Mr Legowski’s Yr 9 research homework – due Monday 13 July

Understanding the historical context of Of Mice and Men will improve your understanding of the novel itself and is a key skill to be demonstrated in your GCSE exam.

To enable you all to understand the novel and write with confidence about its historical context, your homework task is to research and prepare a presentation on one of the topics below (depending on when your birthday falls). Your presentation will be given to the class on Monday 13, Tuesday 14 & Wednesday 15 July and you can use either PowerPoint or prezi.com to accompany it. You may present to the class on your own or with a partner (if their birthday means that they too will research the same topic); however, absolutely no more than two students per presentation!

• John Steinbeck’s life and interests – brief bibliography (birthdays in September and October)
• The American Dream (birthdays in November and December)
• The Robert Burns poem, To a Mouse (birthdays in January and February)
• The Salinas Valley and California in 1930s (birthdays in March and April)
• The Great Depression and the Dust Bowl (birthdays in May and June)
• Migrant workers in the USA ((birthdays in July and August)
• Optional topic for any student: The role of women and black people when the novel was set

Mr Legowski’s Yr 10 Christmas homework – due Tuesday 6 January 2015

I am looking forward to our next topic: the classic Steinbeck novella, Of Mice and Men.

As you know, being able to put a novel (or play or poem) into context is an essential skill, necessary for real understanding of the characters and events and also crucial for your GCSE exam. To that end, then, your Christmas homework task is to carry out research into the United States of America in the 1930s. Some essential areas for study are: race and racism in 1930s USA; unemployment and poverty; government initiatives to get the country back to work (e.g. Roosevelt’s New Deal); the Wall St Crash and the Great Depression; migrant workers; perceived ideas about a woman’s place or role (in short, women’s opportunities or lack thereof).

You should present your research in one of the following ways:

• An essay of no less than 500 words
• A video (duration min. 3 minutes)
• A detailed mindmap or other infogram, covering essential information about all of the above ‘essential areas’

All work must be your own. You may quote from sources but, again, I’m looking for you to show your understanding of the topic, which you can only do by putting your research into original points of your own.

Here’s Emily’s:

Year 10 A View from the Bridge homework – due Monday 3 November

Research immigration to the United States in the first half of the twentieth century. Present your findings in writing on A4 lined paper or on a Word document. Minimum one side of A4 or 250 words.

Please add a list of the websites and other resources you use in your research.

Deadline: Monday 3 November.

America in the 1930s – helpful videos and advice on context

Year 9 students of Of Mice and Men, I have attached some resources to help you research and revise the context of the novel: the USA in the 1930s.

The GCSE examination board advises students that ‘general comments about the Dust Bowl and what happened in 1930s America are not what is required. It is much more apposite (appropriate) to make comments about how the theme impacts on the characters in the ranch and its hierarchy.’ Elsewhere, the examiner says that ‘candidates should avoid points about context…which are ‘bolted on’ but not strictly relevant’ to the extract chosen or questions to be answered. To sum up, do not write a paragraph about the Great Depression; instead, allow your background knowledge of this period of time to seep through your answers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpfY8kh5lUw#t=27 (This video lasts approx. 27 minutes and is an interesting, largely anecdotal, account of the Great Depression and its social effects in 1930s America.)