2. * 1. Free-write * 2. Small group shares while whole class takes notes on what small group discussed. The whole class should jot down what they disagree with or can elaborate more on based on textual support. Everyone in the small group should play a part in keeping the discussion going. You may need to ask each other questions to provoke further discussion and conversation. * 3. Whole class shares with the small group the notes they took about their discussion.

3. * Participation (Writing, speaking, notes, etc.) * Engagement (Looking into text, listening attentively to others, etc.) * Note: If you are a distraction to the wonderful fishbowl activity, you will be assigned an additional assignment.

5. * Steinbeck, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1962, set out to write books that portrayed real people in the real language of the land, and “Of Mice and Men” is no exception to this plan. The “offensive language” within the novel is used believably by characters to show their own common vernacular. The “n” word is used as a racial slur a few times and the “g.d.” phrase is spoken within conversations throughout the book, all within context of the novel. * “Of Mice and Men” has been challenged and/or banned since the 1950s mainly due to the promotion of euthanasia(intentionally ending a life), racial slurs, and containing offensive language, according to the American Library Association. Steinbeck’s book, though found to be offensive over the years, remains a constant within the literature curriculum in high schools. Is this a book that should be banned to teach in high school?

6. * 1. Free-write * 2. Small group shares while whole class takes notes on what small group discussed. The whole class should jot down what they disagree with or can elaborate more on based on textual support. Everyone in the small group should play a part in keeping the discussion going. You may need to ask each other questions to provoke further discussion and conversation. * 3. Whole class shares with the small group the notes they took about their discussion.

7. * An allusion is defined as an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly. The title, Of Mice and Men, is an allusion to a Robert Burns poem. How is this allusion meaningful in the novel? Consider some similarities and differences between Burns and Steinbeck's works.

8. * 1. Free-write * 2. Small group shares while whole class takes notes on what small group discussed. The whole class should jot down what they disagree with or can elaborate more on based on textual support. Everyone in the small group should play a part in keeping the discussion going. You may need to ask each other questions to provoke further discussion and conversation. * 3. Whole class shares with the small group the notes they took about their discussion.

9. * Of Mice and Men is highly "dramatic" - that is, similar to a drama or play - in its structure and action. Describe the ways in which the novel is like a play. Why did Steinbeck choose to put his work together in this way?

10. * 1. Free-write * 2. Small group shares while whole class takes notes on what small group discussed. The whole class should jot down what they disagree with or can elaborate more on based on textual support. Everyone in the small group should play a part in keeping the discussion going. You may need to ask each other questions to provoke further discussion and conversation. * 3. Whole class shares with the small group the notes they took about their discussion.

11. Of Mice and Men is often studied as an example of "foreshadowing" in literature. How does Steinbeck foreshadow the pivotal events of the book? What does this effect do for the tone of the book?

12. * 1. Free-write * 2. Small group shares while whole class takes notes on what small group discussed. The whole class should jot down what they disagree with or can elaborate more on based on textual support. Everyone in the small group should play a part in keeping the discussion going. You may need to ask each other questions to provoke further discussion and conversation. * 3. Whole class shares with the small group the notes they took about their discussion.

13. * Several of the characters in Of Mice and Men display physical and mental impairments. Identify and describe these characters. How do these impairments influence or reflect these characters' roles in the novel?

14. * 1. Free-write * 2. Small group shares while whole class takes notes on what small group discussed. The whole class should jot down what they disagree with or can elaborate more on based on textual support. Everyone in the small group should play a part in keeping the discussion going. You may need to ask each other questions to provoke further discussion and conversation. * 3. Whole class shares with the small group the notes they took about their discussion.

15. * Participation (Writing, speaking, notes, etc.) * Engagement (Looking into text, listening attentively to others, etc.) * Note: If you are a distraction to the wonderful fishbowl activity, you will be assigned an additional assignment.

16. Misogyny is defined as dislike of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. A sympathetic character is a fictional character in a story whom the writer expects the reader to identify with and care about, if not necessarily admire. Consider Curley's wife. Is she a sympathetic or an unsympathetic character? Would you characterize Steinbeck's portrayal of her as fair, or do you detect misogyny in his depiction?

17. * Many are devastated at the ending when George kills Lennie. Who deserves most of the blame for Lennie’s death? Is it Lennie? Curley’s wife? Curley? Provide textual evidence for your answer.

18. * Did George do the right thing at the end of the novel? Would you have killed your best friend if he/she was in the exact situation Lennie was in?