Unit 2 English GCSE
Homework and Revision
Tasks
 Section A: Romeo and Juliet
 Section B: Of Mice and Men
 Section C: Writing
About the Exam
The exam you will take in the summer
 Section A: Romeo and Juliet.
o There are three questions all together. Two questions based on an extract
you will be given and one is based on another part of the play.
o There is no choice of question.
 Section B: Of Mice and Men.
o There are three questions all together. Two questions based on an extract
you will be given and one is based on another part of the play.
o There is no choice of question.
 Section C: Writing Question.
o There are two questions. You choose one.
o Remember the writing section is worth as much as the Romeo and Juliet
section and the Of Mice and Men section put together.
What can you do to revise in general?
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Re-read Of Mice and Men and recap Romeo and Juliet through film or text.
Practice writing letters, articles or speeches on anything you feel strongly about. We don’t know
what the questions will be anymore than you do, so you can easily make some questions up and
practice with them.
Arrange a time with your teacher to attend after school sessions, either as a class or small group.
We are happy to help you.
Visit some of the websites below.
Useful Websites:
http://2009.playingshakespeare.org/
http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/romeojuliet/
http://shakespeare.mit.edu/romeo_juliet/ (this is the whole text on the web)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/english_literature/prosemicemen/
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/micemen
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/english/writingnonfict/
Homework 1: Reviewing your knowledge of “Of Mice and Men”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/
Of Mice and Men Homework Task 1: The Plot
Section 1
1. Where does the novel open?
2. What is George and Lennie’s job?
3. Why have they left their last work placement?
4. What does Lennie have in his pocket?
5. What is George and Lennie’s dream?
6. What can we tell about the relationship between George and Lennie in the opening
section?
Section 2
7. Who do George and Lennie meet when they arrive at the ranch? What is significant about
his appearance?
8. What does George tell the boss happened to Lennie when he was younger? Is this true?
9. The men then meet Curley. What is he like?
10. What is Lennie’s reaction to Curley’s wife? Why does this worry George?
11. What is Slim’s role on the ranch?
12. What feelings towards Curley does George have at the end of the section?
Section 3
13. At the beginning of section 3, George opens up to Slim. What does he reveal about the
relationship between the pair of them?
14. Why do the men think Candy should shoot his dog? What does Candy do when he hears
his dog being shot?
15. Who does Curley storm into the bunkhouse looking for?
16. George starts describing the dream to Lennie again and Candy overhears? What does
Candy then do?
17. The fight then occurs. Describe what happens in as much detail as you can.
18. What is Lennie worried about at the end of the fight scene?
Scene 4
19. Section 4 opens with Crooks in his room. Lennie comes to visit him. What is Crook’s inital
reaction?
20. What does Lennie tell Crooks about?
21. How does Crooks treat Lennie and how does Lennie react?
22. Candy enters and starts talking about the dream. What does Crook’s offer to do?
23. Curley’s wife enters. How does she treat the men? What does she threaten Crooks with?
24. What do the characters of Curley’s wife, Candy, Crooks and Lennie have in common?
Section 5
25. This section opens with Lennie in the barn. What is he worried about?
26. Curley’s wife arrives. What does she start complaining about?
27. What was Curley’s wife dream?
28. How does Lennie kill her?
29. When he realises he has done wrong, where does Lennie go?
30. When George is shown the body, what does he realise it is the end of?
31. What does George then do?
32. What does Curley say he wants to happen to Lennie?
Section 6
33. Where has Lennie gone?
34. Which two characters does he see in his head?
35. George arrives. How does he act towards Lennie?
36. What does Lennie ask George to tell him about?
37. What does George ask Lennie to do while he tells him the story?
38. What does George then do?
39. How does Slim try to comfort George?
40. Is this end optimistic or pessimistic?
Homework 2: Of Mice and Men: The Characters
Task 1
Read the extract below and draw a picture of Lennie and George on
plain paper. MAKE SURE YOU LABEL THE DRAWING WITH QUOTATIONS
(LINES FROM THE TEXT). Then write a few sentences explaining what George and Lennie’s
appearance (they way they look) tells you about them as characters.
From the direction of the state highway came the sound of footsteps on crisp sycamore leaves.
The rabbits hurried noiselessly for cover. A stilted heron laboured up into the air and pounded
down-river. For a moment the place was lifeless and then two men emerged from the path and
came into the opening by the green pool. They had walked in single file down the path, and even
in the open one stayed behind the other. Both were dressed in denim trousers and in denim coats
with brass buttons. Both wore black, shapeless hats and both carried tight blanket rolls slung over
their shoulders.
The first man was small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp strong features.
Every part of him was defined: small, strong hands, slender arms, a thin and bony nose. Behind
him walked his opposite, a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, with wide, sloping
shoulders; and he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws. His
arms did not swing at his sides, but hung loosely and only moved because the heavy hands were
like pendula.
Of Mice and Men Characters
Task 2
Identify which characters the following are describing.
Appearance
Description
Character
“At that moment a young man came into the bunk house; a thin young man
with a brown face, with brown eyes and a head of tightly curled hair. He wore
a work glove on his left hand, and like the boss, he wore high-heeled boots.”
“…a tall stoop-shouldered old man came in. He was dressed in blue jeans and
carried a big push-broom in his left hand…he pointed with his right arm and
out of the sleeve came a round stick-like wrist, but no hand”
“She had full rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her
fingernails were red. Her hair hung in little rolled clusters, like sausages. She
wore a cotton house dress and red mules, on the insteps of which were little
bouquets of red ostrich feathers.”
“A tall man stood in the doorway. He held a crushed Stetson hat under his arm
while he combed his long, black, damp hair straight back. Like the others he
wore blue jeans and a short denim jacket… His hatchet face was ageless. He
might have been 35 or 50… His hands, large and lean, were as delicate in
action as those of a temple dancer.”
Personality
Description
Personality:
A bit of a gossip - happy to talk about people and offer his negative opinions
on them to George and Lennie, even though they haven’t met them yet.
Friendly – he greets George and Lennie in a friendly manner when he comes
into the bunk house.
Friendly and kind – he treats George and Lennie well when he meets them;
asking questions and checking they’re ok.
Flirty – she dresses and behaves in a flirtatious manner with the men,
especially Slim.
Likes the colour red – her clothes, makeup and shoes are red.
Has a complex about being short as he picks fights with big guys.
Angry – he gets very angry when he wants Lennie to talk and George sticks up
for him and says no.
Character
Of Mice and Men Characters
Behaviour
Description
Character
He is the ‘swamper’ and so cleans up on the ranch.
A bully – he picks on Lennie when he first sees him. Aggressive: “his arms
gradually bent at the elbows and his hands closed into fists”
“…he moved with a majesty only achieved by royalty and master craftsmen.
“There was a gravity in his manner and a quiet so profound that all talk
stopped when he spoke.”
She smiled archly and twitched her body.”
“She put her hands behind her back and leaned against the doorframe so that
her body was thrown forward.”
Extra Revision Task
Make a set of character cards for revision. You should concentrate on George, Lennie, Curley,
Curley’s Wife, Slim, Candy and Crooks. For each character write down
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Their physical description.
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Their behaviour
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The way they treat others.
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Key events that they are involved in during the novel and the role they play.
Of Mice and Men Homework 3
Key Themes in Of Mice and Men are
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Violence
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Power
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Friendship
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Loneliness
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The power and fragility of Nature
For at least three themes, complete a mindmap. You need three examples of events of the theme
from the novel. For each example say;
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What happens.
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What is shows you about the characters
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What it shows you about life on the ranch
An example of this might be:
There is violence when Lennie kills Curley’s wife. Curley’s wife allows Lennie to touch her hair,
but when Lennie pulls it too hard as he doesn’t know his own strength. Curley’s wife cries out
and begs for him to stop. However, Lennie gets scared and puts his hand over her mouth. He
shakes her and breaks her neck. It shows us that Lennie does not know his own strength and
whatever George does to stop him will not work. They are stuck in a cycle. It also shows us in
American society the dream will not come true. Lennie’s actions stop his dreams.
Violence
Of Mice and Men Homework 4: Complete this exam style question
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5 minutes to read
One minute per mark so question a should take you 7 minutes to answer.
Of Mice and Men Sample Question
Candy sat on the edge of his bunk. He scratched the stump of his wrist nervously. “I got hurt four year
ago,” he said. “They’ll can me purty soon. Jus’ as soon as I can’t swamp out no bunk houses they’ll put me
on the county. Maybe if I give you guys my money, you’ll let me hoe in the garden even after I
ain’t no good at it. An’ I’ll wash dishes an’ little chicken stuff like that. But I’ll be on our own place, an’ I’ll be
let to work on our own place.” He said miserably, “You seen what they done to my dog tonight? They says
he wasn’t no good to himself nor nobody else. When they can me here I wisht somebody’d shoot me. But
they won’t do nothing like that. I won’t have no place to go, an’ I can’t get no more jobs. I’ll have thirty
dollars more comin’, time you guys is ready to quit.”
George stood up. “We’ll do her,” he said. “We’ll fix up that little old place an’ we’ll go live there.” He sat
down again. They all sat still, all bemused by the beauty of the thing, each mind was popped into the
future when this lovely thing should come about.
George said wonderingly, “S’pose they was a carnival or a circus come to town, or a ball game, or any
damn thing.” Old Candy nodded in appreciation of the idea. “We’d just go to her,” George said. “We
wouldn’t ask nobody if we could. Jus’ say, ‘We’ll go to her,’ an’ we would. Jus’ milk the cow and sling
some grain to the chickens an’ go to her.”
“An’ put some grass to the rabbits,” Lennie broke in. “I wouldn’t never forget to feed them. When we
gon’ta do it, George?”
“In one month. Right squack in one month. Know what I’m gon’ta do? I’m gon’ta write to them old people
that owns the place that we’ll take it. An’ Candy’ll send a hunderd dollars to bind her.”
“Sure will,” said Candy. “They got a good stove there?”
“Sure, got a nice stove, burns coal or wood.”
“I’m gonna take my pup,” said Lennie. “I bet by Christ he likes it there, by Jesus.”
Voices were approaching from outside. George said quickly, “Don’t tell nobody about it. Jus’ us three an’
nobody else. They li’ble to can us so we can’t make no stake. Jus’ go on like we was gonna buck barley the
rest of our lives, then all of a sudden some day we’ll go get our pay an’ scram outa here.”
Lennie and Candy nodded, and they were grinning with delight.
“Don’t tell nobody,” Lennie said to himself.
Candy said, “George.”
“Huh?”
“I ought to of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn’t ought to of let no stranger shoot my dog.”
a) What do you learn about Candy in this extract?
b) How does the language demonstrate the men’s realisation the dream could come true?
c) Where else is the dream significant? Remember
a. Talk about a time in the book when the dream is discussed.
b. Explain why the dream is important in that part of the book.
Romeo and Juliet: Recapping the Play
Writing Revision Homework 1 and 2
Important things to remember about the writing question in the exam.
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There are two questions. You only choose ONE question.
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It is worth as much as Of Mice and Men and Romeo and Juliet put together (20% of
the GCSE).
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You should spend at least 55 minutes on it.
o 5-10 minutes planning
o 40 minutes writing
o 5 minutes checking
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Remember audience, purpose and format. What you write needs to ENGAGE your
audience, SUIT the audience and have a CLEAR purpose. Remember your AFOREST
techniques during your writing.
Revision Task: Choose two questions from here and spend an hour on each one (this is two
homeworks worth). PLAN, WRITE and CHECK.
o Write an article for a magazine where you discuss some of the issues of being a teenager today.
Talk about:
 What your life is like.
 What some of the problems experienced by teenagers are.
 What you think people need to understand about being a teenager in the modern
world.
o Write a letter to another student who is going to be visiting your area. Inform them;
 What there is to do.
 The types of things they will need to bring with them on the visit.
 Any hints and tips.
o Write a speech to deliver to local teenagers entitled “Make the most of your life.”
 Discuss ways you can enjoy your life.
 Give some examples of people have used your ideas successfully.
o Write a magazine article on the pros and cons of living in the city rather than the countryside.
 Put forward some of the reasons the city is better.
 Put forward some of the reasons the country is better.
 Finish with your recommendations of which is better.