1. Bindle Pre-Reading Activity
Before beginning any text, background information and building anticipation can be powerful. In this pre-reading activity, students begin to understand the struggles of a migrant worker during the Great Depression and imagine what life was like for George and Lennie in Of Mice and Men.
Students estimate how many pounds they could carry on their backs and cannot exceed that number. Students determine the importance of a list of 35 items and estimate the weight of each item. As a migrant worker, all you would have would be what you could carry in your bindle or backpack. Students begin to realize how difficult life was for George and Lennie.
Once students build those connections, they increase anticipation by writing about one person that they would travel with. They also write about the traits that a person should possess. This pre-reading activity activates connections to George and Lennie’s relationship before beginning the novella.
2. Close Readings
Each chapter of the novella is a powerful piece of the plot puzzle. Each chapter lends itself to a literary element to be analyzed. By using close readings for each chapter, students will use a magnifying glass on the most critical aspects of the chapter for further analysis.
Each of these close readings, which are ready to print or assigned digitally, includes the text, a color coding activity, a related graphic organizer, a writing prompt, and an opportunity to think beyond the text with a drawing or illustration related to the chapter. Close reading is a powerful tool for comprehension and the related activities solidify students’ understanding of key concepts in the text. You can find my close readings and relate activities here.
3. Figurative Language Task Cards
Of Mice and Men is full of descriptive language, including figurative language. Identifying figurative language is a critical reading skill, and determining the meaning of examples of figurative language helps to develop comprehension.
Using figurative language task cards gives options for movement around the room, group work, or even remediation. Task cards can be done digitally or printed out for students. This set of 40 task cards, including similes, metaphors, personification, hyperbole, and idioms, asks students to identify the type or types of figurative language on each card and then analyze its meaning in context to the text.
4. Grammar and Text Analysis Bell Ringers
Warm-ups or bell ringers aid students in preparing for class each day. Warm-ups are also a perfect time to practice some grammar in a quick, low-stakes way. Grab a quote from the novella, have students fix grammar mistakes, and analyze the line for a literary element. Students can make corrections to lines from the text including usage of grammar, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. Students can then analyze those lines for tone, mood, characterization, conflict, foreshadowing, imagery, or significance to the text. This activity works well for time management and helps review all standards.
5. Journal Prompts or Silent Discussions
Capturing student thinking surrounding the novella is a powerful gauge of comprehension and analysis. Journal prompts can be used as warm-ups or bell ringers to start the thinking for the day, or at the end of class for reflection. Use them interchangeably with grammar warm-ups to have a variety of activities for students.
Another possibility is using the same prompts for a silent discussion. Students have the opportunity to write their thoughts and silently discuss with classmates by writing and reading what classmates thought about the prompt. Students give details, examples, and evidence to support their thoughts. They may also respond to others’ comments. They simply include their initials after their response on the document so you can track who "said" what. This is another exceptional activity to keep thoughtful conversations happening, while allowing your quieter students to have just a much as say as your chattier students. You can read more about holding silent discussions here.
6. Vocabulary Magic Squares
Of Mice and Men has vocabulary relevant to the time period that students may not be familiar with today. Working with vocabulary in context and reviewing vocabulary words before and during reading builds students' capacity for language. I use “magic squares” with twenty-five vocabulary terms for two chapters at a time. Students look up the terms to match them with their correct definitions. I use terms that are important to the novel (i.e. bindle, barley, scourges, etc.) and more challenging vocabulary too. Students know they correctly matched their terms and definitions when each row and column adds to a predetermined magic number. Vocabulary activities like these can be used as homework, in pairs, small groups, or independently.
7. Text Dependent Writing Prompts
Of course one of the activities that is a must-add is text dependent writing prompts. Writing prompts can review literary terms like character, mood, dialogue, theme, symbolism, conflict, word choice, plot structure, setting, and point of view. Because the writing prompts are specific to the chapter being read, and require students to closely read the text and provide multiple pieces of evidence for their responses, this helps students’ with their comprehension and thoughtful analysis.
These writing prompts can be used as assessments, in class on-demand writing, or even as homework assignments. Giving students the option of selecting one of two prompts per chapter allows students to feel successful with choice. Writing prompts work well for intervention and guided writing too.
In any unit, activities should be diverse, and include collaboration, independent work, writing, thinking, and choice for students. If you are teaching Of Mice and Men, these 7 activities are available separately here or part of this bundle of resources.
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