Of Mice and Men Pre-Reading Resources
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Of Mice and Men Pre-Reading Resources

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Of Mice and Men Pre-Reading Resources – Snapshot of Included Resources:

  • Building Background Knowledge Before Reading
  • 7 Activities – Poem Analysis, Image Analysis, Music Exploration, American Dream Activity
  • Nonfiction Readings
  • The Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, Migrant Workers
  • Google Slides™ Links for Google Drive™
  • Standards-aligned Resources
  • Answer Keys for Applicable Activities!
The pre-reading resources will help your students understand the key settings and time periods that shape the novel Of Mice and Men. They will aid students’ comprehension by providing information about the context in which the novel’s events take place. Rather than wondering about what characters are talking about, they will become their own experts.
 
Anticipation Guide: The anticipation guide asks students to agree or disagree with 7 debatable questions and explain their stance. The questions aim to get students to start thinking about the themes and moral issues that arise in the novel. At the end of the novel study, students revisit these questions again and see if their opinions have changed at all. Students then write an essay on a changed opinion and why the novel made them reconsider.
 
Poem Analysis Activity: Students will engage in a close reading of Robert Burns’ “To a Mouse” in order to make predictions about the novel’s events. While applying literary analysis skills to the poem, students will practice drawing connections across texts.
 
Idioms Activity: The idiom exercise sees students close read sentences from the novel and use context clues to figure out their meaning. Then, students try to come up with an equivalent idiom we use today! As they complete the activity, students will build their background knowledge about the novel’s setting.
 
Ranch Life in the 1930’s Activity: Of Mice and Men takes place on a ranch and the characters frequently talk about ranch life. Students research rural and ranch vocabulary then draw an image incorporating the vocabulary. The ranch activity will familiarize your students with ranches. It will build their knowledge about this particular place and the items and scenes that can be found there, just as they are found and referenced in the novel. Finally, students share their pictures and engage in a search to locate the images.
 
John Steinbeck and “The Harvest Gypsies” Activity: The “Harvest Gypsies” readings will see students analyze John Steinbeck’s perspective about migrant workers and the conditions they faced. They will investigate the author’s perspective based on close readings of other Steinbeck writings and practice drawing connections between texts.
 
American Dream Activity and Reading: Groups of students will work together to create images of their idea of the American Dream. Then, they will analyze their peers’ images for thematic similarities across groups. Finally, students will read and answer questions about the origination of the term “American Dream.” In this collaborative project, students will develop their ability to work cooperatively while analyzing theme and draw conclusions.
 
Historical Nonfiction Readings: The close reading lessons develop students’ background knowledge about the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, and migrant workers. Using these informational texts, students will learn about these influential events in order to have a deeper understanding of the historical setting of the novel. Each close reading includes questions that will develop essential skills aligned to the reading of informational texts under the Common Core State Standards. Students will practice developing skills, such as:
  • Citing textual evidence to support analysis of the text.
  • Summarizing the main idea of a text with supporting details.
  • Determining the meaning of words or phrases as used in the text.
  • Determine an author’s purpose in a text.
 
Photography of Dust Bowl Refugees Activity: The photography activity engages students in a close examination of images from the Dust Bowl. The activity helps students develop a deeper understanding of the obstacles Dust Bowl refugees faced. It also develops their ability to make inferences and reinforces the need to pay attention to detail.
 
Music of the Dust Bowl Troubadour Reading and Activity: Students will read a brief biography about Woody Guthrie and then study his music as a way to examine the time period. In synthesizing the materials, students will see how connections often exist across texts and art forms.
 
Answer Key: The key provides potential answers for every question asked in every assignment if applicable. Of course, not all analytic questions have just one answer! Part of the strength of the analysis questions is the room they leave for students to demonstrate their unique thinking and use textual evidence to support their stance. Therefore, use the answers at your discretion but know they provide a solid foundation for the type of performance that makes for quality work. 
Digital Compatibility: This resource is also technology friendly! It can be utilized in classrooms where computers or tablets are central to instruction because the resource has been adapted for digital completion. The resource includes links for students to complete the student pages in Google Slides™. For instance, students can work with the documents in Google Drive™ or via Google Classroom. With these links, you can have students complete their work online. (NOTE: Not all assignments are conducive to digital completion; however, the pages are still provided in the digital format.) All they will have to do is create a text box! There are links for every student work page, making the format friendly not only for technology but also trees.
 
The entire resource and its inclusive set of questions allow for multiple potential uses based on your determination about when and where it would be most helpful, either in-class or for homework. Regardless, every question is aligned to a relevant Common Core State Standard.
 
PLEASE NOTE: This resource is NOT EDITABLE! It is intended to be comprehensive, but if you have particular needs for your classroom, please contact me! (lauren@lit-lessons.com)
  • ZIP file (PDFs and Word Docs for Digital Links)
  • Non-Editable
  • 15.53 MB
  • 61 Pages
  • Links for Student Pages in Google Slides™ & Google Forms™
  • This downloadable resource supplies one single-teacher license for use in your classroom. 
  • Photocopying of this product is allowed only for the classroom use of the purchaser. 
  • Replication of this product, in whole or in part, for commercial sale or broader distribution is strictly prohibited. 
  • This product also may NOT be shared electronically, digitally, or otherwise in a manner that violates the Terms of Use detailed by LIT Lessons. 
  • For explicit information on permissions, please see the Terms of Use document included with this resource. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.
Contents

Of Mice and Men Pre-Reading Resources – Snapshot of Included Resources:

  • Building Background Knowledge Before Reading
  • 7 Activities – Poem Analysis, Image Analysis, Music Exploration, American Dream Activity
  • Nonfiction Readings
  • The Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, Migrant Workers
  • Google Slides™ Links for Google Drive™
  • Standards-aligned Resources
  • Answer Keys for Applicable Activities!
Description
The pre-reading resources will help your students understand the key settings and time periods that shape the novel Of Mice and Men. They will aid students’ comprehension by providing information about the context in which the novel’s events take place. Rather than wondering about what characters are talking about, they will become their own experts.
 
Anticipation Guide: The anticipation guide asks students to agree or disagree with 7 debatable questions and explain their stance. The questions aim to get students to start thinking about the themes and moral issues that arise in the novel. At the end of the novel study, students revisit these questions again and see if their opinions have changed at all. Students then write an essay on a changed opinion and why the novel made them reconsider.
 
Poem Analysis Activity: Students will engage in a close reading of Robert Burns’ “To a Mouse” in order to make predictions about the novel’s events. While applying literary analysis skills to the poem, students will practice drawing connections across texts.
 
Idioms Activity: The idiom exercise sees students close read sentences from the novel and use context clues to figure out their meaning. Then, students try to come up with an equivalent idiom we use today! As they complete the activity, students will build their background knowledge about the novel’s setting.
 
Ranch Life in the 1930’s Activity: Of Mice and Men takes place on a ranch and the characters frequently talk about ranch life. Students research rural and ranch vocabulary then draw an image incorporating the vocabulary. The ranch activity will familiarize your students with ranches. It will build their knowledge about this particular place and the items and scenes that can be found there, just as they are found and referenced in the novel. Finally, students share their pictures and engage in a search to locate the images.
 
John Steinbeck and “The Harvest Gypsies” Activity: The “Harvest Gypsies” readings will see students analyze John Steinbeck’s perspective about migrant workers and the conditions they faced. They will investigate the author’s perspective based on close readings of other Steinbeck writings and practice drawing connections between texts.
 
American Dream Activity and Reading: Groups of students will work together to create images of their idea of the American Dream. Then, they will analyze their peers’ images for thematic similarities across groups. Finally, students will read and answer questions about the origination of the term “American Dream.” In this collaborative project, students will develop their ability to work cooperatively while analyzing theme and draw conclusions.
 
Historical Nonfiction Readings: The close reading lessons develop students’ background knowledge about the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, and migrant workers. Using these informational texts, students will learn about these influential events in order to have a deeper understanding of the historical setting of the novel. Each close reading includes questions that will develop essential skills aligned to the reading of informational texts under the Common Core State Standards. Students will practice developing skills, such as:
  • Citing textual evidence to support analysis of the text.
  • Summarizing the main idea of a text with supporting details.
  • Determining the meaning of words or phrases as used in the text.
  • Determine an author’s purpose in a text.
 
Photography of Dust Bowl Refugees Activity: The photography activity engages students in a close examination of images from the Dust Bowl. The activity helps students develop a deeper understanding of the obstacles Dust Bowl refugees faced. It also develops their ability to make inferences and reinforces the need to pay attention to detail.
 
Music of the Dust Bowl Troubadour Reading and Activity: Students will read a brief biography about Woody Guthrie and then study his music as a way to examine the time period. In synthesizing the materials, students will see how connections often exist across texts and art forms.
 
Answer Key: The key provides potential answers for every question asked in every assignment if applicable. Of course, not all analytic questions have just one answer! Part of the strength of the analysis questions is the room they leave for students to demonstrate their unique thinking and use textual evidence to support their stance. Therefore, use the answers at your discretion but know they provide a solid foundation for the type of performance that makes for quality work. 
Digital Compatibility: This resource is also technology friendly! It can be utilized in classrooms where computers or tablets are central to instruction because the resource has been adapted for digital completion. The resource includes links for students to complete the student pages in Google Slides™. For instance, students can work with the documents in Google Drive™ or via Google Classroom. With these links, you can have students complete their work online. (NOTE: Not all assignments are conducive to digital completion; however, the pages are still provided in the digital format.) All they will have to do is create a text box! There are links for every student work page, making the format friendly not only for technology but also trees.
 
The entire resource and its inclusive set of questions allow for multiple potential uses based on your determination about when and where it would be most helpful, either in-class or for homework. Regardless, every question is aligned to a relevant Common Core State Standard.
 
PLEASE NOTE: This resource is NOT EDITABLE! It is intended to be comprehensive, but if you have particular needs for your classroom, please contact me! (lauren@lit-lessons.com)
Format
  • ZIP file (PDFs and Word Docs for Digital Links)
  • Non-Editable
  • 15.53 MB
  • 61 Pages
  • Links for Student Pages in Google Slides™ & Google Forms™
Rights
  • This downloadable resource supplies one single-teacher license for use in your classroom. 
  • Photocopying of this product is allowed only for the classroom use of the purchaser. 
  • Replication of this product, in whole or in part, for commercial sale or broader distribution is strictly prohibited. 
  • This product also may NOT be shared electronically, digitally, or otherwise in a manner that violates the Terms of Use detailed by LIT Lessons. 
  • For explicit information on permissions, please see the Terms of Use document included with this resource. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.
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The Of Mice and Men Novel Study is a comprehensive set of standards-aligned instructional materials for teaching Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. With over 70+ materials, students will deeply engage with the novel and develop their literacy skills. The close reading activities, literary analysis resources, pre-reading activities, vocabulary, and assessments all provide opportunities for your students to practice and apply what will be their growing understanding of the novel. They also provide numerous ways for you to DIFFERENTIATE learning for your students, allowing you to choose the assignments that best support your students’ learning while being conducive to any classroom model.

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The standards-aligned assessments will help you measure your students’ comprehension of Of Mice and Men and their ability to apply the literary skills taught throughout the unit. The materials include 6 reading checks, 2 novel quizzes, 1 final assessment, and essay choice board.

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The vocabulary resources will engage students in varied activities to expand their vocabulary. The resources include materials to help teach challenging vocabulary words in Of Mice and Men that will then build your students’ vocabulary. With 6 vocabulary lists of 10 words each and a crossword puzzle, practice assignment, and quiz for each set, the materials provide opportunities for differentiation to suit the needs of the classroom.

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