Discrimination in
During the Great
Depression
Based on the novella by
John Steinbeck
Of Mice and Men
A WebQuest lesson
prepared by Ms. Reid
The
9th Grade
English
CRITICAL LENS:
I'm truly sorry man's dominion
Has broken Nature's social union,
And justifies that ill opinion
Which makes thee startle
At me, thy poor, earth born companion
And fellow mortal!
EXCERPT FROM: "To A Mouse, on Turning Her Up in Her Nest, with the Plough" a Scots poem written by Robert Burns in 1785
Introduction
Many people were discriminated against in the novella Of
Mice and Men: Crooks, Curly’s Wife and Candy,
all for different reasons. This is shown by the fact that all three
characters insist that their rights be observed. Steinbeck, through Of Mice
and Men, wrote to the world against the evils of discrimination. The most
obvious form of discrimination is skin color. Crooks is discriminated because
of his skin color. Clearly Curly’s wife is a
victim of discrimination because of her gender. Throughout the book Candy
keeps to himself, away from others, because he’s rejected by others, just like
Crooks and Curly’s Wife. Candy, a sweet old man,
is also discriminated against. These are just a few examples of
discrimination in the novella
Task
Your
group is charged with the task of advising a Congressional committee on ways of
preventing discrimination in
1. Research the examples of discrimination chapter by chapter. Document your findings.
2. Make a list chapter by chapter of the characters in the book that were affected by discrimination?
3. What changes would you propose to be made in the laws to discourage discrimination?
4. How would you implement those changes?
5. What effect should those changes have on the way the characters in the book lived?
6. Create a PowerPoint following the steps of the PPA (below):
a. Identify discrimination in the novella
b. Look for evidence of discrimination in the novella
c. Determine some of the causes for discrimination in the novella
d. Evaluate policies during the Great Depression that allowed for discrimination
Process
The class will be divided into groups of five. Each group member will be assigned one of the following roles by the teacher:
Researcher-you will make sure that each member of the group thoroughly researchers all of the websites in the research section
Team Leader-you will be responsible for making sure that all members of the team contribute to the final presentation and that all members do their work.
PowerPoint-you will work with the members of your group to create the final PowerPoint presentation making sure you include all of your research
Spokesperson-you will present the PowerPoint for the group. You will be prepared for any questions because of your work with the group and through your research.
Public Policy Analyst-you will make sure that all members of the group do the work necessary to complete all of the worksheets. You will be responsible for completing the worksheets for the group.
Your
group will complete the four-step American History Public Policy Analyst
(AHPPA) using the PPA website. You will also complete
the worksheets below to develop you policy recommendations on ways of
preventing discrimination in
Identify the nature of a social problem
Gather evidence to support the existence of the problem
Determine the causes and factors contributing to the problem
Evaluating existing public policies
Step 3: Use the listed Resources (below) to gather evidence of discrimination and discrimination policy.
Step
4: You will work together to prepare the PowerPoint presentation. Make
sure to present your findings in the presentation based on the evidence you
have gathered. The spokesperson will present the findings and policy
recommendations to the class.
Resources
Disability Discrimination: Disability
Discrimination History
Race
Discrimination Race
Discrimination In America During the Great Depression
Gender Discrimination: Gender Roles During the Great Depression
Mental Illness: Treament
of Mental Illness during the Great Depression
Evaluation:
Performance |
Excellent 5 |
Good 4 |
Satisfactory 3 |
Needs Improvement 2 |
|
Completion of Worksheets |
Fully understand the social problem, its
causes and public policy that arose from it, and fully completes worksheets |
Good understanding of social problem, causes, and
public policy. Completion of worksheets |
Satisfactory understanding of social problem,
causes, and public policy. Substantially completes worksheets. |
Minimal understanding of social problem, causes, and
public policy. Failure to complete worksheets |
|
Completion of Power Point Presentation |
Full completion of 6 power point slides with
pictures, graphics and meaningful text |
Professional looking power point presentation, with
6 slides, plus some pictures, graphics, and meaningful text |
Completed power point presentation with some
pictures, graphics and meaningful text. |
Partially completed power point presentation.
Absence of sufficient pictures, graphics, and text. |
|
Oral Presentation (power point) |
Full presentation of power point slides. Each
group member presents one or more slides. |
Good presentation of power point slides. Two
out of 3 group members present slides. |
Satisfactory presentation of power point
slides. 1 of 3 group members present slides. |
Presentation of power point slides. 1 of 3 group members present slides. |
|
Organization |
Group worked together on all projects and handed in
signed group summary . |
Group worked together on most projects and handed in
signed group summary. |
Group worked together on most projects but failed to
hand in group summary. |
Group did not work well |
A=
20-17 B= 16-14 C= 13-11 F= 10-1
Standards
ENGLISH
LANGUAGE ARTS STANDARDS:
1: Students will read, write,
listen, and speak for information and understanding.
3: Students will read, write,
listen, and speak for critical analysis and evaluation.
SOCIAL STUDIES STANDARDS:
Standard 1 : History of
the
Standard 2 : World
History
Standard 5: Civics,
Citizenship and Government
Conclusion
By having completed this WebQuest you have successfully worked through the four-steps of the PPA and have advised the committee on improving the lives of others by eliminating discrimination.
You have research the problem using the steps of the PPA. You have also created a PowerPoint presenting your research findings and you proposal for new policy to fix the problems.