Power, Justice, and Culpability: Of Mice and Men and The Central Park Five

Lesson 13
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ELA

Unit 3

9th Grade

Lesson 13 of 30

Objective


Analyze the Robert Burns poem, "To a Mouse" and draw conclusions about why Steinbeck chose a line from this poem for the title of his novel.

Readings and Materials


  • Book: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck  — full text

  • Poem: “To a Mouse” by Robert Burns 

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Target Task


Discussion & Writing Prompt

Based on your understanding of Robert Burns's poem, "To a Mouse," why did Steinbeck most likely select the title "Of Mice and Men" for his novella? Provide specific evidence from both texts to support your answer.

Criteria for Success

  • Articulates that both texts share the idea that something carefully planned can be destroyed/overturned in an instant.
  • Identifies that the dream of the farm has been destroyed because Lennie killed Curley's wife.
  • Compares the farm (or the dream of the farm) to the mouse's nest.
  • Explains the impact on the men and compares that to the impact on the mouse.

Sample Response

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Key Questions


Close Read Questions

  • What is the relationship between the mouse and speaker in stanzas 1–3? Provide specific evidence from the poem to support your thinking.

  • What happens in stanzas 4–6, and how does the speaker feel about it? Provide specific evidence from the poem to support your thinking.

  • In the final two stanzas, what observations does the speaker make about the experiences shared by humans and mice? What distinction does the speaker make about the human experience? Provide specific evidence from the poem to support your thinking.

Vocabulary


Literary Terms

tone

an author / speaker's attitude toward a topic or an audience, which is often conveyed through word choice and/or literary devices

Text-based

scheme

n.

1. a plan for achieving a specific goal 2. a secret plan, often related to something illegal or wrong

scheme

v.

1. make plans 2. make secret plans to do something illegal or wrong

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Standards


  • RL.9-10.2 — Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
  • RL.9-10.3 — Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.

Supporting Standards

L.9-10.1
L.9-10.6
RL.9-10.1
RL.9-10.10
SL.9-10.1
SL.9-10.6
W.9-10.1
W.9-10.9
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Lesson 12

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Lesson 14

Lesson Map

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