Of Mice and Men

Hey ya'll!

It's a nice long fall weekend and I've been exploring different activities for students to do for my upcoming Of Mice and Men unit!  I am so excited about this unit and want my students to be just as excited as I am.  Therefore, I created a playlist on YouTube of music strictly relating to the 1930s and the Great Depression.  There are great songs such as Brother Can You Spare A Dime?, Hard Times, and Whistle While You Work.  Yes that last song I mentioned is from Snow White, but rings true for the ending of that time period.  I created a virtual field trip that will spare students from listening to me drone on and on as well as reading articles about the 1930s and instead allows them to explore different websites, view different clips about the Great Depression, Migrant Workers, Dust Bowl and John Steinbeck himself. I am working on my classroom tomorrow to get it decorated for the unit.  I feel if the classroom is decorated for the unit, students will be more interested and can make connections.  I do not plan on having students read and answer questions for 90 minutes each day.  Instead, I plan on splitting the blocks in half - spend half a block reading and completing their study guide and the other half doing activities relating to concepts such as theme, setting, characterization, etc.  This way I do not lose student engagement and students are constantly learning instead of just reading. If you would like to see the unit plan I have compiled, please email me and I will upload it to TeachersPayTeachers.com

Happy Fall!

Ms. Bergin