During the Great Depression, two men travel through California, looking for work wherever they can find it and dreaming of a brighter future with a farm of their own. George, though the smaller man, is clearly the leader, trying to keep Lennie, a giant of a man with developmental delays, safe and out of trouble. But when they find themselves at a ranch where the boss's son is cruel and his wife is flirtatious, the two friends become tangled in more trouble than they could have ever imagined.
Reading Practice
- Alphabet Agencies (Grades 6-8; CCSS.CCRA.R.4)
- Covered in Dust (Grades 6-8; CCSS.CCRA.R.8)
- Young Cesar E. Chavez (Grades 9-10; CCSS.CCRA.R.5)
- The Grim Economics of Food Stamps (Grades 9-10; CCSS.CCRA.R.8)
- Multimedia Lesson: Scraping By (Grades 9-10; CCSS.CCRA.R.7)
Writing Lessons
- Perseverance: How do we overcome challenges in our country, our communities, and our lives?
- Money and Decisions: How does money affect our moral decision-making?
- Overcoming Obstacles: How do characters develop as they face conflicts and overcome obstacles?
- The Great Depression: Which of the attempted solutions to the Great Depression was most effective?
Direct Instruction
- Connections within an Informational Text (Grades 6-12; CCSS.CCRA.R.5)
- Themes (Grades 6-12; CCSS.CCRA.R.2)
- Characters (Grades 6-12; CCSS.CCRA.R.3)