Monday's set up for Seminar on Tuesday

My goal is to have you work on this on Monday for class Tuesday: Socratic Seminar for Of Mice and Men

Friday's class: Studying Text specific questions

Today in class students will get into groups of 3-4 people based on their passage from Of Mice and Men ( 1,2, or 3).

They will share their TEXT SPECIFIC QUESTIONS from yesterday.  They will fill out the form for three questions, looking for details that help answer their question.  The goal is to study the connections to look for a GOOD INSIGHT into the story and Steinbeck's purpose or perspective.

Here is the link for the document today: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mTefqjH_A2FH3vY8CKYDpzSQiQ4fhNQkJFAXOx6b_oA/edit

You will need to make a copy of this if you are on a computer today.

Here is my copy as a sample

REREADING for close analysis: Your passage

Thursday's class:  PREPARATION for the FINAL EXAM!

Students will receive a passage when they enter class today.

They will use these two questions to guide their rereading:

What is Steinbeck's attitude toward the working poor?  

How does Steinbeck's language show his perspective?

Students will highlight key details that relate to the topic and/or theme they have chosen.

THEN, students will write a text-specific question down, based on a key detail that they have highlighted or marked.

In groups of three or four, students will share their questions and record the best three on the handout to answer tomorrow.

Chapter 4: Crooks' chapter

Today as we read chapter 4, and I asked students to read closely, looking for details that reveal Crooks' character to us.

Students are to finish reading Chapter 4 in class tonight.

Tomorrow we will start class with everyone presenting an inference that they made about Crooks to the class: POLL EVERYWHERE

Chapter 3 Of Mice and Men

Questions to think about this weekend as you read Chapter 3:

1. Candy is upset when Carlson suggests that it is time to put Candy's old dog to sleep.  How might Candy's feelings about his dog be a reflection of his feelings about himself?

2. What is Susy's place?  How does that show the men's loneliness?

3. Why does Curley attack Lennie?

4. Several times in the first three chapters, George retells his vision of the future for Lennie and himself.  In your opinion, how realistic is George's vision?  Why is is so appealing to him and to Lennie?  In what ways is George's vision flawed or imperfect?  Consider key details that support this answer.  

Wednesday: Chapter 2 Of Mice and Men

Questions to guide our reading:

1. Describe the ranch-hands.  What are they like?  How do they live? How do they get along together?  How do they react to George and Lennie?

2. What do you learn about Curley and Curley's wife?

3. Of the new people in this chapter, which one do you like best and why? Which one do you dislike and why?


Your exit ticket today is to answer one of them and give it to me on the way out. 

Tuesday: Chapter 1 Of Mice and Men

Today our learning target is to get good at using guiding questions and text-specific questions to understand a text better.

After we finish reading Chapter 1, get into your groups of 4 and discuss your answers to the

GUIDING QUESTIONS:  What ideas are presented?  
                                         What stands out to me?

Record your answers on one piece of binder paper with all your names on it.  Looking closely at them, create a text-specific question about an important detail from chapter one.  Write it down underneath your answers to the guiding questions.

THEN wait for instructions about where to deliver your paper.

Discuss the answer to the text-specific question you are given.  FIND ONE DETAIL that you think helps you answer the question.  Write it down and then write the commentary on that detail that explains how it answers the question.

Text-specific question:


DETAIL from chapter one:                                             COMMENTARY on that detail:

Monday: "Smile or Die" by Barbara Ehrenreich

Today we will start class with this video.

Use the following guiding question to respond to it:  What words or phrases stand out to me?  

Last week we read Steinbeck's essay "The Harvest Gypsies."  Many of you asked this question after reading it:

Why has this family given up?  

With your partner, reread the text, looking for evidence that suggests why the family Steinbeck describes seems to have lost all hope.  Then, see if you can note a connection between the essay and the video.

Starting the book:

Today we will read as much as we can of Chapter 1 in Of Mice and Men.  Your task today is to gather details in the text that tell you important information about the two main characters George Milton and Lennie Smalls.

When we finish tomorrow, you and your partner will try to come up with a good text-specific question to ask about any detail in Chapter 1.

Day Two: The Harvest Gypsies

Thursday's class:

Today we will be reading an excerpt from The Harvest Gypsies,  John Steinbeck's nonfiction report of migrant farmers from 1936.  

1. Questioning Texts (we will fill out handouts in groups):

PURPOSE:  to use guiding and text-specific questions to help us find key details and understand a text better.

Here is a link to the form so we can VOTE on the best questions and use them for class discussion: Harvest Gypsies Form.

Link to RESPONSES:  RESPONSES

2. THEN, choosing one of the text-specific questions that you like, make a new copy of this document and be sure to share it with me.  Then fill it in with details from the Harvest Gypsies and commentary from your group. 

Of Mice and Men: "I coulda made something of myself"

Day One: Two Pictures and Chapter 1

1. Two Pictures

Examine the images below. What stands out to you as you examine the image? 

Use the Guiding Questions handout to ask and answer other questions about the image.

Create at least one text-specific question about each image.  This should come from looking closer at the text and should help us get a better understanding and awareness of key details.

Two Pictures

Discussion: What did you notice about the text and what questions did you have? 

What are the three key details in each image? 

Create a caption that summarizes what you think the image is about.

Here is a sample picture and caption to help you: Hope Returns to Phillipines

2. Library check-out of book Of Mice and Men.

3. How to Begin at the Beginning....chapter 1!