Download Of Mice and Men WebQuest

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Name ______________________________
Of Mice and Men WebQuest (revised 2014)
Introduction
In order to better appreciate the novella, Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck,
prior to reading you will conduct a Webquest project in which you examine the time
period and setting in which the author lived and wrote the novella.
By closely examining these websites, you will gain a better understanding of the social,
cultural, and economic factors that influenced the author and are reflected in the story.
You will also gain an appreciation of what it was like to be a migrant worker in the
Salinas Valley of California during the 1930’s and Great Depression.
In the novella, Steinbeck paints a picture of two friends struggling against an indifferent
society. The novella focuses on topics of poverty and dreams, friendship and loneliness,
despair and hope. In addition to gaining a better understanding of the context of the
novel, the Webquest will also enable you to understand how many of the societal,
cultural, and economic factors that Steinbeck addressed in Of Mice and Men still
resonate in America today.
Task – Guiding Question
What are the social, cultural, and economic issues that influenced John Steinbeck’s
writing of this novella?
Of Mice & Men WebQuest Objectives:
1. Research and create a poster of topics related to the historical context of the novel.
2. Gain an appreciation of how social, cultural, and economic factors can influence an
author and are reflected in a literary work.
3. Create a Works Cited page using MLA format.
Process
For this project, students will be working in groups of 4-5 people. Each group’s research
will provide information that effectively answers the Task and Questions. Each student
in the group is to be assigned a specific task to research: Geographer, Sociologist
(Cultural), Psychiatrist, or Biographer. For groups of five (in larger classes), there will
be a fifth role: Sociologist (Financial)
Each student will:
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1. conduct and assemble research from the Internet to answer the questions in his/her
section
2. find and print visuals relevant to his/her research to be used on group’s poster
3. help his/her group assemble the poster. Posters must have printed text and visuals
from all four (or five) categories.
4. answer the assigned questions for his/her topic and combine them into a unified
paragraph, which will be pasted onto the group poster
5. submit a Works Cited page of sources used in his/her part of the project
Phase 1 - Background Information
Phase One – Focus and Objective
John Steinbeck was influenced by a number of geographical, societal, cultural, and
economic issues in the writing of Of Mice and Men. Your task is to explore some of
these issues.
Phase 2 - Roles
Phase Two – Investigations from a Different Perspective
Your group will be divided among four (or five) categories: Geographer, SociologistCultural, Psychiatrist, and Biographer (groups of five will also have SociologistFinancial). Once you know your specific role, your tasks include:
1. Direct your research to gain information that will answer the specific questions for
your section and obtain specific visuals that address your topic to be included on the
group’s poster.
2. Use the links to find information that answers the questions and find visuals to use
on your poster. Take notes or if you find large sections of info you find important,
copy sections and paste them into a Word document. (Suggestion: open a Word
document, prior to getting on the Internet, to use for pasting info.) You can then
paraphrase this information to use for your poster. (Be sure not to plagiarize!) Save
all copy-pasting and/or writing to your network folder (see #4 for information on that).
3. Take note of all websites you use to gather information for your portion of the poster.
You will need the URLs for these websites in order to create your own Works Cited
page in MLA format (each member of the group creates his/her own Works Cited
page). You are also required to find one and use one additional website to gather
information for this project; make sure it contains reliable information (we will discuss
web reliability during this project). I will check in with you once you have identified
that additional website to ensure that it is reliable.
4. When you find photos or pictures you want to use as your visuals, be sure to save
photos or pictures as JPG’s in your documents folder on the network (see teacher or
Mr. Tantum for help if you don’t know how to save your work to your network folder).
Make a copy of the image on a word document, and record below it the URL and
source information (website title) of all photos, maps, and pictures. You will need to
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include this information on your Works Cited page. Note: You should use
www.easybib.com or bibme.org as you research.
5. Write a brief summary of your research that will be included in your group’s poster,
making sure to answer all of the questions for your role.
6. Stay focused on finding information that enables you to answer the guiding question
presented in the task: What are the background issues that influenced John
Steinbeck’s writing of this novella about friendship and social issues?
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Geographers:
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The geography of Of Mice and Men
Setting in Of Mice and Men
Farm Bureau Monterey
Steinbeck Country
1 additional, reliable website that you find (record URL)
Geographers' Questions:
1. What are the geographical features of California’s Salinas River Valley?
2. What is the Salinas Valley known for producing?
3. What kinds of jobs are available in Monterey County?
4. Identify and briefly explain specific locations relevant to Of Mice and Men.
5. For the visual component, print out a map of the area and mark significant locations
from his novels on the map.
6. Why is this part of California known as “Steinbeck Country”? Would Steinbeck have
approved this namesake? Why or why not?
7. What predictions can you make about the novel Of Mice and Men based on the
geographical and agricultural features of this area? Include supporting details in
your response.
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Sociologists (Cultural):
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The Migrant Experience
Photos of Great Depression
Photographs of signs reinforcing racial discrimination
Photos of Migrant Workers
Photos of Migrant Workers
About the Great Depression
About the Great Depression
Oral History with women who lived during the Dust Bowl (begins 21
min. into the audio)
Oral Histories of the Great Depression from University of Illinois
Black history
Amos 'n’ Andy
1 additional, reliable website that you find (record URL)
Sociologists’ Questions:
1. When and what was the Great Depression?
2. What are some of the factors that caused the Great Depression?
3. How did people cope during the Great Depression? What sacrifices did people
make?
4. Who were the migrant workers and how did the Great Depression affect them?
5. What is the origin of the term Jim Crow laws, and what was the purpose of such
laws?
6. How were African-Americans portrayed in the media during the Great
Depression, for example in the radio show “Amos ‘n Andy”?
7. For the visual portion of your presentation, develop a collage of photos of migrant
workers, African Americans, and women in the 1930s.
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Psychiatrists:
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Intellectual Disability
Intellectual Disability
Intellectual Disability-Defined
Mental Disabilities and Physical Health and Well-Being
Caregiver Stress
1 additional, reliable website that you find (record URL)
Psychiatrists' Questions:
1. What is a mental disability and how does it impact a person’s everyday life?
2. What are some of the causes of mental disabilities?
3. What are some examples of “life skills,” and how do they relate to people with
mental disabilities?
4. What are some of the difficulties caretakers face when caring for a mentally
disabled person?
5. What other health risks do people with mental disabilities face?
6. How has the diagnosis of mental disabilities changed over the past century?
7. For the visuals, find images that represent the challenges of having an
intellectual disability and being a caregiver for someone who is intellectually
disabled.
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Biographers:
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John Steinbeck Biography
John Steinbeck's Nobel Prize
Photos of John Steinbeck
Steinbeck Literary Works
Steinbeck Country
1 additional, reliable website that you find (record URL)
Biographers’ Questions:
1. List some of the major facts about Steinbeck’s life.
2. Why was John Steinbeck awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1962?
3. What influenced Steinbeck to write the novella, Of Mice and Men?
4. What are some other major works written by Steinbeck?
5. Which two major elements did Steinbeck rely on for much of his writing?
6. What was John Steinbeck’s relationship to the Salinas Valley?
7. For the visual, create a collage of photos of Steinbeck and covers of his most
significant novels.
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Sociologists-Financial:
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New York Stock Exchange – history
PBS site
Oral Histories of the Great Depression from University of Illinois
New York Times headlines from the Crash
Time Magazine Photo Gallery of the Crash
1 additional, reliable website that you find (record URL)
Sociologists’ Questions:
1. What is the history of the New York Stock Exchange?
2. What was the condition of the U.S. stock market during the 1920s?
3. What was the stock market crash; when and how did it occur?
4. How was the average American affected by the crash, and how did he/she react
to it?
5. What did President Roosevelt (AKA “FDR”) do to try to stem the tide of worried
Americans rushing the banks?
6. What was the mood of the American people, as captured by the New York Times
news coverage on and after the day of the crash?
7. For the visual component of your presentation, find images from the time of the
crash.
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GRADING RUBRIC
NAME: _________________________________
INDIVIDUAL:
PARAGRAPH
INDIVIDUAL:
MLA-FORMAT
WORKS CITED
LIST
INDIVIDUAL:
PARTICIPATION IN
THE GROUP
INDIVIDUAL:
VISUALS
GROUP:
OVERALL
COMPOSITION OF
THE POSTER
STUDENT # ______
GROUP # _______________
4 (+/-)
Demonstrates a
superior
understanding of
the topic;
incorporates
information
from all
questions and all
(or nearly all)
sites; few or no
grammatical
flaws
Includes
citations for all
sources used in
creating your
portion of the
project,
including one
additional source
you found;
individual
citations are
formatted
correctly; entire
list is formatted
correctly; few or
no grammatical
flaws
You use time
wisely; you are
highly engaged
in creating your
portion of the
project; you
assist others in
the group
3 (+/-)
Demonstrates a
general
understanding of
the topic;
incorporates
information from
most questions
and most sites;
some grammatical
flaws
2 (+/-)
Demonstrates a
lack of
understanding of
the topic;
incorporates
information from
few questions and
few sites; several
grammatical
flaws
1 (+/-)
Demonstrates a lack of
sufficient research; missing
information from several
questions and most sites;
many grammatical flaws
Includes citations
for most sources
used in creating
your portion of the
project; may be
missing additional
source; citations
and/or list contain
one or two errors;
some grammatical
flaws
Includes citations
for few sources;
missing
additional source;
citations and/or
list contain three
or more errors;
several
grammatical
flaws
Includes citations for one
or two sources; missing
additional source; citations
and/or list contain so many
errors that create
confusion; many
grammatical flaws
You manage time
fairly well; you
are engaged in
creating your
portion but don’t
always go out of
your way to assist
others in the group
You are off-task for most
of the project OR you are
regularly unprepared; you
do not bring in some of the
required elements for the
group poster
All pictures
clearly illustrate
the topic; extra
touches enhance
viewer’s
understanding of
the topic
Poster
demonstrates
visual unity and
may demonstrate
unusual
creativity in the
execution of the
final finished
product
All or most
pictures illustrate
the topic, but more
compelling mages
could have been
used
You do not
manage time
well, sitting back
&/OR taking long
breaks OR
rushing to finish
at the end; &/OR
you forget needed
materials
Relationship of
some images to
topic is somewhat
unclear OR some
pictures are
unrelated to the
topic
Poster
demonstrates
visual unity to a
degree, but some
elements seem
out of place OR
there was clearly
little coordination
among members
RAW SCORE: ____ / 24 =
______%
Poster
demonstrates
visual unity and
balance
LETTER GRADE: _____
0 = missing paragraph
0 = missing Works Cited
list
All or most pictures are
unrelated to the topic
0 = missing pictures
Poster lacks visual unity;
there is no clear organizing
principle or idea at work
OR poster is not neat
and/or difficult to
follow/read