symbolism

Poets:
xxxRobert Frost
xxxWilliam Carlos Williams
xxxe e cummings
xxxLangston Hughes

On-Going Literacy Development for Of Mice and Men
Student Goal Setting and Self-Evaluation Strategies
Maintain writing portfolio
Reflect on selected journal entry
Reflect on two pieces of unit writing that represent best effort
Daily Fluency Reading
Engage in partner reading
Participate in choral reading
Writing
Respond with quickwrites
Vocabulary Development
idioms
dialect-era of depression
academic vocabulary
Writing Strategies
process writing
vivid description
appropriate language for the audience
Grammar Skills
elements of dialogue
parts of speech
editing conventions