John Steinbeck’s America:
The 1930s and the Search for the American Dream
INTRODUCTION
Today, most Americans live in a world of prosperity, so it is hard for us to
understand what it might be like to live in an era when getting enough to eat,
or finding a job, any job, could be a struggle. Therefore, in order to gain
insights about the life that the characters George and Lennie live in John
Steinbeck's novel, Of Mice and Men, you are to embark on a Web Quest
to find out what their lives may have been like and to begin to look at the
issues of homelessness and poverty in America.
TASK
Your overall task is to read and analyze Of Mice and Men. By completing
this project, you will “see” the world through the eyes of the people who
lived during the desperate time of the Great Depression. Millions of people
lost their jobs, businesses, homes, farms, and families, as the nation was
plagued by over 20% unemployment (compare that to today’s number of
5.1% in Oct 2015). By understanding the time period, it will allow us to further understand George and
Lennie’s difficulties in attaining their American Dream.
You and a partner will be researching the four topics below and will then create a SLIDES presentation or
Prezi of your findings.
o Your work should be presented in a professional and visually appealing way.
o It must contain complete sentences that have been written in YOUR OWN WORDS.
o You must give credit to your sources.
Note: A significant portion of the points for this project will be directly related to the amount of time and
effort you put into creating the brochure.
Note: You are both responsible for this project and for seeing that all of the work is completed and completed
well. That being said, it is very important that you choose your partner wisely. Individuals who prefer may also
choose to work alone.
Required Topics:
You must research The Great Depression, including: its causes, the timetable, relevant
people of the era,
America during the 1930’s, the Dust Bowl, and “A Day in the Life of an American during the Great
Depression.”
You are also required to research John Steinbeck’s life, including: his early life and education, Steinbeck’s
awards and achievements, number of books he wrote, list at least five or six of his most expressive titles, his
work experience other than his writings, his later years and his death, information about Salinas, California;
and explain the weather and the crops.
Migrant Workers
Research and write about migrant workers in the United States. Note any changes in the system since 1937.
Give examples of their lifestyles and financial and legal responsibilities.
FINAL PRODUCT:
o The Slides presentation or Prezi must include a decorated and relevant title slide /frame
o Be certain to give credit to any sources you use for pictures
o You should have a minimum of two slides per topic: (1) The Great Depression, (2) The Dust Bowl, (3)
Migrant Workers, (4) The Life of John Steinbeck
o Each slide/frame of your project must contain appropriate and descriptive text. This text must be in
your own words.
o Each slide / frame must contain at least three relevant pictures or images.
o You will be turning in a formal Works Cited in correct MLA format. We will go over this format in
class. Keep track of all the websites you use.
Grading:
I will grade each part of the project using the following criteria:
o Content and appeal of each slide/frame
o Concise, correct writing with little to no grammar, spelling, or punctuation errors. Writing must be in
the pair’s own words.
o Minimum requirements exceeded
o Does the finished project show evidence of group planning and organization?
o Is the finished project visually appealing and professional?
o Is it obvious that the project took appropriate time and effort to prepare?
o Members used class work time appropriately and productively
TIMELINE:
You will be given two class periods to research your topic and prepare your project. Please note: your
progress will be checked daily. If you are not making progress each day, this will be reflected in your
group’s final grade (see grading rubric).
Project Due Date: Thurs Nov 5th (M) / Fri Nov 6th (G)
THE PROCESS
Use the following steps as a guide through this activity and to ensure that you complete each of the required
elements.
STEP ONE: Research.
Use the web links provided to begin your research. Remember, this is just a
place to start; you can certainly use other Internet sources;
As you find important information from the websites, record the
information/key quotes/data/etc. on a separate sheet of paper (or a Google
document). Be sure to record where you found this information (the website).
To avoid plagiarism, you must record the bibliographic information for each
source you decide to use in your final project (including any photos/graphics).
Use the online tool: http://www.refme.com to create this Works Cited page.
You will turn in a formal Works Cited page along with your final project. Do
not include sources on your Works Cited page that do not appear in your final
project.
STEP TWO: Project.
As you begin sorting through your research notes, the various websites, etc. think
about how you want your SLIDES or Prezi presentation to look. Which
information do you want to appear first? What kinds of pictures would be the
most relevant? What information is the most important to include?
As you begin to sort through your information, make sure that in your writing
(for the brochure) you are drawing solid connections between the information
that you researched and our society today: what are the lasting effects of the
1930s? Do we have similar concerns today regarding work, money, poverty,
culture? Etc.
THE INFORMATION ON YOUR SLIDES SHOULD ANSWER THE GUIDING QUESTIONS BELOW.
GUIDING QUESTIONS & KEY CONNECTIONS
Great Economic Depression: History
1. What were the causes of the Great Depression?
2. How did the Great Depression affect the nation and the average American family? Describe the day in the
life of a typical American during the Great Depression
3. How did the Great Depression affect people of different income groups and ethnic groups?
4. What was the New Deal and what were some of its programs?
5. Why is Franklin D. Roosevelt considered to be a great leader?
6. How did the Great Depression end?
7. In what ways has the Great Depression had lasting effects? How might today’s society contain any similar
characteristics to the Depression era?
Dust Bowl:
1. What was the Dust Bowl?
2. What were the causes of the Dust Bowl?
3. Who did it affect the most?
4. What part(s) of the country did it affect the most?
5. How did the United States government respond to the problems created by the Dust Bowl?
6. How did the Dust Bowl end?
Migrant Workers:
What connections can be made to current historical events?
1. Why was there a need for Migrant Workers then?
2. Why is there a need for Migrant Workers now?
3. What was the ethnic and/or racial makeup of the Migrant Workers then and now?
4. What places did they come from?
5. What places did they go to for work?
6. Which crops did they pick then and now, and where did they pick them?
John Steinbeck:
1. How would you describe his life?
2. What were the major events of his life?
3. Describe some of the social issues Steinbeck was most concerned with and most frequently wrote about in
his books.
3. Why was Salinas, and the Imperial/Central Valley, important to his work?
4. What were some of his other works of literature?
5. Why was he so well known?
INTERNET SITES
Listed below are a number of useful Internet websites (you are certainly welcome to use other sources but NO
WIKIPEDIA, except for general information gathering purposes). Remember, just because something is
written on the Internet, doesn't mean it is true or correct – be sure to analyze the accuracy of the websites you
use. All sources you actually use in the project must be included in the Works Cited; if you look at the site,
but don’t use any of its info, do not include it in the Works Cited.
Great Depression: Economic Causes and Effects
Causes of the Great Depression
http://americanhistory.about.com/od/greatdepression/tp/greatdepression.htm
http://thegreatdepressioncauses.com/causes/
Stories of the Great Depression
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97468008
New Deal: US Government Economic Recovery Program of President Franklin D. Roosevelt: University of Virginia
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~MA02/volpe/newdeal/timeline_text.html
American Experience: President Roosevelt
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/presidents/32_f_roosevelt/index.html
The New Deal Network
http://newdeal.feri.org/library/7_31.htm
The Dust Bowl:
History of the Dust Bowl
http://www.history.com/topics/dust-bowl
NOAA: The Dust Storm by Woody Guthrie
http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/nws/dust1.html
NASA Explains the Dust Bowl
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2004/0319dustbowl.html
PBS: Surviving the Dust Bowl
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/dustbowl/index.html
Migrant Workers:
History of the Dust Bowl
http://www.history.com/topics/dust-bowl
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/afctshtml/tsme.html
The Migrant Experience Today
http://www.pbs.org/now/politics/migrants.html
http://www.extension.org/pages/9960/migrant-farm-workers:-our-nations-invisible-population#.VjeaJ1WrSUk
The Library of Congress
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/fsowhome.html
John Steinbeck: The California Years
John Steinbeck's California Connections
http://www.literarytraveler.com/literary_articles/john_steinbecks_california.aspx
The National Steinbeck Center
http://www.steinbeck.org/
Official website of the City of Salinas California, Hometown of John Steinbeck
http://www.ci.salinas.ca.us/
The Cannery Row Foundation
http://www.canneryrow.org/
SLIDES or Prezi Evaluation
The following rubric will be used to evaluate your project’s level of research, creativity, completeness and
neatness.
Format
Total Points
Content (information from research is specific, relevant, accurate,
and appropriate)
25
Works Cited (all sources are cited according to MLA format)
10
Creativity (presentation is put together in a creative manner that
demonstrates thought and attention to detail)
10
Neatness (project is professional, free of errors)
10
Image Requirements: (each slide or frame contains at least three
relevant pictures which are correctly cited)
10
Points Earned
10
Professional Appearance and Effort: Brochure meets visual
expectations and clearly took an appropriate amount of effort to
complete.
Total Score
/75