Lesson Plan

EDIS 5400: English Education

Lesson Components
What teacher and student behaviors are planned and expected

Comments/Notes/
Reflections

Context
Course name: English Unleveled
Grade level: Ninth
Length of lesson:
Description of setting:
Students:
Curriculum: John Steinbecks Of Mice and Men; post-reading activity
Virginia SOL(s):
9.4 (l) Make predictions, inferences, draw conclusions, and connect prior knowledge
to support reading comprehension.
Common Core State Standard(s):
CCSS. ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.3: Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with
multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with
other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.
Objectives:
Students will understand that:
1. Development of theme can be attributed to the actions/thoughts/beliefs of the
characters.
Students will know:
2. A few specific themes in Of Mice and Men.
3. How these themes are related to the novels characters.
4. How these themes relate to their own experience.
Students will be able to:
5. Identify examples of theme in the novel.
6. Argue their stance on which characters exhibit the theme the most.
7. Reflect on their own experiences regarding the themes that appear in the
novel.
Assessments: Methods for evaluating each of the specific objectives listed above.
Diagnostic: Students will demonstrate what they already know by reflecting on their
own experiences on loneliness, prejudice, and guilt in their journals. (Objective 4 and
7)
Formative: Students will show their progress toward today's objectives by presenting
their stance to the class and proving their argument with specific instances/quotes
from the novel. (Objectives 3, 4, 5, and 6)
Summative: Students will ultimately be assessed on these standards by providing
responses to the summative question: In your opinion, what is the most evident theme
in Of Mice and Men? (Objective 1)
Procedures: Detail student and teacher behavior. Identify possible student
misconceptions. Include:
I. Welcome/greeting/announcements (2 minutes)
Hey, everyone. I dont know about you guys, but it has been a long week for me.
Visions of ham and stuffing are the only thing getting me through it. Are you excited

*These times can be

tailored during the
lesson depending on
student responses.

about the coming break? They answer. I am right there with you. That is why today
we are going to get up out of our seats and hopefully get those juices flowing.
II. Hook/ bridge/ opening to lesson (10 minutes)
So, we have just finished Steinbecks Of Mice and Men. What were some of your
general reactions? They answer. There are a lot of complexities in this short novella.
Today, we are going to explore these complexities by seeing how they affect the
characters in the novella. But first, I want you to start thinking out how the themes of
the novel affect you and your experiences. In your journals, I would like you to briefly
reflect on this question: What was a time you felt lonely? Why did you feel that
way? For about three minutes, write as much as you can. They write. Now, for the
next three minutes, reflect on a time where you experienced prejudice or witnessed a
prejudiced action. They write. Finally, for another three minutes, write on a time you
felt the guiltiest. They write.
III. Instructional steps (30 minutes 10 for each question)
You may have noticed that there are four posters in each corner of the room. I point
to each poster, reading the characters name on each one (Lennie, George, Curleys
Wife, and Crooks). I am going to ask you three questions. After each question, take a
second to think about how you would answer it. Then, go, with your book, to the
corner where the characters name you chose appears. The first question is this: Who
is the loneliest character? Students go to the character they believe is the loneliest.
Now, I want to know why you think the way you think. First, I ask for volunteers; the
first person who volunteers will answer the question and I will then ask him/her to
point to an instance or quote in the novel. I will then ask someone else in the group to
share until everyone has or ideas repeat. I will then move on to another character
group and repeat the action. After every group has shared: Everyone makes very
valid arguments; does anyone want to respond to another groups reasoning? If no one
speaks up, I will ask guiding questions. Group Lennie, why didnt you choose Crooks,
the character that is physically the loneliest?
I repeat this method for the question: Who is the most prejudiced character? and
Who is the guiltiest character? (for this question, I will switch out the Crooks poster
and add a Curley poster)
IV. Closing
You guys are awesome. You can go back to your seats. So, now that we have
explored some of the themes of Of Mice and Men, I want you to think about his
question: What is Of Mice and Men really about?
Materials:
- Of Mice and Men
- Five signs each with a name of a character: Lennie, George, Crooks, Curleys
Wife, and Curley
- Student journals