Of Mice and Men: Chapter One

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

• What did you say when you described the place where you live?

• Did you talk about the people who live there?
• Did you describe the objects in your room or house?
• Did you talk about the scenery outside?

There are many ways that a person can describe a location. In literature, this is known as setting. Setting is both the time and place where a story occurs. Almost all pieces of literature have an identifiable setting, even if it's only in a character's mind!

• Can you think of any settings in stories that you know?
• Why do you think it is important for a story to have a setting?

Tell your parent or teacher.

Setting is important because it helps a reader create a mental image of what is occurring in the story. Knowing the time frame in which a story occurs helps a reader understand the reactions of the characters.

• For example, How would the story of a person's life be different if the story were only about a day in the person's life, versus a year or a decade?

Including the location helps the reader visualize the plot in his or her mind.

• For example, What types of stories might occur at a beach?
• What types of stories might take place in the mountains?

A third element in literature that setting can help create is mood or emotion. The location and time frame can tell a lot about the emotions of the characters and the atmosphere of the story.

• For instance, What do you think happens in a story that starts with the line, "It was a dark and stormy night"?

The author of Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck, was known for being an author who could create vivid settings in his novels. Most of his stories take place in the West, especially in California in the 1920s and 1930s. This was a time when many people were moving to California, often in search of a better climate and more job opportunities. In the 1930s, when the Great Depression gripped the United States, many Midwestern people thought they would have a chance to find farming jobs in California when their lands were ruined from lack of rain and poor farming methods in a drought known as the Dust Bowl. California had the allure of a lush, green state, with mountains and fertile valleys and rivers and moderate temperatures, creating a perfect climate for farming. Of Mice and Men is set in California like other Steinbeck stories.

Before you begin to read Of Mice and Men, there are several vocabulary words you need to look up first. You can use a print dictionary or Dictionary.com (Dictionary.com, LLC) to look up the words below. Write down the definitions on a separate sheet of paper. Then, for each word, write a sentence using the word correctly in the sentence's context. When you have finished the definitions and sentences, share them with your parent or teacher:

• junctures
• recumbent
• bindle
• resignedly
• imperiously
• dejectedly
• scoffed
• yammered

After you have defined the terms and used them correctly in sentences, you are ready to begin reading Of Mice and Men. You will need to obtain a copy of the book for this series. You can get a print copy at your local library or bookstore or you can purchase a digital copy for download on an electronic device of your choice. After you have the book, print out the Of Mice and Men Reading Log, found in Downloadable Resources in the right-hand sidebar. You will use this reading log for the entire series, so keep it in a safe place after you have finished this lesson. As you read Chapter One of the novel, answer the comprehension questions in the reading log.

When you have finished reading Chapter One and answering the questions, move on to the Got It? section to check your answers.