Web Quest:

Of Mice and Men, and the

Poor Farm Workers of the Great Depression

Mr. Wolfson is an instructor at the John F. Kennedy HS English Dept.

E-Mail: Jaws3242@aol.com

The Social Problem: A high number of early 1930s

California farm workers have suffered from the ill effects of poverty.

“Poverty is the worst form of violence.” -Mahatma Ghandi

1930s Depression Era migrant farm workers, one carrying his bedroll and the other a guitar, find a moment together away from their rootless and often lonely existence on the road.

Introduction

Poverty is a theme prevalent throughout literature as well as society, and one that you will focus on in this class. You will begin by reading and investigating how it is depicted in John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men.

The novel is set during the early 1930s Great Depression, in a real life agricultural town called Salinas, California. Coupled with the Depression, which greatly affected all walks of life during that time in America – banks running out of money, and millions of people out of work everywhere -- was the some six years without rain that turned all of the Midwestern farming states, including Oklahoma, New Mexico and Kansas, into what history has dubbed the “Dust Bowl.” Most farmers in that area had no choice but to sell or forfeit their farms to the banks (otherwise called a mortgage foreclosure) and migrate to more fertile lands on the West Coast in hopes of restarting a better life. Two such characters in the novel, George and Lennie, are among those migrant farm workers, who have lived from one seasonal farming job to the next. They are poor and lonely, having very little, except their dreams, each other and hope for a better future.

You will investigate some of the undesirable social conditions of poverty affecting farmers as it occurs in Of Mice and Men and in California during the 1930s. Keep in mind, though, that beside the more obvious conditions of poverty, including homelessness, hunger and unemployment, there is also the inability of man to control his or her own destiny or realize his or her own American dream; or the need for man to be financially dependent on another, often resulting in the physical and emotional abuse by the more powerful one; or the inability to care for others, leading to a (wo)man’s own isolation and loneliness. How might these conditions be portrayed in the novel, Of Mice and Men?

Now, imagine that you are living in California during the early 1930s, and that the Governor of California has personally called you to be apart of his taskforce to help rid the farmers in Salinas, CA, and the rest of the state from the ill effects of poverty. You will find the best public policy solution (PPS) that will help eliminate these effects of poverty and so improve the farmer’s quality of life, such as Lennie’s and George’s.

Tasks (what will be expected of you)

1930s migrant farm workers pick cotton in California.

As a member of the California Governor’s task group to prevent poverty affecting farmers, you will use the 6-step approach of the public policy analyst (PPA), as they are listed below. To better understand what it means to be a public policy analyst, click on the “Simple Tour” and then click either the box “Graphics Version” for a beginning tour or “Standard Version” for a more advanced tour. You will then find policies that will help to eliminate the conditions of poverty as they affect farmers such as those characters in Of Mice and Men. You will be expected to complete the following tasks, which are each worth a certain number of points adding up to your final grade.

Task 1: Read the assigned literature, including John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. Then analyze the way poverty affects the novel’s characters and, in general, California farmers during the 1930s Great Depression. In addition to analyzing the text, you will answer the “Research Questions” and read through the websites listed below, as you work through the 6-step approach of the public policy analyst (PPA) – 100 points.

Task 2: You will be tested on the assigned reading, at least 3 times over the course of this project. That will show me whether you are actually reading – WARNING: if you do not read, then you will NOT PASS this class – 200 points.

Task 3: Follow the 6-step approach of the PPA in the next section and then complete the worksheets below, one for each of the six steps – 25 points each = 150 points.

Task 4: Using the information from your worksheets and your answers to the “Research Questions” below, you will create 7 poster boards as described in the “Process” section below – 25 points each = 175 points.

Task 5: Again, you will use the information from the worksheets, web sites and “Research Questions” to write a 3- to 5-page research paper – 200 points.

Task 6: Finally, using your group’s poster boards, you will have to do a 3- to 5-minute oral presentation, on which you will be graded for BOTH your TEAM (100 points) and INDIVIDUAL (100 points) effort – 200 points.

Process (how you will complete your tasks)

To complete your task, assuming you role as a new member of the California Governor’s task force to eliminate poverty affecting California farm workers during the 1930s, you will work as a member of a group of four students.

These are the steps you have to follow to complete your web quest.

You will find out as much information as you can about poverty affecting California farm workers. As you follow the 6-step approach of the PPA and complete the worksheets below, you will do the following:

Answer the “Research questions” below by:
Reading John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men
And by exploring the web pages below.

Using the information from a, b, c above, and from your completed worksheets, you will, as a group, creatively design 6 poster boards, each of which will be designed to advertise one of the 6-steps of the PPA approach – for example, on your second poster board, about step 2, which is to “gather evidence of the social problem,” you might want to draw cartoons, cut and paste magazine pictures, color backgrounds, and, on a corner, write a paragraph about it.
In addition to the poster boards, you will write your own research paper, in which you outline each of the 6-steps of the PPA approach in paragraph format – for example, your first body paragraph will be on the first step of the PPA approach, which is to “define the social problem.”
Finally, your group will use the poster boards to do a 3- to 5-minute oral presentation on each of the 6-steps of the PPA.

The 6-step public policy approach (how you will begin)

Please begin by closely following the 6-step approach of the public policy analyst (PPA) below (If you haven’t already done so, click the “Simple Tour” and then “Graphics version,” which will show you about the 6 steps of the PPA approach).

Step 1: Identify the nature of the social problem, which is that an overwhelming number of early 1930s California farm workers have suffered from the ill effects of poverty. For additional information on this step, click on the following link, read through the web page and COMPLETE WORKSHEET1 (25 points) at the bottom of that page.

Define the problem.

Step 2: Gather evidence, such as listing quotations or passages from the novel or collecting facts and data from the web pages and “Research Questions” below, that shows that the conditions of poverty exist and negatively affect the farm workers in Of Mice and Men and 1930s California. To help you do this, click on the following hyperlink, read the page and complete worksheet2 (25 points) at the bottom of that page.

Gather evidence of the problem.

Step 3: Identify the causes of the problem – for example, high unemployment and an unusually long drought in the Midwestern states – by reading through the assigned literature and websites provided. To help you, click on the following hyperlink, which you will then read. Finally, complete worksheet3 (25 points) at the bottom of that page: Identify the causes of the problem.

Step 4: Describe and evaluate past and present policies (define policies: i.e. outline as part of the book or go to the resources section of this web quest below) regarding this problem. Again, click on the following hyperlink, read it and then complete worksheet4 (25 points) at the bottom of that page: Evaluate existing public policies.

Step 5: Create 3 of your own, original, public policies regarding this problem of poverty affecting migrant farm workers. Click on the following hyperlink, read it and then complete worksheet5 (25 points) at the bottom of that page: Develop public policy solutions.

Step 6: SELECT ONE of your three original public policies that will best address the problem, by using the effectiveness/feasibility matrix found in WORKSHEET6. Click on the following link, read it and then complete worksheet6 (25 points) at the bottom of that page:

A “squatter camp” is where migrant farm workers and their families lived without water, electricity and in unsanitary, filthy conditions. What could be done about this? Answer the research questions below to out.

Research Questions, using your text, Of Mice and Men:

In the second paragraph, on page 2 of section 1 (pp. 1-16), describe ways in which the author, John Steinbeck, uses the story’s setting to show that homelessness is a problem?
In section 1 (pages 1-16), describe at least 4 ways in which the author portrays Lennie and George as suffering from poverty?
On page 33, describe why Lennie and George are dependent upon their new job?
On page 56, describe why George and many, many others think that whorehouses and getting drunk is a good idea?
Describe why whorehouses and getting drunk is an unrealistic way of dealing with poverty?
Between pages 56 and 58, describe Lennie’s and George’s shared dream?
On pages 57, 58 and 66 to 77, find evidence to show how Lennie’s and George’s dream to own their own land is an unrealistic solution to escaping poverty? (How does Crook’s feel about this dream?)
Between pages 55 and 61, explain how this dream helps Lennie and George to deal with poverty?
Between pages 55 and 61, explain how Lennie’s and George’s dream suddenly becomes possible?
Between pages 66 and 77, describe at least 4 ways in which Crooks is affected by poverty?
Describe at least 2 ways in which Crooks deals with poverty?
On pages 88 and 89, describe how Curley’s wife is affected by poverty?

One of many camps built by a government agency called the Farm Security Administration for migrant farm workers and their families to help solve the problems coming from “squatter” camps.

Research Questions, about the websites listed below:

The answers to the following question may be found by reading through the first three

websites in the resource section.

How is George’s and Lennie’s life similar to the lives of immigrants since the 17^th century or late 1800s?
Describe what the “American Dream means” as it relates to immigrants finding a new life in America?
Identify and explain the origin of the title, Of Mice and Men?” How might it relate to the book?
Identify how much money migrant farm workers made on average per day between the 1880s and the 1930s?
On page 5, George mentions that he and Lennie have work cards. These cards or work tickets allow them to take jobs at the farm where they’re heading. With unemployment so high, describe how they are able to attain such work cards? (Look through the 1^st website)
Identify at least 3 ways in which the depression affected the American people?
Describe what each of the two presidents during the period between 1929 and 1941 did to help people – and specifically farmers – rise above the ill effects of poverty?

The following 3 questions may be answered by going to the website: “Terms, People and Events.”

Name the 5 states that made up the “Dust Bowl” region of the US?
Identify and describe at least two causes of the “Dust Bowl?”
What was the percentage of farmers that had to sell their farms or, in other words, foreclose on their mortgages, in the Dust Bowl region of the country in 1933?
What words does the acronym “AAA” stand for?

Because the large farmers benefited most, receiving government money to use technology, buy farmland and cut the production of crops to increase its prices, many of the small farmers and laborers lost their jobs and were counted among those who migrated west to California. Think of policies that might have saved the land and jobs of these small farmers and laborers.

Under the website “Certain Facts of the Great Depression,” 20 percent of the large farmers received what percentage of government money and benefits?

Answer the next three questions using the following website: Federal Role in Migrant Farmers Camps.

Identify at least 3 things wrong with “Squatter Camps?”
Identify at least places next to which “Squatter Camps” were commonly located and why?
Identify which of the two years in the 1930s was especially difficult for California migrant farm workers and then explain at least two reasons for it?
Explain what specific action increased migrant farm workers’ salaries by 20%?
Identify at least 3 things that migrant farmers and their families could benefit from while living at Farm Security Administration (FSA) camps, such as the “Weedpach Camp?”
Summarize, briefly, in 3 to 4 paragraphs, the history of the “Weedpatch Camp.”
Summarize, briefly, in 3 to 4 paragraphs, what life was like at the “Weedpatch Camp.”

Resources:

Some useful search engines: (You only need to use the following search engines if feel as though you would like to find additional website about the problem of poverty as we have discussed it. I STRONGLY suggest that you do ALL the worksheets and research questions BEFORE you start searching the Internet for additional information. Of course, any extra work will count as extra credit toward you final project grade.)

1. www.google.com

2. www.yahoo.com

3. www.lycos.com

4. www.metacrawler.com

Web Sites for answering the resource questions:

1. Of Mice and Men facts and background information – This Website tells primarily about the setting of the book, a few conditions of migrant farm workers and the “American Dream.”

2. The Great Depression (1929-1941) – This website is an excellent source of information, giving facts, causes and effects about and people’s (US presidents’) roles in the Great Depression.

3. Causes of the Great Depression – This website offers some main reasons for the Great Depression and nationwide poverty, including facts about the “Dust Bowl,” bank closures and unemployment.

4. Important Terms, People and Events of the Great Depression – This website lists key terms and definitions related to the Great Depression and resulting poverty in the 1930s.

5. Certain Facts of the Great Depression – This website lists easy facts about the welfare state of the Great Depression, including the state of agriculture.

6. Farm Security Administration (FSA) – This website gives a timeline of the Farm Security Administration (FSA) from its establishment in 1933 under its former name of the Resettlement Administration (RA) to its current renaming in 1937, when it became a subdivision of the newly created US Department of Agriculture.

7. Federal Governments Role in Migrant Farmers Camps – This website talks about the federal governments role in replacing roadside squatter camps, mostly in California, with more sanitized and safe work camps – a place for migrant farmers and their families to settle.

8. The Farm Security Administration’s Weedpatch Camp – This website tells of the history of and life on one of the many government camps, the “Weedpatch Camp,” in California, which the government had built to replace unsanitary “Squatter Camps” in which migrant farmers often took shelter, as they traveled west from the Dust Bowl and other places.

Evaluation

You will be judged on your effective use of researching on the Internet; following directions and completing ALL the tasks, as outlined in this web quest; working in a group as a team player and performing an oral presentation. The guidelines below have been created to give you a clear understanding of what is expected of you. Your own originality and creativity will help you acquire greater points. Allow your own creativity to shine through in your posters, research paper and oral presentation.

Guidelines for creating your Poster Boards

1 All your 6 posters must be original.

2 Your first 6 posters must reflect your work from the six worksheets.

3 Each of your posters must have 1 picture from the Internet

4 You will be scheduled to present your posters to the class.

Worksheet 1: What is the social problem?

Name: ________________________ Date: ____________

1. The social problem is that 1930s Depression Era California farm workers are suffering from poverty.

2. Identify as many of the main players – types of people, government and business organizations, US presidents – involved in this problem.

3. List at least 3 disadvantages that result from this problem.

4. Write a short description that summarizes the social problem and its effect on society as a whole.

Worksheet 2: Gathering evidence of this problem

Name: ___________________________ Date: ___________________

List the evidence of this problem. Cite the sources of your information.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Worksheet 3: Identifying causes of the problem

Name: _____________________________ Date: ____________

List at least 10 causes of this problem. Cite the titles of the sites you researched.

Worksheet 4: Evaluating the existing public policy

Name: __________________________ Date: ___________________

The problem is (as stated throughout this web quest):

1. State one major existing policy that attempts to deal with this problem.

2. What are the advantages – effectiveness, public acceptance, enforcement – of this policy?:

1. 4. Based on your evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages, should the current policy be totally replaces or improved? Explain your reasons.

Worksheet 5: Developing public policy solutions

Name: _______________________ Date: ___________________

The problem is (as stated throughout this web quest)

1. Propose at least 3 original public policies. Make sure that all three of your public policies are at the same historical, geopolitical, and social level as the problem. Each of your unique public policies must specify the social agencies that will be responsible for carrying out your proposed policy. Rate each of your policies 1 to3 (1 being the most promising).

2. Explain why you prefer the first policy to the other two policies.

Worksheet 6: Selecting the best public policy solution

Name: __________________________ Date: ____________

The problem is:

A. A. List your 3 original public policies from worksheet 5. Create a short title or phrase that summarizes each of your public policies.

1._________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2.________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3.________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

B. B. Rate each of your policies’ “effective and feasibility” factors. Use the matrix below:

FEASIBILITY

EFFECTIVENESS	*High*	*Medium*	*Low*
*High*
Medium
Low

C. C. Explain the results of the matrix. Explain the effectiveness and feasibility factors for each of your original public policies.

Sample poster boards:

Poster # 1

Use this poster to define and describe the problem.

(Picture(s) or Drawings)+(Some written explanations)

Based on worksheet 1

Poster # 2

Use this poster to show your audience the evidence of the problem from our present day society and from Moby Dick.

(Picture(s) or Drawings)+(Some written explanations)

Based on worksheet 2

Poster # 3

Use this poster to alert your audience of the causes of the problem.

(Picture(s) or Drawings)+(Some written explanations)

Based on worksheet 3

Poster # 4

Use this poster to evaluate 1-2 past and existing pubic policies regarding the problem.

(Picture(s) or Drawings)+(Some written explanations)

Based on worksheet 4

Poster # 5

Use this poster to show your 3 original public policies.

(Picture(s) or Drawings)+(Detailed and brief explanations)

Based on worksheet 5

Poster # 6

Use this poster to show your number one most effective, feasible and original public policy. Describe the agency or persons who will be responsible for making this policy effective.

(Picture(s) or Drawings)+(Detailed and brief explanations)

Based on worksheet 6

RESEARCH PAPER and Worksheets RUBRIC

Name: _________________________ Date: _______ 2003

BEGINNING

DEVELOPING

ACCOMPLISHED

EXCELLENT

SCORE

The writing portion of the research paper (Based on the rubric for the ELA NYS Regents - task 3)

- ideas are incomplete or largely undeveloped, hinting at ideas, but references to the text are vague, irrelevant, repetitive or unjustified.

- writing lacks an appropriate focus, but suggest some organization, or suggest a focus, lack organization

- demonstrates a lack of control. ---exhibits frequent errors, making comprehension difficult.

- develop ideas briefly, using some evidence from the text and Internet.

- may rely only on the story’s plot summary.

- establish, but fail to maintain, an appropriate focus.

- exhibit a very basic structure of ideas but may include inconsistencies or irrelevancies

- demonstrate emerging control, exhibiting occasional error that hinder understanding

- develop some ideas more fully than others, with reference to important and specific evidence from the Internet and the text.

- maintain a clear and appropriate focus.

- exhibit a logical sequence of ideas but may lack internal consistency.

- demonstrate partial control, exhibiting occasional errors that do not hinder understanding.

- develop ideas clearly and fully, making effective use of relevant and specific evidence from Of Mice and Men and the Internet.

- maintain the focus established by the social problem.

- exhibit logical and coherent structure through skillful use of the English language.

- demonstrate control of the conventions with essentially no errors.

Rubric

Score=

Grade=

______%

Web Sites Research

-too few references that are relevant to the original public policies

-enough references that are relevant and support the original public policies

-many references that are relevant and support the original public policies

-excellent use of a variety of references that are relevant and support the original public policies

Rubric

Score=

Grade=

_______%

References from Steinbeck’s

Of Mice and Men

-does not use any specific references from Steinbeck’s work

-uses few specific references from Steingbeck’s work

-uses some specific references from Steinbeck’s work

Uses many specific and detailed references from Steinbecks’s work

Rubric

Score=

Grade=

______%

Grades and due dates

& All poster boards are due at a time To Be Announced (TBA).

& All scheduled oral presentations will take place approximately 1 week after your groups’ posters have been submitted.

& The total worth of your project is worth 1000 points.

& The following percentages correspond to the rubric numbers:

1 = 60 points

2 = 70 points

3 = 80 points

4 = 90 points

Note: Everyone will receive an additional 5 points towards the average score for their participation, enthusiasm, and originality.

ORAL PRESENTATION RUBRIC

A A- A- Speaks loud and clear, good tone of voice.

Excellent use of the English language.

Material is presented in a persuasive, well-organized format.

A- B- B- Good point of view.

Good use of English language.

Material is organized.

B- C- C- Speaks using a low tone of voice.

Poor use of English language.

Material is not well organized.

C- D- D- Weak point of view.

Poor use of English language.

Lacks organization.

This web quest focuses on the following English Language Arts Performance Standards:

E1c: Read and comprehend informational materials.

E2a: Produce a report of information.

E3a: Participate in one to one conferences with the teacher.

E3c: Prepare and deliver individual presentations.

E4b: Analyze and subsequently revise work to improve its clarity and

effectiveness.

This web quest concentrates on the following New York State Standards:

Standard 1: Language for Information and Understanding

Standard 2: Language for Literary Response and Expression

Standard 3: Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation

Standard 4: Language for Social Interaction

This web quest focuses on the following Social Studies Standards:

Standard 5: Civic Citizenship and Government

Standard 4: Economics

This web quest focuses on the following Science Standards:

S2: Living Environment

Conclusion

Students have learned about the pervading theme of poverty, in relation to John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. By studying how poverty actually affected migrant farmers as well as Americans, generally, across America during the 1930s Great Depression and Dust Bowl Era, as role players stuck in that time, students have seen this social problem within its historical context, not only as it might have inspired Steinbeck to write the way he did, but to, perhaps, see it more clearly, as a timeless problem, existing around them. By stepping through the PPA approach, and learning to be policy makers, they will more likely no longer see the problem as a bad thing upon society, but rather as something they can help make better.

Mr. Wolfson is an instructor at the John F. Kennedy HS English Dept.

Introduction

Tasks (what will be expected of you)

Process (how you will complete your tasks)

Evaluation

Worksheet 3: Identifying causes of the problem

Worksheet 4: Evaluating the existing public policy

Worksheet 5: Developing public policy solutions

Worksheet 6: Selecting the best public policy solution

Medium

Standard 1: Language for Information and Understanding

Standard 4: Language for Social Interaction

Conclusion