Loudoun County
Public Schools
340 N. Maple Avenue
Purcellville, Virginia 20132
Ph: 540-751-2400 FAX: 540-751-2401
1 June 2015
Dear Parent /Guardian and Rising Honors Ninth Grader:
Research has proven that reading is the one skill upon which all other academic skills depend. Summer reading prevents regression, exposes students to a wider range of literary works, and enhances the course curriculum. Our mission at Valley is to promote the highest level of reading for all of our students; therefore, students entering 9 th grade honors English are required to critically read and respond to John
Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men prior to entering high school.
Set in the Salinas Valley of California during the Great Depression, this classic novel examines the plight of the migrant worker. Ultimately, the book is about two friends and their search for the American Dream.
George and Lennie are traveling ranch hands who dream of owning their own small farm. Readers follow their journey together as they find work on a ranch and start saving money for their future. Some of the chapters deal with George and Lennie’s pursuit of the dream; other chapters relay incidents that occur to the characters themselves. As part of the English 9 Honors curriculum, this novel raises political, social and human issues that are important and relevant to the ninth grade program of study. The book is recommended for classroom use by Loudoun County Public Schools. However, because the book is a realistic portrayal of ranch life, it does contain some instances of mature language. As a parent, if you would like to preview the novel in advance, you may request a copy from Eileen Lowry (email address listed below).
In order to complete the summer assignments based on the novel, students need to obtain a copy of the book. Many students prefer to purchase their own copy of the novel for annotating purposes; however, if you would like to borrow a copy of the text from LVHS, please contact Eileen Lowry via email by June
10, 2015 with your student’s name and the name of their current 8 th grade English teacher. We will happily loan a book; however, if the loaned book is lost or damaged over the summer, it will be subject to the LCPS deficiency policy.
All components of the summer assignment are due September 15 (A Day: Blocks 1, 2, 3, 4) September 16
(B Day: Blocks 5, 6, 7, 8).
Sincerely,
Rebecca L. Walter, Eileen C. Lowry, and Kristyn E. Heiser
LVHS English Teachers rebecca.walter@lcps.org
eileen.lowry@lcps.org
kristyn.heiser@lcps.org

Summer Reading Assignment Overview
You are asked to read and analyze Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. Please do not rely on summaries, movies, or book notes (Spark Notes, Cliffs Notes, etc.) for these assessments.
Please complete the following assignments. You may find electronic copies of these assignments along with examples on the LVHS webpage.
Plot Chart
Complete the attached chart on the plot of the novel (conflicts, characters, elements of story, etc.). This may be handwritten or typed. Use specific details, examples, and insights from the text along with chapter numbers to support your thinking. You may use outside resources to define any term you are unfamiliar with to help you understand the question, but you may not use plot summaries to answer the question.
Say, Mean, Matter Writing and Critical Thinking Response
Complete the attached chart to showcase your critical evaluation of the novel and its major themes. Select two quotes from the text (not the same chapter) and analyze them in a tiered response. Quotes from a novel include any written part of the text; it does not have to be dialogue. First, list the quote on the chart with the page number. Next, summarize the context and meaning of the quote. Finally, use two of the sentence stems and analyze the quote for the larger, thematic significance.
Found Poem
Using the text of the novel, create a twenty-line found poem about ONE character or conflict from the text. Because this is a found poem, you rely on Steinbeck’s words to produce this creative piece. This task will require you to demonstrate your comprehension of the novel as well as your understanding of
Steinbeck’s diction and imagery.
Enrichment Activity: Nonfiction Article
*This is an optional assignment.
Find a nonfiction article that serves as a modern connection to Of Mice and Men. For example, you may find an article about someone who is trying to overcome the obstacles created by poverty. This assignment is optional; however, it is guided practice for the type of text to world connections we will be making throughout the year. In addition, it can be used as an artifact for your Honors Assessment introduced during the first quarter.
Academic Honesty Statement
Finally, write the following statement on the last page of your summer assignment:
On my Honor, I ____________ have neither given nor received any unauthorized aid on the English 9H Summer
Assignment.

Use this graphic organizer to illustrate and explain the major concepts of Of Mice and Men.
Choose two characters and explain how they influence the progression of the plot.
Protagonist(s):
Antagonist(s):
Circle one:
First Person Third Person Limited Third Person Omniscient
Explain how the type of narration affects the progression of the plot.
Setting (time/place):
Describe the tone
(author’s attitude towards a subject) and the mood (the feeling created by the tone):
Explain how the setting affects the mood of the work.
Explain how the setting affects the characters.

Summarize the plot of the novel and explain the climax.
Explain two major conflicts of the work.
Locate two symbols in the novel and explain the significance of each.
List and explain two themes that are present in the novel.

Name
_____________________________________________
Block
____________
Date
_________________
Teacher
______________________
Select two quotes from Of Mice and Men. Use complete sentences in your “mean” and “matter” commentary. Make sure you follow the prompt’s directions.
Choose a quote that stands out to you. The quoted text does not have to be actual dialogue by characters; it can be narration or description.


 ___ says/does/thinks this because ___.
 This evokes a mood of ___ because ___.
 The significance of this situation is ____ because__.
 This raises the question of ___ because ___.
 Steinbeck uses ___ (literary device) to show
___ because ___.
 This relates to the theme of ___ because
___.
 The context of ___ is significant because
___.

Quote 2
Quote 1

Of Mice and Men Found Poem
Steinbeck is renowned for his vivid diction (word choice) in his novel Of Mice and Men. The diction develops the characters and illuminates the conflicts.
Create a poem to chart the development of one character OR one conflict from John Steinbeck’s realistic novel Of Mice and Men.
1.
Pick a character or conflict that is central to the text. Do not pick a minor conflict or character.
Major characters and conflicts allow you to show their development throughout the novel.
(For example, Lennie is a major character while Carlson is a minor character).
2.
Select passages, lines, and quotes directly from the text. Place them in a logical order to create a coherent message about your selected character’s/conflict’s growth and changes. Your poem is comprised of phrases primarily from the text; however, you may add your own words to convey its meaning. Italicize any words that you add. For example, you may need to add transition words such as, “and,” “the,” “said,” “in contrast,” “furthermore,” and “at last”.
3.
Poems may include no more than two consecutive sentences of text from the novel. (i.e. do not take a paragraph and transform it into poem format.) Please identify the page number at the end of the line.
4.
The poem must cover the character or conflict’s evolution in its entirety (i.e. from the beginning to the end of the novel).
5.
Label the poem with a title representative of the character’s or conflict’s development.
6.
Poems must be at least twenty lines in length.
7.
Your poem does not have to rhyme or have a formal structure.
8.
Finally, below your poem, identify the overall purpose of your poem.
Example from To Kill a Mockingbird
An Honorable Man: Atticus Finch
He liked Maycomb,
He was Maycomb County born and bred; (2)
He knew his people, they knew him (3).
“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view—” (81).
“…if I didn’t, I couldn’t hold up my head in town” (100).
I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something again” (147).
I could take being called a coward for him (77).
“I hope and pray I can get Jem and Scout through it without bitterness…” (88).
“I do my best to love everybody…” (90).
“…Remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (154).
“Atticus is a gentleman, just like me!” (111)
“I wanted you see to what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun…” (149).
“He’s the same in the courtroom as he is in the public streets” (266).
“In the name of God, believe him” (210).
Atticus had used every tool… to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men’s hearts Atticus had no case (216).
He stopped in the doorway. His hat was in his hand and his face was white (235).
“Miss Jean Louise, stand up. Your father’s passin’”(283).
“We trust him to do right. It’s that simple” (289).
Purpose : As the humble hero of the novel, Atticus works to educate his family about the evils of discrimination while at the same time, he battles prejudice in town and in the courtroom.