Of Mice and Men Learning

Packet
ELA 20-1/2

November 2018
 OF MICE AND MEN LEARNING PACKET
(Penguin Classic 1994 ed.)

Of Mice and Men Chapter 1 (pg. 3-17)

Lesson Objectives: students will research information about John Steinbeck and
narrow down their findings to the five facts about him that they believe are most
significant.
Challenging Vocabulary Words: recumbent(3), morose(5), contemplate(10), imperiously(10),
dejectedly(11)

Focus on Diction: tyranny(noun):

Definition:

Example:

Use the word in a complex sentence using a subordinating conjunction:

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

Getting to Know the Author:

John Steinbeck

Find and record five significant facts about John Steinbeck

using the internet.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

[Shaded areas are for enrichment activities and 20-1 learners] 2

 OF MICE AND MEN LEARNING PACKET
(Penguin Classic 1994 ed.)

Which of these do you think contributed most to his reasons for writing the novel? Why?
___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

Describe the tone at the beginning of the narrative using a quotation from the book.

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________

[Shaded areas are for enrichment activities and 20-1 learners] 3

 OF MICE AND MEN LEARNING PACKET
(Penguin Classic 1994 ed.)

Historical Context:
Read the non-fiction excerpt below about the conditions migrant workers faced in the 1930s
and complete the attached activity.

Why did so many of the refugees pin their hopes for a better life on California? One reason was
that the state's mild climate allowed for a long growing season and a diversity of crops with
staggered planting and harvesting cycles. For people whose lives had revolved around
farming, this seemed like an ideal place to look for work. Popular songs and stories, circulating
in oral tradition for decades (for more on this topic see "The Recording of Folk Music in
Northern California" by Sidney Robertson Cowell), exaggerated these attributes, depicting
California as a veritable promised land. In addition, flyers advertising a need for farm workers
in the Southwest were distributed in areas hard hit by unemployment. An example of such a
flyer, publicizing a need for cotton pickers in Arizona, is contained in Charles
Todd's scrapbook. Finally, the country's major east-west thoroughfare, U.S. Highway 66 -- also
known as "Route 66," "The Mother Road," "The Main Street of America," and "Will Rogers
Highway" -- abetted the westward flight of the migrants. A trip of such length was not
undertaken lightly in this pre-interstate era, and Highway 66 provided a direct route from the
Dust Bowl region to an area just south of the Central Valley of California…

Migrants who found employment soon learned that this surfeit of workers caused a significant
reduction in the going wage rate. Even with an entire family working, migrants could not
support themselves on these low wages. Many set up camps along irrigation ditches in the
farmers' fields. These "ditchbank" camps fostered poor sanitary conditions and created a public
health problem.
Arrival in California did not put an end to the migrants' travels. Their lives were characterized
by transience. In an attempt to maintain a steady income, workers had to follow the harvest
around the state. When potatoes were ready to be picked, the migrants needed to be where
the potatoes were. The same principle applied to harvesting cotton, lemons, oranges, peas, and
other crops. For this reason, migrant populations were most dense in agricultural centers.

https://www.loc.gov/collections/todd-and-sonkin-migrant-workers-from-1940-to-1941/articles-and-essays/the-migrant-
experience/

Make up an open-ended “test” question (and answer) about an important point in the reading:

Q:_________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________A:__________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________

[Shaded areas are for enrichment activities and 20-1 learners] 4

 OF MICE AND MEN LEARNING PACKET
(Penguin Classic 1994 ed.)

Geographical Context

The red marker

represents Salinas
Valley Where
Steinbeck grew up.

Using the map, Put

a star on the
following places:
1. Oklahoma
2. Arkansas
3. Texas
4. Calgary

Which is farthest
from Salinas?

Describe what you

might imagine a journey from one of these places would look like in the 1930s. (Remember,
they usually only could travel by foot or railroad).

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________

What is the name of the California town closest to the ranch?

Lesson Objectives: students will compare and contrast characters and analyze
text through comprehension questions.
[Shaded areas are for enrichment activities and 20-1 learners] 5
 OF MICE AND MEN LEARNING PACKET
(Penguin Classic 1994 ed.)

Compare & contrast

Complete a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast the two protagonists of the novel (George
and Lennie). Use precise details (short quotations) from the novel as much as possible in doing so.

George Lennie

Note: Feel free to add details from other chapters to this diagram as you continue reading the
novel.

[Shaded areas are for enrichment activities and 20-1 learners] 6

 OF MICE AND MEN LEARNING PACKET
(Penguin Classic 1994 ed.)

Quotations in Context:
Read the text below and answer the following questions:

“I like it here. Tomorrow we’re gonna go to work. I seen thrashin’ machines on the
way down. That means we’ll be bucking grain bags, bustin’ a gut. Tonight I’m
gonna lay right here and look up. I like it” (pg. ).

1. Who is the speaker?

2. Who is the listener?

3. A stylistic choice featured in this passage is repetition. What, in particular, does

Steinbeck mention more than once here?

4. From the context of the quotation, the term “bustin’ a gut” MOST LIKELY means:

A. getting hurt on the job

B. slaughtering sheep
C. working very hard
D. chopping wood

Comprehension:
1. Why do George and Lennie travel together when most migrant workers travelled alone in
this era?

2. Why does George not allow Lennie to carry the dead mouse?

3. Why do you think George says mean things to Lennie?

[Shaded areas are for enrichment activities and 20-1 learners] 7

 OF MICE AND MEN LEARNING PACKET
(Penguin Classic 1994 ed.)

4. Describe some of George’s actions that show he cares about Lennie.

Lesson Objectives: students will develop strategies of close reading by

annotating a passage from the novel, summarize and interpret the ideas in the
text to show understanding.
Annotation Activity: Marking Confusion
One of the many reasons for annotating texts is to clear up confusions. The following is an
example of what “marking your confusion” annotations could look like in an excerpt from the
novel.

[Shaded areas are for enrichment activities and 20-1 learners] 8

 OF MICE AND MEN LEARNING PACKET
(Penguin Classic 1994 ed.)

How can we find answers to these annotations?

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________

Demonstrate your understanding of the three “Mark Your Confusion” strategies to annotate the
following excerpt from chapter one of the novel.

[Shaded areas are for enrichment activities and 20-1 learners] 9

 OF MICE AND MEN LEARNING PACKET
(Penguin Classic 1994 ed.)

Chapter Summary:
Write a summary of the chapter focusing on the 5W’s and H (who, what, when, where,
why, how). If possible, try to condense your thoughts into 50 words or less. Give this
chapter a clever title and explain why you feel it is effective.

___________________________________________________________________________

(Clever title)

Summary:

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Title rationale: __________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

[Shaded areas are for enrichment activities and 20-1 learners] 10

 OF MICE AND MEN LEARNING PACKET
(Penguin Classic 1994 ed.)

Inquiry Question:
How can isolation and loneliness contribute to life choices?

What have we learned so far about the characters that might give insight into this
question?

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

For artistic (and adventurous) students only:

Draw a picture of something in chapter one that you feel is significant to the story.

[Shaded areas are for enrichment activities and 20-1 learners] 11

 OF MICE AND MEN LEARNING PACKET
(Penguin Classic 1994 ed.)

Of Mice and Men Chapter 2 (pg. 18-)

Lesson Objectives: students will research information about John Steinbeck and
narrow down their findings to the five facts about him that they believe are most
significant.
Challenging Vocabulary Words:

Focus on Diction: ():

Definition:

Example:

Use the word in a compound sentence using a coordinating conjunction:

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________

[Shaded areas are for enrichment activities and 20-1 learners] 12

 OF MICE AND MEN LEARNING PACKET
(Penguin Classic 1994 ed.)

Chapter Summary:
Write a summary of the chapter focusing on the 5W’s and H. If possible, try to condense
your thoughts into 50 words or less. Give this chapter a clever title and explain why
you feel it is effective.

___________________________________________________________________________

(Clever title)

Summary:

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Title rationale: __________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

[Shaded areas are for enrichment activities and 20-1 learners] 13