Summary
This lesson analyzes the context and setting of the novel "Of Mice and Men." This cross-curricular lesson previews societal issues that were prevalent in John Steinbeck's text. Steinbeck was a young man during the Great Depression, and he wove the background and context of the Great Depression into several of his fictional novels. Students in this lesson will identify specific Depression-era struggles to gain insight into the setting, perspective, and background of the novel "Of Mice and Men." This lesson can serve as a preview prior to reading the novel.
Essential Question(s)
What was society like during the 1930s? How does understanding the 1930s prepare us for reading "Of Mice and Men"?
Snapshot
Engage
Students individually view four photographs of the Great Depression era and make general observations.
Explore
Students form teams to share their observations about the Great Depression photographs.
Explain
Students read different informational texts about Great Depression issues and create short summaries of what they read.
Extend
In groups, students create concept maps about the Great Depression and draw conclusions about American life during the Depression.
Evaluate
Students make predictions about Of Mice and Men based on the lesson.
Materials
Lesson slides (attached)
Americans and the Great Depression Readings (attached; print one-sided; print enough for each student to receive one of the three readings)
Notebook paper
Pen/pencil
Chart paper
Markers
Engage
20 Minute(s)
Use the attached Lesson Slides to guide the instruction. Begin by explaining to students that, in this lesson, they will learn about the background and setting of the novel, Of Mice and Men. Author John Steinbeck wrote about the struggles of men and women during the Great Depression. Steinbeck was a young man during the Great Depression, and this experience greatly influenced his writing. Explain that to understand Steinbeck's novels, first the society about which he wrote needs to be understood.
Display and discuss the essential questions and learning objectives on slides 3–4 as the focus of today's lesson.
Move to slide 5 and have students fold a piece of notebook paper in half lengthwise (commonly called hot dog style). Introduce the I Think/We Think strategy to students. Have students create two columns on the notebook paper with the respective headers “I Think” and “We Think.”
Invite students to look at photographs from the era of the Great Depression (1929 through 1939) and to write down observations in each photograph. Move through slides 6–9. Point out that the title of each photograph should serve as a clue to inform their observations.
Explore
20 Minute(s)
Ask students to form groups of four. Display slide 10. Have each group discuss the question on the slide: What do these pictures tell you about the Great Depression? Provide time for small group discussion about their observations of the photographs.
After they discuss, have each group write down a collaborative response to the question in the “We Think” column. Ask for a representative from each group to read the response they wrote down.
Explain
25 Minute(s)
Tell students that they will learn a little more about the Great Depression to prepare for reading Of Mice and Men. Number students one through three. Pass out the attached informational text that corresponds to the student's assigned number:
Family Life During the Great Depression
Finding Work During the Great Depression
Art and the Great Depression
Display slide 11. Ask students to read their assigned informational text and annotate using the CUS and Discuss strategy.
Once students have read their assigned texts, have the class participate in an Inverted Pyramid activity.
Display slide 12. Have students find a partner who read the same text to discuss what they read and share their summaries. Allow only 5–7 minutes for this discussion.
Display slide 13. Have partners meet with another pair who read the same text. Have the group discuss the informational text and share what they learned or have summarized. Allow 7–10 additional minutes for this discussion.
Display slide 14. Have students create new groups of three who each read a different text so that the group has a representative for all the texts. These groups should work together to complete the activity described in the Extend portion of the lesson.
Extend
30 Minute(s)
Once students are in their groups of three, give the groups time to share what they learned from their texts. Allow about 5–10 minutes for this sharing of information.
After their discussion, groups should create a concept map using chart paper and markers. Have chart paper and markers available to students. Display slide 15, which gives students an example of how to start their concept maps.
Ask students to add two or three details for each aspect of society that was affected by the Great Depression.
Allow 20–25 minutes for students to complete the concept map, then have each group present their concept map to the class.
Display slide 16. Connect what students have learned about the Great Depression by sharing some details about the background and setting of the novel Of Mice and Men.
Evaluate
10 Minute(s)
Display slide 17. Ask groups to have a discussion about what might happen in the book Of Mice and Men. After providing time for this discussion, have each group share a prediction. You can record these predictions in a Google document or on an Anchor Chart, or you can have students submit their predictions in writing. Save these predictions to refer back to them periodically during or after students read the novel.
Resources
K20 Center. (n.d.). Anchor charts. Strategy. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/58
K20 Center. (n.d.). CUS and discuss. Strategy. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/162
K20 Center. (n.d.). I think / we think. Strategy. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/141
K20 Center. (n.d.). Inverted pyramid. Strategy. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/173