1. Of Mice and Men Controlled Assessment
GCSE English Language
Unit 3a
Understanding written texts (extended reading)

2. Your Controlled Assessment
Explore the ways John Steinbeck presents and uses settings in ‘Of Mice and Men’.
Extended Reading Task
1200 words
Total of four hours

3. Band 4
‘Confident and assured ‘
19-24 marks
confident and developed interpretations of texts
engagement with writers’ ideas and attitudes and provide perceptive interpretations using precisely selected supporting textual detail
analysis of aspects of language and structure in convincing detail.
Band 3
‘Clear and consistent’
13-18 marks
clear evidence of understanding significant meanings of the text
ability to explain writers’ ideas clearly offering relevant and appropriate supporting textual detail
ability to display understanding of features of language and structure supported by relevant and appropriate quotation.
Band 2
‘Some’
7-12 marks
some awareness of more obvious meanings in the text
some awareness of writers’ ideas supported by relevant textual detail
some awareness of obvious features of language and structure supported by some relevant textual detail.

4. For a C grade I need to:
Show a clear/confident understanding of the text
Offer inferences (read between the lines)
Use quotations as evidence
Explain what my quotations show (PEE chains)
Comment on language used deliberately by the writer
Comment on how the writer has used structure

5. Learning Objectives
Must: be able to recall the context of the novella and identify quotations as evidence Should: be able to infer meanings from the descriptions Could: explain inferences using a PEE chain

7. Of Mice and Men: BBC In Context (10 minutes each)
Jim Crow Laws:

9. The Great Depression of America
The Wall Street crash of 1929 made many people out of work. It forced people, like George and Lennie, to travel from ranch to ranch to find work. People like George and Lennie were known as migrant /itinerant workers.

10. Migrant/itinerant workers:
Migrant/itinerant workers usually travelled alone. This would have been very lonely – a theme in the novella. - How are George and Lennie different?

11. Setting: Context
‘Of Mice and Men’ written by John Steinbeck, is set during America’s Great Depression. This was when.... This forced people to..... These people would have felt.... This is a in the novella. George and Lennie however are because

12. Settings The opening of the novel in the brush
The closing of the novel in the brush
The bunkhouse
Crooks’ room
The Barn
The ‘Dream’

13. Read along with the recording
Sum up what has happened /fill in your time chart

14. The opening of the novel in the brush:
Make a list of adjectives used to describe the setting: e.g. Deep and green Water is warm What do the adjectives tell us about this setting?

15. The opening of the novel in the brush:
P- In the opening of the novel, Steinbeck uses adjectives E- such as, , and to describe the E- This makes the setting seem

16. ‘For a moment the place was lifeless, and then two men emerged from the path...’ What do you think this quotation means?

17. The opening of the novel in the brush:
In the opening of the novel, Steinbeck uses adjectives such as, , and to describe the This makes the setting seem P - Until.... E-

18. Draw the image of George and Lennie walking down the path
Label the characters with their descriptions from the novel

19. Recording – George and Lennie’s descriptions
Add descriptions to your brainstorms

20. George Lennie
Small and quick Dark of face Restless eyes Sharp, strong features Small, strong hands Slender arms Thin, bony nose
‘opposite’ Huge man Shapeless of face Large, pale eyes Wide, sloping features Walked heavily Dragging his feet a little the way a bear drags his paws Arms –hung loosely
Authors often use physical descriptions to reflect a character’s personallity.

21. “Dragging his feet a little the way a bear drags his paws
“Dragging his feet a little the way a bear drags his paws.” Simile or metaphor? Why?

22. George
P – Steinbeck describes George as... E – having ‘restless eyes.’ E – This suggests that George has not had much sleep because he has been travelling. Also when someone is restless, they might have something on their mind.

23. George
P – Steinbeck describes George as... E – having ‘sharp, strong features.’ E – This is used to reflect George’s sharp intellect and strong personality. P – Lennie however, is described as George’s E – ‘opposite:’ ……………………….. E –

24. Lennie
P – Steinbeck describes George as... E – having ‘sharp, strong features.’ E – This is used to reflect George’s sharp intellect and strong personality. P – Lennie however, is described as George’s E – ‘opposite:’ having a ‘shapeless’ face. E – This makes Lennie sound like he has a weak intellect or personality.

25. Lennie
Write a PEE chain about how Lennie is described. P – Lennie is described as... E – E -

26. How many ways is Lennie described as or compared to an animal?
“Dragging his feet a little the way a bear drags his paws.” What makes man different from an animal?

27. How many ways is Lennie described as or compared to an animal?
“Dragging his feet a little the way a bear drags his paws.”
What makes man different from an animal?
Humour
Intellect
Speech
So why has Steinbeck used animalistic descriptions for Lennie and not for George?

28. Lennie
Write one more PEE chain using your new information.

29. Recording –section one

30. The opening of the novel in the brush:
What do we find out about Weed?

31. How does George feel towards the end of section one?
How do you know?
Write a PEE chain answering this question.

32. The opening of the novel in the brush:
How does George feel about this? Write a PEE chain

33. Learning Objectives
Must: be able to recall the context of the novella and identify quotations as evidence Should: be able to infer meanings from the descriptions Could: explain inferences using a PEE chain

34. What is YOUR dream? What do you want to do? Where do you want to live?
How do you want to live?

35. What is the American Dream?
The American Dream is the idea that freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success.
“Life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement" regardless of social class.
The idea of the American Dream is rooted in the United States Declaration of Independence which states that "all men are created equal" and have a right to "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

36. George and Lennie’s dream

38. What does this quotation tell us about he lives of migrant workers?
“Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place. They come to a ranch an’ work up a stake and then they go inta town and blow their stake, and the first thing you know they’re poundin’ their tail on some other ranch. They ain’t got nothing to look ahead to... With us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us.”
P – In this quotation, George says,
E – ‘guys like us.’
E – By this he means .....

39. What does this quotation tell us about he lives of migrant workers?
“Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place. They come to a ranch an’ work up a stake and then they go inta town and blow their stake, and the first thing you know they’re poundin’ their tail on some other ranch. They ain’t got nothing to look ahead to... With us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us.”
P –
E – ‘loneliest guys in the world’
E –
Why would they be lonely?

40. What does this quotation tell us about he lives of migrant workers?
“Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place. They come to a ranch an’ work up a stake and then they go inta town and blow their stake, and the first thing you know they’re poundin’ their tail on some other ranch. They ain’t got nothing to look ahead to... With us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us.”
P –
E – ‘They don’t belong no place’
E –

41. What does this quotation tell us about he lives of migrant workers?
“Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place. They come to a ranch an’ work up a stake and then they go inta town and blow their stake, and the first thing you know they’re poundin’ their tail on some other ranch. They ain’t got nothing to look ahead to... With us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us.”
Why do ‘they go inta town?’

43. Foreshadowing: Chapter One
“Lennie – if you jus’ happen to get in trouble like you always done before, I want you to come right here an’ hide in the brush.”
P - In the opening of the novel, Steinbeck uses foreshadowing to...
E –

44. Spellings
Description
Steinbeck
Lennie
George
suggests

45. Homework
Complete the summary sheet for section one

46. Homework
Complete the summary sheet for section one

47. Starter: Pictionary quiz
You need to be in a pair One person needs to draw The other person needs to guess Together you will be asked how the images relate to the text

48. Draw a rabbit

49. Draw a mouse

50. Draw the American flag

51. Draw a bear

52. Draw two friends walking down a path

53. Draw an American dollar bill

54. Learning Objectives
Must: be able to recall the context of the novella and identify quotations as evidence Should: be able to infer meanings from the descriptions (read between the lines) Could: explain inferences using a PEEFEE chain

55. Section Two: Read along to the recording
Up to page 41 ‘After that the guys went to Soledad...’ Who are we introduced to?

56. Setting: The bunk house
Section two introduces us to the bunk house, the home of the ranch hands and setting for much of the novel. Here we are introduced to some of the main characters at the ranch.

57. Find adjectives used to describe the bunkhouse.
Long, rectangular whitewashed walls
What kind of place is this?
What does this tell us about the lives of ranch workers?

58. P – Section two introduces the bunkhouse which is described as, E –

59. Who do we meet?
Old swamper

60. Candy is a very important character: We hear a lot about other characters through him. He represents the prejudice shown towards the old and weak in society.

61. Who do we meet in the bunkhouse?
The old man -swamper.’
The boss
Curley
Curley’s wife
Slim
Carlson
We hear about: the stable-buck
Fill in the character chart as we read along...

62. We often learn about characters through what is said about them...
What do we learn about these characters?
The stable-buck
The boss
Curley
Curley’s Wife
‘The stable-buck’s a nigger’ 2. 3. 4.
1. ‘’A pretty nice fella” 1.
Extension: Write a PEE chain explaining what we learn about other characters.

63. Racism
P - Steinbeck uses the character of Crooks to represent attitudes towards black people during the 1930’s. E – F – Furthermore,

64. Racism
P - Steinbeck uses the character of Crooks to represent attitudes towards black people during the 1930’s. E – F – Furthermore, Candy also describes the stable-buck as / calls the stable-buck...

65. We can learn a lot about a character from their clothes /props/setting...
The boss: “A little stocky man stood in the open doorway. He wore blue jean trousers, a flannel shirt, a black, unbuttoned vest and a black coat. His thumbs were stuck in his belt, on each side of a square steel buckle. On his was a soiled brown Stetson hat, and he wore high-heeled boots and spurs to prove he was not a laboring man.” Slim? Carlson?

66. Find evidence which shows the others find it strange that George and Lennie travel together?
Page 43

67. Lennie
In section one, Steinbeck compares Lennie to a ‘bear.’ We said a bear was – strong, a killer, huge... P - In section two Steinbeck compares Lennie to a E – F – We can link this back to section one where... E -

68. Homework
Complete the summary sheet for section two

69. Section three: In the bunkhouse...
Slim – understands /G&L travel together/ ‘he’s jus like a kid.’
Death of Candy’s dog
Suzy’s place /Clara’s house
Fight with Curley
Why do these events take place?
What do they tell us?
The bunkhouse is also a place where much of the main action takes place.

70. Section three: In the bunkhouse...
Slim – understands /G&L travel together/ ‘he’s jus like a kid.’
Why do these events take place?
What do they tell us?
P – Slim also points out that George and Lennie travelling together is unusual,
E –

71. Section three: In the bunkhouse...
Death of Candy’s dog
Why do these events take place?
What do they tell us?
Candy’s dog is killed because...
This represents the idea of survival of the fittest. This idea can also be applied to men and therefore this is a could be a metaphor for the characters of...
How?

72. Section three: In the bunkhouse...
Suzy’s place /Clara’s house
Why do these events take place?
What do they tell us?
P – Suzy and Clara’s place are....
E –
P – The men prefer Suzy’s place because...

73. Section three: In the bunkhouse...
Fight with Curley
Why do these events take place?
What do they tell us?
Write a PEE chain explaining what happens during the fight between Lennie and Curley. .

78. Homework
Complete the summary sheet for section three

79. Speaking and Listening
Euthanasia
Survival of the fittest

80. Section four: The harness room
Crooks
Lennie
Curley’s Wife
Where is everyone else?
Why are these characters left behind?
Power

81. For a C grade I need to:
Show a clear/confident understanding of the text
Offer inferences (read between the lines)
Use quotations as evidence
Explain what my quotations show (PEE chains)
Comment on language used deliberately by the writer
Comment on how the writer has used structure

82. How is the character of Curley’s Wife presented and developed
How is the character of Curley’s Wife presented and developed? Comment on:
For higher marks, talk about how this makes us feel about her character or how she must feel
Our first impression of her from Candy and George
We first hear about Curley’s Wife through Candy....
Steinbeck’s description of her in section two
When we actually meet Curley’s Wife, Steinbeck describes her...
What she tells Crooks, Candy and Lennie about her dreams in section four.
In section four, she tells ...
What she tells us about her feelings /her marriage?
We also learn about her marriage...
How she acts/speaks to Candy, Crooks and Lennie in section four
Curley’s Wife calls ...
Is our first impression of her changed?
Furthermore, the fact that we know her throughout the novel as...

83. 1) Our first impression of her from Candy and George...
We first hear about Curley’s Wife through Candy who calls her a ‘tart.’ We immediately judge her character disapprovingly by this description. He also says that she has ‘got the eye.’ This gives us the impression that she is disloyal to her husband and therefore we do not like her.
Point
Evidence
Explain
Furthermore, (also)
Furthermore, George warns the Lennie that she will be ‘trouble’ and therefore we are wary of her.
You will get more marks if you can give more than one explanation!

84. Homework
Complete the summary sheet for section four

85. Learning Objectives
Must: be able to select quotations from the text Should: be able to explain what this quotation tells us Could: offer more than one explanation / piece of evidence for one point
C grade

86. Section five: the barn Lennie Curley’s Wife Reactions Candy George
Slim
Carlson

87. Carlson
How does Carlson react to the death of Curley’s Wife? Write a paragraph using PEEFEE
In this section, who is Carlson more like?

88. Add Slim’s reactions to your brainstorm...
Why does Slim react differently to Carlson?
Slim
Compared to Carlson, Slim....

89. Homework
Complete the summary sheet for section five

90. Section six: the brush
The novel ends where it begins. This is called a circular narrative. Why do you think this is?

91. Section six: the brush
The novel ends where it begins. This is called a circular narrative. Why do you think this is?
This suggests that what happened was inevitable, fulfilling Steinbeck’s use of foreshadowing with the death of Candy’s dog.
Furthermore, this speaks for all itinerant workers, suggesting that this is a life they will live over and over again. Their lives therefore lack hope and therefore will lack any achievement of the American Dream.

92. Speaking and Listening
Was George right to kill Lennie?

93. Section Six: Slim and Carlson
Slim’s reaction
Carlson’s reaction

94. What’s missing?
After George shoots Lennie, Slim sits beside George to comfort him. This shows that he understands that this would have been a difficult thing for George to have done because Lennie was his loyal companion. Slim suggests they go for a drink and tells George he had to. Slim is showing his support of George. We feel sorry for George and we respect Slim for his understanding.
Point
Evidence
Explain
Furthermore, (also)
EFFECT!

95. Carlson compared to Slim...
Carlson on the other hand, is given the last line of the novel “now what the hell ya suppose is eatin’ them two guys.” Carlson seems baffled by George and Slim’s behaviour and therefore we realise that unlike Slim, Carlson does not understand the gravity of the act George has carried out. It is Slim who has taken the time to speak to and get to know George, whereas Carlson is all about the action, as seen when he shoots Candy’s dog and is more than willing to shoot Lennie.
Point
Evidence
Explain
Furthermore, (also)

96. Write a paragraph comparing the reactions of Slim and Carlson.
Remember to use quotations for each character
Use PEE –what does their reaction tell us about their character?
FEE – also...

97. Homework
Complete the summary sheet for section six

98. How are settings used? To aid mood/ tone/ feelings
To reflect / aid meaning
To support themes
To introduce characters
Which of these apply to which settings?
Loneliness?
Anger
Hope / Hopelessness
Loneliness
Prejudice Discrimination Attitudes to women

99. How are settings used? In the brush? To aid mood/ tone/ feelings
To reflect / aid meaning
To support themes
To introduce characters
Which of these apply to which settings?
In the brush?

100. How are settings used? In the brush?
To aid mood/ tone/ feelings
To reflect / aid meaning
To support themes
To introduce characters
Which of these apply to which settings?
In the brush?
In the bunkhouse (section two & three)?

101. How are settings used? In the brush?
To aid mood/ tone/ feelings
To reflect / aid meaning
To support themes
To introduce characters
Which of these apply to which settings?
In the brush?
In the bunkhouse (section two & three)?
In the harness room?