John Steinbeck's of Mice and Men Book Club
In this 5-week book club, students will read and discuss John Steinbeck's Depression-era novella Of Mice and Men.
Janelle Fila
Average rating:
4.6
Number of reviews:(903)
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What's included
5 pre-recorded lessons
5 weeks
of teacher support1 year access
to the contentHomework
1-2 hours per week. Students will read 1-2 short chapters a week on their own time. Students will have access to the new video and a corresponding one page worksheet with discussion questions and places for fill-in-the blank answers. I assign a short writing assignment focused around that week's discussion questions and ask the students to share their responses in the classroom. There are also activities like vocabulary words and an optional Kahoot! review quiz to test their comprehension from the weekly chapters.Assessment
The more questions, comments, and posts that students share in the classroom, the more I can understand their knowledge and comprehension of the topics we are discussing.Grading
Please let me know if you'd like a grade for this course.Class Experience
US Grade 8 - 11
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is a classic portrait of migrant workers in America during the Great Depression. This novel is often required reading for middle school and high school students. It is the perfect book for group discussion because of the characters' evolutions that lead to the sad (but somewhat unavoidable) ending. We will also tie into historical references regarding the Great Depression and it's affect on farmers and workers during this era. Students will read 1-2 short chapters a lesson on their own time. Each lesson, a new video will discuss the pages that the students have previously read. This class does not meet live. The prerecorded sessions will emphasize characters, their motivations, theme, story plausibility, and inferences about what might come next. We will also refer to any symbolism within the story and discuss what the author intended to represent with those symbols. Students will have access to a video that covers the important elements of the week's reading and a corresponding one page worksheet with discussion questions and places for fill-in-the blank answers. The worksheets will also address/remind the students of some of the important topics from each chapter. I assign a short writing assignment focused around that week's discussion questions and ask the students to share their responses in the classroom. I also ask students to submit any vocabulary words the students didn't recognize or passages the students did not understand. The more questions the students ask, the more "discussion" we can have in the classroom after each chapter. Lessons breakdown: Students will receive a worksheet and discussion questions for each weekly video. There is one weekly writing assignment to complete after the weekly readings. I will post a vocabulary word from the weekly reading for the students to use in a sentence that showcases their understanding of the definition. I post a link to an optional Steinbeck-themed Kahoot! trivia quiz the students can take to further immerse themselves in this world.
Learning Goals
Week One: the first chapter
Week Two: the second chapter
Week Three: the third chapter
Week Four: the fourth chapter
Week Five: the final two chapters
Syllabus
5 Lessons
over 5 WeeksLesson 1:
Chapter One
Video lesson, worksheet, vocabulary words, a writing assignment, and an optional Kahoot! review quiz Lesson 2:
Chapter Two
Video lesson, worksheet, vocabulary words, a writing assignment, and an optional Kahoot! review quiz Lesson 3:
Chapter Three
Video lesson, worksheet, vocabulary words, a writing assignment, and an optional Kahoot! review quiz Lesson 4:
Chapter Four
Video lesson, worksheet, vocabulary words, a writing assignment, and an optional Kahoot! review quiz Other Details
Parental Guidance
Although one character has a mental disability that causes him to act much younger, the book's main characters are all adults. Therefore, this story is full of language, drinking, smoking, and some sexual references that are expected from Depression-era farmhands but may not be suitable for young students. This book also contains a large amount of violence, including the death of animals and the shooting of a main character by the end of the story. Although these deaths highlight and support the story's morals and values, again, it could be upsetting to younger students. Commonsensemedia.org recommends readers be at least 13-years-old, but both parents and students on their site recommend an age of fourteen.
Supply List
The students will need a copy of the novella Of Mice and Men to read on their own. It can be borrowed from the library or even listened to as an audio book. The students will not need a physical copy of the story in class, although they may find it helpful to have while filling out their worksheets or working on their writing assignment.
External Resources
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
Joined June, 2019
4.6
903reviews
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Teacher expertise and credentials
Master's Degree in Music or Theatre or Arts from Spalding University
I have a Master's Degree in Creative Writing for Children and Young Adults. I was a substitute teacher for three years before teaching full-time on Outschool for multiple years. I currently teach English Composition for a local nursing college. I remember when my son, a reluctant reader, first read Of Mice and Men in school. We had many interesting conversations about the characters and their actions, conversations that would not have been possible without this story opening my son's eyes to these issues. I hope to bring that level of awareness into the discussion with your students as well. Steinbeck's stories can be shocking in their honesty, but he raises questions that need to be answered (and solutions that need to be questioned). I am excited to read Of Mice and Men alongside your student to see what emotions, feelings, and gut reactions Steinbeck's story stirs up for them.Reviews
Self-Paced Course
$9
weekly or $45 for all content5 pre-recorded lessons
5 weeks of teacher support
Choose your start date
1 year of access to the content
Completed by 6 learners
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Ages: 13-18
