Introduction
John Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California in 1902. He attended Stanford University intermittently between 1920 and 1926, but instead of completing his degree, he chose to support himself through manual labor while writing. His experiences among the working classes in California lent truth to his depiction of the lives and experiences of the workers who are the central characters of his most important novels. Steinbeck spent much of his life in Monterey County, which later was the setting of some of his fiction.
The novella Of Mice and Men (1937), is a tragic story about the strange, complex bond between two migrant farm workers. The Grapes of Wrath (1939), won Steinbeck a Pulitzer Prize. The novel describes the migration of a dispossessed family from the Oklahoma Dust Bowl to California and portrays their subsequent exploitation by a ruthless system of agricultural economics.
Although both novels make an important statement about society and how it can work against itself, they are also beautiful stories about the strength of the human spirit.
To enhance your understanding and appreciation of the important messages of the novels Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath, you will research and analyze song lyrics and visual images (photographs and illustrations) from the Great Depression that relate to the SUBJECT your group has been assigned. Within that subject, you will find lyrics and images that relate to a specific THEME from either Of Mice and Men or The Grapes of Wrath. After you have completed this phase of the project, each group will create a scrapbook,collage or multimedia presentation of the lyrics, images and interpretations its members have compiled.
Step 1. You have been placed in groups according to one of the following subjects of the novels Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath.
Step 2. Choose a song written during the Great Depression of the 1930"s that relates to the SUBJECT your group has been assigned . Copy and paste the entire song into a Word document, making certain that you have included the title, author and date of the song. Using the Lyrics Analysis Sheet provided, analyze the words of the song. When you have completed the analysis sheet, explain in paragraph form what THEME within your group's subject this song's words illustrate, and how it relates to a theme, character or event from either Of Mice and Men or The Grapes of Wrath.
Step 3. Choose either a photograph or an illustration from the Great Depression of the 1930"s that relates to the SUBJECT your group has been assigned. Copy and paste the photograph or illustration into a Word document, making certain you have included the title, photographer or artist and date of the photograph or illustration. Using the Image Analysis Sheet provided, analyze the photograph or illustration. When you have completed the analysis sheet, explain in paragraph form what THEME from within your group's subject this image illustrates, and how it relates to a theme, character or event from either Of Mice and Men or The Grapes of Wrath.
more illustrations: California artists and Grant Wood paintings
Step 4. Print your documents to use for your group scrapbook or collage. The title of your scrapbook or collage will be the subject your group has been assigned. Your individual contributions must include the theme of your lyric and image as a title, a copy of the lyric, the image and your paragraph analysis of each.
Step 5. Present your finished scrapbook/collage to the class, explaining the meaning of its subject and the individual themes of the words and images.
1. You will receive an individual grade based upon evidence of your participation in the form of the notes you took researching lyrics and images.
2. Each particpating group member will receive a group grade based upon the rubric.
|
Scrapbook/Collage Evaluation Rubric
|
||
| Shows Subject and Theme | content clearly illustrates group's Subject | |
| individual components clearly illustrate Themes | ||
| all content relates Subject and Theme to the literature | 40 points | |
| Uses required documents to serve a well-integrated purpose | photos/illustrations with captions, credits and analysis | |
| song lyrics with credits and analysis | ||
| 40 points | ||
| Presentation and Polish | visually attractive with creative flourish | |
| neat with attention to detail | ||
| clear oral presentation to the class | 20 points | |
| Total points | 100 points | |
- English/Language Arts 1 : Language for Information and Understanding
Students will listen, speak, read, and write for information and understanding. As listeners and readers, students will collect data, facts, and ideas; discover relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and use knowledge generated from oral, written, and electronically produced texts. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to acquire, interpret, apply, and transmit information.
- English/Language Arts 2 : Language for Literary Response and Expression
Students will read and listen to oral, written, and electronically produced texts and performances from American and world literature; relate texts and performances to their own lives; and develop an understanding of the diverse social, historical, and cultural dimensions the texts and performances represent. As speakers and writers, students will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language for self-expression and artistic creation.
. - English/Language Arts 3: Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation
Students will listen, speak, read, and write for critical analysis and evaluation. As listeners and readers, students will analyze experiences, ideas, information, and issues presented by others using a variety of established criteria. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to present, from a variety of perspectives, their opinions and judgments on experiences, ideas, information and issues.
. - English/Language Arts 4: Language for Social Interaction
Students will listen, speak, read, and write for social interaction. Students will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language for effective social communication with a wide variety of people. As readers and listeners, they will use the social communications of others to enrich their understanding of people and their views.
- Social Studies 1: History of the United States and New York
Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and New York.
- Arts 3: Responding to and Analyzing Works of Art
Students will respond critically to a variety of works in the arts, connecting the individual work to other works and to other aspects of human endeavor and thought.
- Arts 4: Understanding the Cultural Contributions of the Arts
Students will develop an understanding of the personal and cultural forces that shape artistic communication and how the arts in turn shape the diverse cultures of past and present society.
- Technology 2: Information Systems
Students will access, generate, process, and transfer information using appropriate technologies.