Of Mice and Men Project
For this project you will be picking from a variety of short creative topics. You need to
choose at least two of the ideas listed on the back of this sheet to creatively put together a
minimum of three pages of text, typed or word-processed, double-spaced, no larger than
12 point regular style font, with no greater than one inch margins. You may need to use
some specific information from the novel in these projects, so note-taking during the
course of this unit is imperative.
This final paper is worth 200 points on your quarter grade. The final draft is due no
later than 3:30 P.M. on Friday, January 4, 2013. In order to turn in this paper you
must have a rough draft to show me during class on Friday, December 21, 2012. No
rough draft on the 21st means no final draft will be accepted on January 4th.
Because I expect quality, proofread work with the use of strong verbs, adjectives,
and adverbs, you must have your rough draft read by an adult. This needs to take
place after it has been typed and no later than two days before the due date to allow
for proper time to add to the paper and make corrections. The proofreader then
needs to sign and date both the rough draft and this sheet as well as make
corrections and comments on the rough draft. Failure to have the rough draft
proofread following these criteria will result in the loss of one full letter grade for
the project. If the rough draft looks too much like the final draft (even if it has been
signed) and there are no visible corrections, you will still lose a full letter grade, so make
sure it is really proofread! I have attached a copy of the writing rubric I will be
using for grading that you will also hand in with all of your rough drafts. Please
show it to your proofreader along with this page so he or she knows what the
assignment actually is and can better help you make this project something of which you
can be proud!
Starting December 21st , an additional five extra credit points can be earned for every day
through January 1st that the rough draft is read. That is up to an extra 70 points, so the
sooner you get going on this project, the better grade you can earn.
I, (name) ________________________ verify that I proofread this
paper on (date) _________________.
Projects from which to choose:
1. Have George write to an advice columnist for help about how to deal with Lennie. Then answer his
letter. Have George include specific examples of what bothers him about Lennie and what George
needs help with. You could also do the same project for the relationship between Curley and his wife,
written from either person’s point of view.
2. Write three separate apology letters from (1)Crooks to Lennie, (2)Curley to Lennie, and (3)George to
Lennie. Remember to write in their “voices.”
3. Write a descriptive piece about your “dream.” (In the book the farm is the dream; yours could be
similar or totally different.) Be convincing enough to make the reader want that dream too.
4. Write a complaint letter from Lennie to his boss about the way he is being treated by Curley. Be sure
to include specific examples of various incidents and to write with Lennie’s intelligence in mind by
using his “voice.”
5. Write an evaluation of Lennie’s job performance from Slim’s point of view. Again, use specific
examples from the book.
6. Keep Lennie’s diary/journal. You need a minimum of five entries, and it needs to be written in
Lennie’s character’s dialect or voice.
7. Keep Curley’s Wife’s diary/journal. You need a minimum of five entries, and it needs to be written
in Curley’s Wife’s character’s dialect or voice.
8. “Interview” the other people on the ranch about what they saw pertaining to the events in the last
chapter, and write an article based on that interview for the local newspaper.
9. Write any character’s future will, obituary, and epitaph (what it would say on that person’s
gravestone). The character does not have to have died during the course of the book’s timeframe. Think
many years into the future. You will need to make up most of the information as the backgrounds of
these characters are not clearly stated in the book. Please read some examples of wills and obituaries
and epitaphs before attempting this project!
10. Write a ballad/narrative or lyric poem about any of the characters or events in this book.
11. Make a detailed 3D model or diorama of any scene or event from this book. (For example – the
ranch itself; an occurrence in the bunkhouse or around the campfire or in the barn; the dream farm; or
anything else you can clearly picture from the reading) Your rough draft must either consist of a sketch
of your scene and a list of materials you will be using to construct it or pictorial evidence of the work
already in progress. If you decide to do this project, you must still write at least one page of text for
one or more of the other ten options described above.
Remember, by the time you are done with this project, you need to have at least three typed pages
of text. (The only exception is number eleven where the parameters are clearly explained.) If you
have to do more than two of the above suggestions to make those three pages, then so be it.
Be creative, appropriate, and have some fun with this!