Of Mice and Men
John Steinbeck
Daily Lessons and Assignments
Essential Questions:
Of Mice and Men Focus
Absolutely True Diary Focus
Objectives:
Learner Profiles:
Principled: Students will exhibit the profile of principled because for their summative assessment they will be debating ideas of a complex nature. Students will be confident in their opinions and use speech to communicate those ideas clearly and confidently.
Formative Assessments:
Summative Assessments:
Debate: Students will be placed in groups of 3-5 and given both a debate topic and a side to argue based on questions that arise from the reading of OMAM and ATD. For example, one debate question might be, “Is mercy killing ever justified?” Students will be required to use both the text and 3 outside sources. Each student will turn in an outline of their part of the debate as well as a works cited page for the sources used.
Catholic Connection: Moral implications of euthanasia and the Catholic point of view on the subject will be used in guiding their research for the summative assessment debate: Is mercy killing ever justified?
International Mindedness: To what extent does culture/society shape an individual's understanding of happiness?
Resources:
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexi
Film Of Mice and Men
Film Smoke Signals
Computer Lab for International mindedness day
Standards:
COLLEGE READINESS Reading:
IDT 701. Identify or infer a central idea or theme in complex passages or their paragraphs
REL 602. Understand implied or subtly stated comparative relationships in more challenging passages
WME 603. Interpret words and phrases in a passage that makes consistent use of figurative, general academic, domain-specific, or otherwise difficult language
TST 601. Analyze how one or more sentences in complex passages relate to the whole passage
SYN 601. Draw logical conclusions using information from multiple portions of two literary narratives
COLLEGE READINESS Writing:
DEV 501. Provide thorough development in support of ideas; extend ideas by using specific, logical reasons and illustrative examples
ORI 501. Provide a coherent organizational structure with some logical sequencing of ideas
COMMON CORE:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.2
Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.3
Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.6
Analyze a particular point of view or cultural experience reflected in a work of literature from outside the United States, drawing on a wide reading of world literature.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.7
Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person's life story in both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.8
Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; identify false statements and fallacious reasoning.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.1
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
Of Mice and Men Focus
- Does our society foster or discourage individuality?
- To what extent does culture/society shape an individual's understanding of happiness?
- Is mercy killing ever justified? If so, in what situations?
- Is it possible for someone to achieve the American Dream? What types of people can achieve the American Dream?
- How does fiction effectively portray struggle as a reality for those throughout history?
Absolutely True Diary Focus
- How do societal expectations impact our identity?
- How do racial stereotypes affect individuals and a community?
- Should a person’s responsibility to family take precedence over individual goals?
- What happens when a person leaves home for success? Does that person lose a piece of their identity?
Objectives:
- Recognize areas of the text where there is influence of historical era on an author/novel. (Great Depression/Native American History)
- Research the historical significance of The Great Depression and life on the reservation for Native Americans
- Compare and Contrast two novels while synthesizing how the themes, characterization, and symbolism represent a larger idea of the American Dream
- Analyze quotes from complex passages and discover the deeper meaning in connection to global issues and write a formal quote analysis to explain those ideas.
- Explore different culture’s views, opinions and acquisition of happiness throughout history and currently.
- Construct a debate
- Show empathy for those represented by the characters studied in class and examine how fictional characters represent a reality of our American culture.
Learner Profiles:
Principled: Students will exhibit the profile of principled because for their summative assessment they will be debating ideas of a complex nature. Students will be confident in their opinions and use speech to communicate those ideas clearly and confidently.
Formative Assessments:
- Daily journal prompts in the form of reading checks that discuss ideas used in the summative assessment as well as themes discussed in class
- Quote Analysis for Of Mice and Men & Quote Analysis for Absolutely True Diary focusing on quotes to be used for the debate.
- Character STEAL charts for characterization focus
- Cartoon Panel Project
Summative Assessments:
Debate: Students will be placed in groups of 3-5 and given both a debate topic and a side to argue based on questions that arise from the reading of OMAM and ATD. For example, one debate question might be, “Is mercy killing ever justified?” Students will be required to use both the text and 3 outside sources. Each student will turn in an outline of their part of the debate as well as a works cited page for the sources used.
Catholic Connection: Moral implications of euthanasia and the Catholic point of view on the subject will be used in guiding their research for the summative assessment debate: Is mercy killing ever justified?
International Mindedness: To what extent does culture/society shape an individual's understanding of happiness?
Resources:
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexi
Film Of Mice and Men
Film Smoke Signals
Computer Lab for International mindedness day
Standards:
COLLEGE READINESS Reading:
IDT 701. Identify or infer a central idea or theme in complex passages or their paragraphs
REL 602. Understand implied or subtly stated comparative relationships in more challenging passages
WME 603. Interpret words and phrases in a passage that makes consistent use of figurative, general academic, domain-specific, or otherwise difficult language
TST 601. Analyze how one or more sentences in complex passages relate to the whole passage
SYN 601. Draw logical conclusions using information from multiple portions of two literary narratives
COLLEGE READINESS Writing:
DEV 501. Provide thorough development in support of ideas; extend ideas by using specific, logical reasons and illustrative examples
ORI 501. Provide a coherent organizational structure with some logical sequencing of ideas
COMMON CORE:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.2
Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.3
Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.6
Analyze a particular point of view or cultural experience reflected in a work of literature from outside the United States, drawing on a wide reading of world literature.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.7
Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person's life story in both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.8
Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; identify false statements and fallacious reasoning.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.1
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.