1. JOHN STEINBECK’S OF MICE AND MEN

2. TEXT IMPRESSIONS  This pre-reading strategy lets me understand what impression you have of the story given some of the words and phrases you will read in our short story. Write a story or description that includes the following words and phrases:  George  Lennie  Rabbits  Ketchup  Red dress  Your story or prediction can be humorous or serious.

3.  George fought Lennie over some ketchup. Lennie said, “it is no fair that you get the ketchup! You know how I like it on my beans!” George ferociously roared back in saying, “You have a white shirt on so ketchup could stain your shirt! While I on the other hand am wearing a red dress so I cannot stain it. Who should get the ketchup now my friend?” Lennie stood up and was about to settle this with a tickle fight when out of no where a rabbit popped out of the bushes, snatched the ketchup, and hopped his way towards the pacific ocean. The two never fought over ketchup again. TEXT IMPRESSIONS

4.  Great Depression  Land of opportunity = Land of desperation  Best hope: California  Farmers packed families into Cars, tied possessions on the back, and sought work out west  Advancement was no longer the aim; it was simple survival THE CONTEXT: AMERICA IN THE 1930S

5.  Population: 123,188,000  Life Expectancy:  Male, 58.1  Female, 61.6  Average salary: $1,368 (was reduced by 40% between 1929-1932)  Unemployment rises to 25%  Food Prices (Thanksgiving, 1931)  Turkey,.39 cents/lbs  Carrots,.05 cents/bunch  Sweet potatoes,.10 cents/3 lbs  Cranberries,.19 cents/17 oz can  Milk,.56 cents/gallon  Bread, 9 cents a loaf  Population: 311,591,917  Life Expectancy:  Male, 75.9  Female, 81.2  Average salary: $46,326  Unemployment rate: 8.3%  Food Prices (Thanksgiving, 2011)  Turkey, $1.25/lbs  Carrots,.25 cents/bunch  Sweet potatoes, $3.26/lbs  Cranberries, $2.49/12 oz can  Milk, $3.50/gallon  Package of 18 dinner rolls, $3 AMERICA 1930S VS. 2011

6.  Buildings: Empire State Building  Literature: Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Steinbeck, Dr. Seuss  Monopoly  Baseball IT WASN’T ALL BAD!

7.  1902-1968  Born in Salinas, California  Spent his summers working on ranches  Attended Stanford University, but never graduated  First well-known novel: Tortilla Flat (1935)  Received a Nobel Prize in Literature in 1962  Wrote 27 books in total THE AUTHOR: JOHN STEINBECK

8.  Lived in well-established family home…for free  Older family members supported him and his wife  Supplied him with paper for writing  Paid off his loans for him  Paid his living expenses, allowing him to quit his warehouse job and focus on writing STEINBECK DURING THE DEPRESSION

9.  Written in 1937  Originally titled Something That Happened  Often referred to as a novel-play  Has been made into a movie three times, as well as a made-for-TV movie  Appears on the American Library Association’s list of the most challenged books of the 21 st century  Was chosen as a Book of the Month Club selection before it was published THE NOVEL: OF MICE AND MEN

10.  Setting: California, during the Great Depression  Mainly follows the actions of two displaced ranch workers: George Milton and Lennie Small A BRIEF INTRO

11.  Go to my main page and click on “Of Mice and Men (text).”  Make sure to favorite and save the text page for easy access.  Turn to page one and wait patiently for further instruction. LET’S GET STARTED!

12.  John Steinbeck has a special way of giving us a beautiful, detailed picture of the setting that takes place from chapter to chapter. In addition, we also get a great visual of the distinctions between each character. Draw the setting as well as the characters we’ve been given so far. Put this picture on a blank piece of paper. I am not looking for the best art work of all time but rather, a good depiction of the setting and characters that Steinbeck so vividly describes. SETTING AND MAIN CHARACTERS