Website Address:

http://www.englishresources.co.uk/workunits/ks4/fiction/ofmicemen/smallheath/intro.html 

Content of Site:

Notes on John Steinbeck
Overall plot
Chapter Summaries
Character Notes
Notes on the Setting
Themes
Sample Essay Questions and Planned Answers
Language
Writing Essays in the Examination
Model Answer
Exam Tips
Exam Topics

Rating:

Review:

This is an extremely detailed and comprehensive resource for use when studying Of Mice and Men. It begins with a set of biographical Notes on John Steinbeck. This is followed by a substantial summary of the Overall Plot, and then individual Chapter Summaries. The Character Notes on this site are also very informative and comprehensive, giving much more insight into the central and the more minor characters, than most other sites. The Notes on the Setting describe, not only where the novel is set, but also cultural and social issues of the time which would have had an impact on Steinbeck's writing. This includes detail about climactic changes which caused the dustbowl days and the hardship that this caused to farmers. It is indicated here the tremendous sympathy that Steinbeck felt for the plight of the farmers and readers are urged to read The Grapes of Wrath which deals with similar issues. There follows then, an examination of the central Themes within the novel. These themes are discussed under the four main headings of Loneliness, Violence, Dreams and Nature. In the next section of this site, are three Sample Essay Questions and Planned Answers. After each of the three questions is a comment summing up how the question might be approached and a steep-by-step plan of how to structure the answer in essay form. Not only is this a very useful exercise when revising this particular novel for GCSE, but also a very good resource to aid the development of pupils' essay writing skills. Next the Language of the novel is discussed; the particular way that Steinbeck writes which make this novel resemble a play, his skill at interweaving parallel events in the story, and the effective way he captures the spoken language of the characters. The following features of this website focus mainly on preparation for examinations. There are suggested steps to follow in Writing Essays in the Examination, a sample essay topic examined with a Model Answer, and Exam Tips giving pupils the very good advice that the three areas that examiners reward are Knowledge, Understanding and Response. The Exam Topics give ten possible essay topics suitable for GCSE Level questions on Of Mice And Men and it is recommended that pupils use these to revise by planning and writing an essay on each.

I have also included here an outline for a unit of work on Of Mice and Men which is another part of the English-resources website and can be found at http://www.englishresources.co.uk/workunits/ks4/fiction/ofmicemen/workunit/micemenoutline.html  This unit contains many ideas for activities on the novel including a project comparing the book and the film, an essay guide sheet, a format for investigating the language of the novel, and a photocopiable spider diagram worksheet on which pupils can develop their own character profiles.

Also on the English-resources site and accessible at http://www.englishresources.co.uk/workunits/ks4/fiction/ofmicemen/workunit/miceandmensow.html is a scheme of work on Of Mice and Men including fifteen lesson plans with objectives and suggested activities outlined.