In a first step you are asked to find out more about the author of „Of Mice and Men“ and about the historical background. I have added a few links to get you started. Please do not just copy and paste, but instead use your own wording.

HW: Print out all four handouts and read them for Friday's lesson
1. John Steinbeck
2. California
3. The Great Depression
4. Roosevelt's New Deal

1. John Steinbeck [Sebastian, Marion, Philip, Anika]
http://www.steinbeck.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Steinbeck
http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/johnstei.htm

Task: Read up on John Steinbeck and his life and prepare a handout about him mentioning the most important facts about his life and work.

2. California [Celja, Tobias G., Lydia, Mathias F.]
http://www.ca.gov/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California

Task: Read up on California and prepare a handout in which you summarise the most important facts about California (geopraphy, short history etc.).

3. The Great Depression [Janosch, Livio, Leandra, Evelyn]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression
http://portfolio.educ.kent.edu/gorekr/tip2/gd_webquest.htm

Task: Read up on „The Great Depression“ and then prepare a handout about it. Here are some questions that you might want to answer:
a) What was the Great Depression? Name 4 possible causes.
b) How did the Great Depression affect urban/rural life?
c) What have you learnt about migration?
d) Who suffered most during the Great Depression and why?

4. Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal [Patrick, Tabea, Kayla, Mathias H., Tobias E.]
http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres49.html
http://www.bartleby.com/65/rs/RsvltF.html
(refer to http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/fdr-inaugural/ if you want to see the copies of the original documents)

Task: Read Roosevelt's „First Inaugural Address“. Then prepare a handout for your classmates about Roosevelt's New Deal mentioning what he intended to do to improve the situation (use quotations where appropriate).

Download link: Download the vocabulary here
Did „The Wave“ really happen? http://www.geniebusters.org/915/wave_statements.html
Transcript of an online chat with the author: http://frankfurt.usconsulate.gov/frankfurt/transcript_strasser.html

Link to the OALD Online Dictionary: http://www.oup.com/oald