Day 22

There are many hypothesis on why Steinbeck kills Lennie. Below are 5 of them. Choose one and explain why this may be the best reason. Make sure that you make at least 2 specific references to the story with page numbers. This may take a few more than 7 sentences.



1. Lennie desires a “safe place,” and in death he will finally find his dream.

2. Lennie is animalistic. He cannot control his desires. He lacks the mental capacity to be conscious enough to know his own strength or to protect himself from others. But must all people who cannot control their desire to be killed?

3. Lennie is useless: Candy’s dog is killed because it is no longer useful. The same case may be applied to Lennie. But Lennie is useful to the rancher and to George.

4. Lennie is a disturbance of public order.

5. Society is responsible for the accident in which Lennie kills Curley’s wife.

Day 21

Remember to finish reading chapters 5 & 6 and complete worksheet. Tomorrow we will go over the vocab words, review adverb clauses as well as begin discussing these chapters.

Imagine yourself in the story. Think how any character’s experiences or attitudes are like or unlike yours. Describe the differences or similarities. Which character do you most understand and why?

Day 20

I am interested in learning more about you today. Give me something about yourself, your life, your family, hopes, dreams, etc. that gives a greater insight into who you are as a person.

Day 19

Loneliness is a definite concept seen while reading Of Mice and Men. Explain why you think the migrant experience could be a lonely existence. Then, choose a character that you think displays loneliness and explain why this character is, in fact, lonely. Give an example from the book that proves your point and cite the example internally in your blog. Then, discuss how or when loneliness has been a part of your life and how you handled it.

Remember you have vocab and grammar quiz tomorrow and Independent Novel Study is due on Monday.

Day 18

"Compassion literally means to feel with, to suffer with. Everyone is capable of compassion, and yet everyone tends to avoid it because it's uncomfortable. And the avoidance produces psychic numbing -- resistance to experiencing our pain for the world and other beings."
Joanna Macy

Day 17

Loneliness is a common emotion that everyone feels once in a while--some more often
than others. The ranch hands in Of Mice and Men were drifters; they had no families close by and didn't stay in one place long enough to make lasting friends. Theirs was a lonely lifestyle. Two fellows, George and Lennie, found friendship early in their lives and traveled together. From them we can see what it means to be a friend and what it means to have a friend. Friendship has great rewards, but being a friend isn't always easy.

Your assignment is write out some kind of advertisement or commercial in regards to how someone will not be lonely or how to advertise for a migrant worker. Your
advertisement should carry all the usual information in a "want ad": what you want, a job description, the requirements and the rewards.

Be as creative as you like, but remember your ad must contain the information requested above and remember that you are striving for an effective advertisement.

Make sure you look at the others so as they your show your own individuality in this piece of work.

Day 16

Today we discussed the basic things about chapter 2. For this blog, I want you to think a little bit deeper. One of the motifs of the story is following orders. Explain why this may be important when living on the ranch and being a migrant worker. Also, talk about if this style of living can take from one's individuality. Then give an example from your life when taking orders actually helped you in a situation and when it made you question your own sense of self.

Day 15

Hope you did well on your vocab quiz and grammar quiz. Keep working on your INS. Make sure you are ready to discuss OMAM chapter 2 for Monday.

For this evening:

What is a bunkhouse? What was the bunkhouse like in the book? Describe what you think an evening in a bunkhouse full of people (men or women) would be like? How would feel about living in this type of environment for an extended period of time? Why?

Day 14

Make sure you do the following this evening:

1. Study vocab
2. Study grammar
3. Finish chapter 2 with the worksheet


I am a bit nervous about your novel study as people are stating they have not even finished the book. This project will take you days to complete if you are doing it with any pride factor. 10 days is not a great deal of time when there is other stuff going on in this class and others.

For this evening, please do a current event. This may not be sports or entertainment unless you can attach it to something that is current in society or impacts society. Remember that this is not just a summary of an event but you must discuss why you chose it and how it impacts you, your community, or your society. NO CITE, NO POINTS AND THE CITE MUST BE IN THE ORIGINAL BLOG.

Day 13

Today we went over the worksheets on adjective clauses. Please, please study these concepts for the quiz on Friday. Also, we discussed the first chapter of Of Mice and Men. Please discuss this following for today's journal:

Would George really be better off without Lennie? Explain what evidence there is that George would/would not be different if he were on his own. What do you think would happen to Lennie if George left him?

Day 11

Today we began reading Of Mice and Men. Remember to re-read what we started and then read through page 16. Complete Sections 1 and 3 as well as question 20 on the worksheet. In regards to independent novel study, you are down to about 10 days before it needs to be handed in. This project is work over 200 points so I would get it done.

For this evening, I want you to think about what we have read in the first chapter. Based on the reading, what do you think of the two main characters Lennie and George? Obviously, they are very different. Why do you think they are travelling together? Do you think that Lennie being slow takes away from George's life experiences? How? What is the perception of mentally challenged people in our society? Do you think we perceive them fairly?

Day 10

One of the issues we will be looking at in Of Mice and Men is that of social agression. Social agression is defined as actions and behaviors directed at damaging another’s self-esteem, social status, or both. Social Aggression can take the form of facial expressions (including the rolling of eyes and other looks of disgust), gossip and the spreading of rumors, bullying, verbal and/or non-verbal exclusion, or the manipulation of friendships and other relationships.

Based on this definition, please answer at least 3 of the following in your blog:

a. What acts of social aggression have you seen in your school and community?
b. What role did the school or community environment play in those acts of aggression? What role did economic factors play? What role did social pressure play? Were there other factors that somehow impacted the situation?
c. List three major causes of social aggression in your life. Are any of these causes similar to the causes of social aggression in Of Mice & Men?
d. What are some ways people attempt to establish dominance and authority over you in your everyday life?
e. Has anyone ever taken out their anger with something else out on you? Write a letter to someone who has done this to you. Explain how his or her actions made you feel. Suggest some other ways this person might deal with his or her anger.
f. Have you ever taken your anger out on someone who is not responsible for it? Write a letter to someone you have done this to. Explain why you might have done this.
g. What are some alternatives to social aggression? Are there ways to address and respond to the causes of social aggression without attempting to damage someone else’s self-esteem or social status?

Day 9

Here we are a week into the new cardmarking. Tell me how you feel you did in the first cardmarking of the second semester. Where you pleased with your performance? Were you able to truly have pride in the work you were doing? Why or why not? What are your true goals for the 2nd cardmarking of this semester and how will you attain them?

Day 8

Today we discussed The Great Depression and migrant workers. Discuss what are the positives and negatives to living during this time period as a migrant worker. Then, write a letter to a family member discussing your experience.

Cardmarking 2, Day 7

How about a current event for today? No entertainment, no sports unless it somehow comes into play with topical events. NO CITE, NO POINTS AND CITE MUST BE IN THE ACTUAL BLOG!

Cardmarking 2, Day 6

Today you guys continued to work on your novel projects. You have had more than adequate time to read/work on your projects in class so you should have made good progress by now.

Today's blog is your reaction to a quote.

"A bore is a man who deprives you of solitude without providing you with company." - Anonymous.

Enjoy.

-Hand

Cardmarking 2, Day 4

You guys finished working on EDP's today.

Your blog for today is a FREE one!

Have a great weekend!

-Hand

Cardmarking 2, Day 3

Today you guys worked on EDP's and most likely will be doing that for the whole day tomorrow.

Respond to this quote for your blog tonight.

"Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing." -- Abraham Lincoln

-Hand

Cardmarking 2, Day 2

Today you guys learned 5 new vocab words and learned about Compound-Complex sentences. You were also given time to read/work on homework for other classes. Tomorrow you guys will have time to read and work on your independent novel projects so be prepared to do so.

Blog Today:

Find a current event and cite your source in the blog...not as an addition to the blog (he says you guys know what to do if that was confusing).

-Hand

Cardmarking 2, Day 1

Today you read during class. Make sure you are using your time wisely and not getting behind. The project is due March 25 and you do not want to rush on a project worth over 200 points.

Since we are reading, what do you think the importance of reading is? What is the difference between reading for pleasure and reading for content? How can they work together? How can this project help you in other classes as well?