Of Mice and Men
By John Steinbeck
Ms Preibisch
English 12
16-09-20
Possible reasons he wrote his novella:
•  As a vehicle to express his social conscience and
observations regarding the social and cultural issues
he witnessed during a difficult era in America.
•  Steinbeck paints a picture of two friends struggling
against an indifferent society.
•  He focuses on topics of poverty and dreams,
friendship and loneliness, despair and hope.
•  In addition to gaining a better understanding of the
context of the novel, the Webquest will also enable
you to understand how many of the societal,
cultural, and economic factors that Steinbeck
addressed in Of Mice and Men resonate today.
16-09-20
First Assignment:
Web Quest: Pre-reading Research
Rationale:
•  To examine the time period & setting in
which the author lived
•  To gain a better understanding of the social,
cultural, and economic factors that influenced
the author
•  To gain insight into the lives of migrant
workers in the Salinas Valley, California
during the 1930s and The Great Depression.
•  To relate the issues in the novel to today
(Ex: compare issues with migrant workers
then, to issues in Canada today)
16-09-20
Essential Question for your
Web Quest:
•  What are the social,
cultural, and economic
issues that influenced
John Steinbeck’s
writing?
16-09-20
Objectives & Assignment:
•  Research and create a poster/prezi/
PowerPoint of topics related to the
historical context of the novel.
•  Gain an appreciation of how social,
cultural, and economic factors can
influence an author and are greatly
reflected in a literary work.
•  Create a Works Cited page using the
proper format:
file://localhost/Users/pamela_preibisch/
Downloads/works-cited-mla-2.ppt
16-09-20
Process:
•  Students will be working with a partner or
in groups no larger than four.
•  Each group’s research will provide
information that effectively answers the
task and questions. As a member of the
group, each student will explore webpages
from sites that pertain to Of Mice and Men
or issues/topics relevant to the novella.
•  Each student will be given specific
questions/topics to explore in a related
genre.
•  Each student will have a specific role and
task: Geographer, Sociologist,
Psychiatrist, or Biographer.
16-09-20
Each student will:
•  Conduct and assemble research from
the Internet to answer the questions
from his/her section.
•  Find visuals relevant to his/her
research to be used for the group’s
presentation.
•  Help his/her group assemble the
presentation. The final product must
contain text and visuals from all four
categories.
•  Submit a works cited page of sources
used in his/her part of the project.
16-09-20
Instructions:
•  In your role, research information that will
answer specific questions for your section and
obtain specific visuals that address your topic to
be included in the group’s presentation.
Ø  Try using Google scholar or go to SFU’s webpage
and look under the library tab.
http://www.sfu.ca/ - http://www.sfu.ca/
•  While researching consider taking “Cornell” notes
to record your information. See example format
here:
http://coe.jmu.edu/learningtoolbox/
cornellnotes.html
•  Remember to copy/paste the URL of the file you
take the passage from for your Works Cited
page. (It’s a good idea to include this in your
Cornell notes).
16-09-20
Questions for each role:
Psychiatrist’s Questions:
•  What is a mental disability and how does it
impact a person’s everyday life?
•  What are some of the difficulties faced
when caring for a mentally disabled person?
•  What kinds of support are available for
people who care for the mentally disabled–
today and in the 1930s?
•  What role does friendship play in caring for
the mentally disabled?
For the visual aspect, consider creating a
collage (poster or digital) of literature book
covers and film posters that have stories about
mentally disabled people.
16-09-20
Biographer’s questions:
•  List major facts about Steinbeck’s life.
•  What philosophy of life is revealed in Steinbeck’s
Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech? Give a brief
definition of that philosophy.
•  What influenced Steinbeck to write the novella,
Of Mice and Men?
•  What are other major works written by
Steinbeck?
•  Who are some of the recipients of the Steinbeck
award? What is the purpose of the award?
For the visual aspect, consider creating a collage
(poster or digital) of photos of Steinbeck and the
covers of his most significant novels.
16-09-20
Geographer’s Questions:
•  What are the geographical features of
Carolina’s Salinas River Valley?
•  What is the Salinas Valley known as?
•  What kinds of jobs are available
there?
•  What was John Steinbeck’s
relationship to the Salinas Valley?
•  Identify specific locations relevant to
Of Mice and Men
For the visual component, consider
creating a map (poster or digital) of the
area with significant locations identified.
16-09-20
Sociologist’s Questions:
•  When was the Great Depression and what
factors caused the Great Depression?
•  Who were the migrant workers and how did
the Great Depression affect them?
•  There are many Migrant workers today.
Where are they in North America and where
are they from? What kind of jobs do they do?
What difficulties do migrant workers
experience today?
•  How is the issue of migrant workers significant
today? Explain. Why do we need to do
something about it?
For the visual aspect, consider developing a
collage of photos (poster or digital) of migrant
workers of the 1930s and migrant workers today.
16-09-20
Objectives & Assignment:
•  Research and create a poster/prezi/
PowerPoint of topics related to the
historical context of the novel.
•  Gain an appreciation of how social,
cultural, and economic factors can
influence an author and are greatly
reflected in a literary work.
•  Create a Works Cited page using the
proper format:
file://localhost/Users/pamela_preibisch/
Downloads/works-cited-mla-2.ppt
16-09-20
Presentation in the Great Hall
Marks are based on:
•  the content of the presentation
•  your ability to elaborate on the areas
you’ve researched
•  Your ability to show a strong
understanding of the time period and
make connections to your world today.
•  your visuals which should be clear and
articulate information. They need to be
precise and chosen for a reason.
•  Your properly formatted Works Cited
page
16-09-20