10 of 10
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:
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, Sociologist-Cultural, Psychiatrist, and Biographer (groups of five will also have Sociologist-Financial). 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 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?
Geographers:
· 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.
Sociologists (Cultural):
· 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.
Psychiatrists:
· 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.
Biographers:
· 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.
Sociologists-Financial:
· 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.
GRADING RUBRIC
NAME: ______STUDENT # ______GROUP # ______
4 (+/-) / 3 (+/-) / 2 (+/-) / 1 (+/-)INDIVIDUAL:
PARAGRAPH / Demonstrates a superior understanding of the topic; incorporates information from all questions and all (or nearly all) sites; few or no grammatical flaws / Demonstrates a general understanding of the topic; incorporates information from most questions and most sites; some grammatical flaws / Demonstrates a lack of understanding of the topic; incorporates information from few questions and few sites; several grammatical flaws / Demonstrates a lack of sufficient research; missing information from several questions and most sites; many grammatical flaws
0 = missing paragraph
INDIVIDUAL:
MLA-FORMAT WORKS CITED LIST / 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 / 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
0 = missing Works Cited list
INDIVIDUAL:
PARTICIPATION IN THE GROUP / You use time wisely; you are highly engaged in creating your portion of the project; you assist others in the group / 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 do not manage time well, sitting back &/OR taking long breaks OR rushing to finish at the end; &/OR you forget needed materials / 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
INDIVIDUAL:
VISUALS / All pictures clearly illustrate the topic; extra touches enhance viewer’s understanding of the topic / All or most pictures illustrate the topic, but more compelling mages could have been used / Relationship of some images to topic is somewhat unclear OR some pictures are unrelated to the topic / All or most pictures are unrelated to the topic
0 = missing pictures
GROUP:
OVERALL COMPOSITION OF THE POSTER / Poster demonstrates visual unity and may demonstrate unusual creativity in the execution of the final finished product / Poster demonstrates visual unity and balance / Poster demonstrates visual unity to a degree, but some elements seem out of place OR there was clearly little coordination among members / 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
RAW SCORE: ____ / 24 = ______% LETTER GRADE: _____