Day 13

George is put on trial for the murder of Lennie. You are George's attorney and have to give the jury your final argument as to why he should not go to jail. What do you say? Make sure that you make references to the story and to the life they led together and what brought them to this point of having to make the decision to kill Lennie. You may need to do more than 7 sentences. hint, hint :)

Day 12

Today we discussed the existing symbols and motifs within "Of Mice and Men". In your opinion, which one symbol and one motif are the the most significant in this novella? Explain each of them thoroughly and provide specific examples and quotes within the text that support your claim. We will briefly discuss this in class tomorrow, so come to class prepared with your opinions and explainantions. See you tomorrow!

Day 11

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 10

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?

Start reading chp. 5 and 6 over the weekend, but there will not be a quiz until later in the week. We will go over chapter 4 when we return on Monday. Have a great weekend!

Day 9

Sorry so late! I almost forgot about you guys! I'm sure you all would have been so disappointed :)
Hope everything went well today, and you had a chance to get your chapter 4 reading done!

Wednesday we were talking about different themes from "Of Mice and Men" within our groups, and discussing the instances that they have presented themselves thus far. I want you to tell me which theme you feel is most predominant so far, and why? Give me specific examples that support your claim that this theme is stronger and more obvious than the others. Why do you think the author chose this theme or message? Do you think this theme is easy for readers to relate to? Explain.

Don't forget about your quizzes tomorrow!

Day 8

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.


Just a reminder, I will not be in class tomorrow due to my Teacher Job Fair. Be sure to bring your texts so that you may read in class. We will have a chp. 4 reading quiz Friday, as well as vocab quiz #21. Please remember to sign up for your chosen novel, and be extra kind to your substitute teacher.:) Wish me luck!

Day 7

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 to choose your book for your novel study by tomorrow on the sign-up sheet, and be prepared to discuss the remainder of Chapter 3 tomorrow.

Day 6

"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

What does this quote mean to you? How do you feel about compassion? How might you feel compassionate towards Lennie? George? Or any other characters in the story?

Day 5

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 4

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 3

Today we began our discussion on chapter 2 and will continue tomorrow.

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 2

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.

Cardmarking 5, Day 1

Here we are a 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? You do not have to focus only on this class but as an overall student as well.

Day 25

Tonight, we shall free blog. Let me know what is going on with you in life. What are your interests? Remember do not just write about your weekend or plans.

Day 24

Today we began reading Of Mice and Men. Remember to re-read what we started and then read through page 16. Complete the questions including question 20 on the worksheet.

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 traveling 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 23

Sorry blog is so late it has been a crazy afternoon.

Today, we went over compound sentences, simple sentences, complex sentences and compound complex sentences. We are going to try this exercise again especially since most of you did not choose to do this last week. I want you to write me a very short story (of at least 12 sentences but more if need be) using at least 2 simple sentences, 2 compound sentences, 4 complex sentences and 2 compound complex sentences. Label each sentence for the type so that I can see that you are using them correctly.

The topic is up to you so have some fun if you want. Obviously, those from last week need to write something new.

Cut and paste it into a document and bring it to class tomorrow as well. Before we begin Of Mice and Men we will look at your examples. We will be having a short quiz on these sentence types on Friday to make it worth your while to learn.

Day 22

Please address the following quote:

“We must not allow other people's limited perceptions to define us.”
Virginia Satir

Day 22

"The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of mind."
William James

What do you think of this? How does it relate to you? Any examples?

Day 21

You should have all been doing research that touches on the depression era. What are you perceptions of the people living in this time period? Knowing yourself, how would you navigate your way to success during this time if you had just lost everything? Then, navigate yourself through this time if you were just some migrant worker?

Day 20

We have been going over compound sentences, complex, simple sentences and complex sentences. For this evening, I want you to write me a very short story (of at least 12 sentences but more if need be) using at least 2 simple sentences, 4 compound sentences, 2 compound-complex, and 4 complex sentences. Label each sentence for the type so that I can see that you are using them correctly.

The topic is up to you so have some fun if you want. If you were absent on Tuesday, this is one of the problems with missing school. I guess, if you want the points for today, you can research these sentence types so you have an understanding and thus write your story.

Day 19

Hope you understand the ideas of the types of sentences. Make sure you get the worksheet done.

For tonight, we shall current the event. Make sure you summarize and give effect and as always, NO CITE, NO POINTS.

Day 18

Please respond the the following:

"When we blindly adopt a religion, a political system, a literary dogma, we become automatons. We cease to grow."
Anais Nin

This may take somethinking or talking with parents, friends, etc. If you do not know what dogma means, look it up.