Of Mice and Menby John Steinbeck

Projection Masters & Student Handouts

Of Mice and Men

Motif Transparency #1

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A motif is a recurring element in a

literary work. It can be an idea, an

object, a place, a character, an image, a

statement, etc. These recurring

elements are symbolic. A motif is used to

develop an idea beyond itself or to

communicate a message. A motif may be

used to help develop the theme of a

literary work.

What recurring elements can you

identify in Of Mice and Men?

Amazing Grace Writing a Description Transparency #1

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Here are a few motifs you may have

noticed.

Animals

Hands

“… live offa the fatta

the lan’.”

Of Mice and Men

Writing a Description Transparency #1

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Writing a Description

Use all five senses to communicate a

description. Help the reader …

to hear

to see

to taste

to feel

to smell

Of Mice and Men Writing a Description Transparency #2

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If you were a part of this scene, what

might you hear, see, smell, feel, and

taste?

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If you were a part of this scene, what

might you hear, see, smell, feel, and

taste?

Of Mice and Men Writing a Description Transparency #3

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Things to Consider When

Writing a Description

Choose a purpose for your writing. For

example, are you writing your description to

inform or entertain?

Know your audience. Who will read your

description? How might this affect your

writing?

Decide how you will organize your

description. For example, will you choose the

most important detail in the scene, and then

add other details? Or, will you describe

according the space (left to right, top to

bottom)? Or, will you choose another order?

As in all writing, be sure your description

has a topic sentence and that all other

sentences relate to that topic.

Of Mice and Men

Theme Transparency #1

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Theme

An author creates a literary work with a purpose

in mind. A theme is based on a central idea in

the author’s work.

The author of well-crafted

novel will use many

aspects of her work to

communicate themes.

These aspects include the

narration, the characters

and their dialogue, and the

story’s action. Even literary techniques, such as

symbolism and figurative language, can be used

to support the novel’s themes.

Of Mice and Men ThemeTransparency #2

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Themes in Of Mice and Men

One strong, reoccurring idea in this novel is

related to the pursuit of the American Dream.

This theme can be

stated: “Everyone has a

deep longing for

success – to find wealth

and independence, and

to have a home where one belongs.”

How has author John Steinbeck communicated

this theme in the novel?

What other themes can you identify? To state a

theme, write a sentence telling what the author

is communicating about a particular idea.

Of Mice and Men

Eulogy Transparency

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A eulogy is a formal statement or

speech presented at a person’s

funeral or memorial

service. The eulogy

honors the person

who has died and

often cites his or

her accomplishments. The eulogy

may also express the writer’s

fond memories of the deceased

person.

Of Mice and Men Planning a Eulogy Handout

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Planning Lennie Small’s Eulogy

Lennie’s Background:

_____________________________________

_____________________________________

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

Lennie’s Accomplishments:

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

My Memories of Lennie:

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

Reasons I Will Miss Lennie:

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

Of Mice and Men

Cause and Effect Essay Transparency #1

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The Cause and Effect Essay

When you write a cause and effect

essay, you write about things that

happened – CAUSES – and about what

happened as a result – EFFECTS.

To determine causes, ask the question

Why did this happen?

You already know the effect for your

essay: Lennie’s death. To identify the

causes, ask “Why did Lennie die?”

Of Mice and Men Cause and Effect Essay Transparency #2

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Organizing the Cause and Effect Essay

Decide which kind of organization works

best for the causes you will be

explaining.

Here are three ways you might organize: If you have grouped the causes into

different categories, you can present your

information by category.

If you have identified the level of

importance of the causes, you can present

your information from most important to the

least (or vice versa).

If the sequence of events is important, you

can present your information in chronological

order.

Of Mice and Men

Cause and Effect Essay Transparency #3

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Parts of the Essay

An essay has three main sections.

The introduction is the beginning of the essay. It

includes the thesis statement. Here you tell your

audience the main idea of your essay. Since you

are writing a cause and effect essay, this

statement should contain the terms “cause” and

“effect” or synonyms of these terms.

The body is the middle and main part of the

essay. It is where you develop your main ideas –

the causes that lead the Lennie’s death. Since you

are writing about events in a novel, you will need

to cite support for your ideas from the text.

The conclusion wraps up your essay. You want to

emphasize, once again, the main idea of the

essay. Make your conclusion strong, clear, and

memorable!