“A Child, a Dog, the Night” by Amalia Rendic
I. JOURNAL –
How would you define true friendship?
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Discussion Questions
1.)Who are the characters in this story? What is their relationship to one another?
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2.)Use details from the story to describe how the friendship/relationship between Little Juan and Black develops.
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3.)Describe how Little Juan and Black react to being separated after Mr. Davies returns. What does Labra decide to do?
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4.)How does the story end?
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5.)How do you think Labra feels when Little Juan asks him to buy Black from Mr. Davies? Explain your answer.
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6.)What is your interpretation of the last line of the story?
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7.)In your opinion, who is the hero of this story? Give reasons for your answer.
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8.)Juan Labra and his family probably need the money Mr. Davies offers to Little Juan. Why do you think Little Juan will not accept the money? What would you have done?
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9.)How are the characters of this story transformed by the events that occur?
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PLOT STRUCTURE AND LITERARY ELEMENTS IN “A Child, a Dog, the Night” BY AMALIA RENDIC (Literary Textbook pp. 129-133)
DIRECTIONS: Answer the following questions about the story “A Child, a Dog, the Night” using complete sentences. Include the question(s) as part of your response.
- What is the ultimate message or theme of the story? Why is this theme still important today—how does the theme relate to our lives today?
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DIRECTIONS: Label each plot structure component found in “A Child, a Dog, the Night” and then complete the chart.
PLOT COMPONENTSFind an example of the plot component listed and explain it.
Introduce the quote and use correct MLA parenthetical citation to cite the page number and author. NO DROPPED QUOTES.
In your own words, explain what the quote means and why the quote is important.
DIRECTIONS: Define the following literary elements found in “A Child, a Dog, the Night” and then complete the chart.
SETTING / SIMILE / PERSONIFICATION / IMAGERY / THEME / CHARACTERDEFINITION
Find an example of the literary element listed and explain it.
Introduce the quote and use correct MLA parenthetical citation to cite the page number and author. NO DROPPED QUOTES.
In your own words, explain what the quote means and why the quote is important.
BUSINESS LETTER PROMPT:
- Be sure to use all six requirements for a business letter. This letter must be TYPED and error free (use spell check and grammar check!).
- Pretend you are Little Juan Labra. Write a letter to Mr. Davies asking to keep Black, the dog.
- In your letter, be sure to include the following within the body of the letter:
- Refer to p. 129-133 in the literature textbook to refresh your memory
- describe how the relationship between Little Juan and Black develops
- tell what Little Juan’s internal and external conflicts are as they relate to keeping Black
- describe how Little Juan and Black react to being separated after Mr. Davies returns
- describe what true friendship is and tell how Little Juan and Black have that true friendship
Helpful Hints:
- Little Juan lives in the Binkeroft neighborhood of Chile, South America
- Mr. Davies lives in the Chuqicamata Mine Area in Chile, South America
MODEL BUSINESS LETTER - In this letter, Yolanda Dodson uses block format to request information.
Students for a Cleaner Planet
333 Veterans’ Drive
Denver, Colorado 80211
March 14, 2014
Steven Wilson, Director
300 Oak Street
Denver, Colorado 80216
Dear Mr. Wilson:
Memorial High School would like to start a branch of your successful recycling program. We share your commitment to reclaiming as much reusable material as we can. Because your program has been so successful in other neighborhoods, we’re sure that it can work in our community. Our school includes grades 9-12 and has about 800 students.
Would you send us some information about your community recycling program? For example, we need to know what materials can be recycled and how we can implement the program.
At least fifty students have already expressed interest in getting involved, so I know we’ll have the people power to make the program work. Please help us get started.
Thank you in advance for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Yolanda Dodson
OF MICE AND MEN
Anticipation/Reaction Guide
Directions—Before reading the novel:
In the “Before Reading” column, write “yes” if you agree with the statement, “no” if you disagreewith the statement, and “?” if you don’t have a strong opinion about the statement.
Yes = I agree No = I disagree ? = I don’t know
After completing the “Before Reading” column, get into small groups, then tally the number of“yes”,“no” and “?” responses for each question.
Group Members:
Once you have collected your data, discuss those issues about which your group was divided. Makeyour case for your opinions, and pay attention to your classmates’ arguments. Once you havediscussed all of the issues, answer the questions that follow.
Before Reading / Statement / After Reading1) Having friends fulfills our basic human needs.
2) Mentally impaired people are worthless, and cannot function like “regular” people.
3) People who are strong know their strength, and how much they can hurt other people if they wanted to.
4) It is unnatural for people to have an attachment to, or feelings for, an animal.
5) The purpose of life is to strive for, and eventually reach, our goals and dreams.
6) Killing another human being is intolerable, and should be punished.
7) Running away from a crime is never acceptable.
Pre-Reading Individual Reflection
Directions: Use the information and discussion from the “Before Reading” responses toanswer the following questions on a separate piece of paper. Be sure to use completesentences.
1. Which statement triggered the most thought-provoking or interesting discussion?
2. Summarize the discussion/debate.
3. For any of the statements that you discussed, what were some of the strongest ormost memorable points made by your group members?
4. How did you feel when a group member disagreed with the way you feel about anissue?
5. Was any argument strong enough to make you change your mind or want tochange any of your initial responses? Why or why not? What made the argumenteffective?
Post-Reading Individual Reflection
Directions: Revisit your Anticipation/Reaction Guide and your answers to the discussionquestions. Now that you have read the novel, complete the “After Reading” column andanswer the following questions on a separate piece of paper, comparing your responses.
Answer each question using complete sentences.
1. How many of your responses have changed since reading the novel?
2. Which statements do you see differently after reading the novel?
3. Describe an important part of the novel that affected you, or made you thinkdifferently after reading.
4. In small groups, talk to some of your classmates about their responses. How are theirresponses different after reading the novel?
5. Overall, are the feelings of your other group members the same or different fromyours? Do any of their responses surprise you? Which ones? How?
6. Why do you think there might be so many different opinions and viewpoints? Whatdo you feel has contributed to the way you and your other classmates responded toeach statement?
Reader Response Journals – Instructions
Theses assignments are designed to help you connect your reading, writing and thinking! This is an annotation assignment; it is a comprehension check for the novel we are reading in class.
Step #1:
In the top, left-hand corner on the page, please write the appropriate MLA format heading. The heading in the far, left-hand corner of the page should look like this:
Michael Miller
Mrs. Ojeda
English II – Period 2
8 March 2014
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Step # 2:
Take a sheet of paper and fold it in half hot-dog style so that you have two columns.
Step 3:
As we read and discuss the novel, keep track of important passages in the novel. Once you have identified the important quotes, write them down in the far left-hand side of the paper – please include page numbers. You will not get credit for the quote/passage if you do not include the page number.
Step # 4:
In the right hand column, explain why you chose this passage. What about this quote makes it significant? You may want to refer to your annotation notes to help you write your reflections. See below for examples:
Quotation and page # / Your reflection“Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place. (…) They ain’t got nothing to look ahead to” (13- 14). “With us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us …” (14). / In this passage, George expresses his and Lennie’s desire for companionship/friendship in a cruel and lonely world. They are different from all the other migrant workers because they have each other and because they have each other, they have a dream, and thus a future as well as hope. This theme of loneliness is woven throughout the novel by the different characters’ search for companionship in one way or another, such as Candy and his old dog.
Annotations are Conversations with the text.
You can
- ask questions
- comment on actions/development of character
- comment on something that intrigues, amuses, shocks, puzzles you
- make predictions
- Use SIFTT
The S in SIFTT stands for symbols. A symbol is a literal real thing that also stands for something else, like a red rose.
What is the symbol?
What layer of meaning does it add to meaning of text?
The I in SIFTT stands for imagery. Imagery includes any words the author adds that appeal to one or more of the five senses.
What is the imagery?
What’s the significance of the imagery?
The F in SIFTT stands for figurative language and works closely with the imagery. Figurative language includes things like similes, metaphors, and personification.
Which two things are being compared?
How does this add to the meaning?
The T in SIFTT stands for tone. Tone is the writer's attitude toward the subject or the readers.
What is the tone?
What is the author trying to express by it?
The second T in SIFTT stands for theme. In literature, a theme is a broad idea in a story, or a message or lesson conveyed by a work. This message is usually about life, society or human nature. Themes explore timeless and universal ideas. Most themes are implied rather than explicitly stated.
What is the theme?
If it’s implied, provide evidence from literary work.
Of Mice and Men Imagery Activity - Chapter 1
Imagery: The “word pictures” that writers create to help evoke an emotional response. Writers generally use sensory details (sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell) to create effective images.
Directions:
Refer to Of Mice and Men below and underline or highlight as many imagery passages as possible.
A few miles south of Soledad, the Salinas River drops in close to the hillside bank and runs deep and green. The water is warm too, for it has slipped twinkling over the yellow sands in the sunlight before reaching the narrow pool. On one side of the river the golden foothill slopes curve up to the strong and rocky Gabilan Mountains, but on the valley side the water is lined with trees- willows fresh and green with every spring, carrying in their lower leaf junctures the debris of the winter's flooding; and sycamores with mottled, white, recumbent limbs and branches that arch over the pool. On the sandy bank under the trees the leaves lie deep and so crisp that a lizard makes a great skittering if he runs among them. Rabbits come out of the brush to sit on the sand in the evening, and the damp flats are covered with the night tracks of 'coons, and with the spread pads of dogs from the ranches, and with the split-wedge tracks of deer that come to drink in the dark.
There is a path through the willows and among the sycamores, a path beaten hard by boys coming down from the ranches to swim in the deep pool, and beaten hard by tramps who come wearily down from the highway in the evening to jungle-up near water.
In front of the low horizontal limb of a giant sycamore there is an ash pile made by many fires; the limb is worn smooth by men who have sat on it.
2.) Now, draw the imagery described in these two paragraphs in the box below.
1.)Friendship – Paragraph: write a paragraph answer to the following question. Use quotes to support your answer.
Explain the relationship that exists between George and Lennie based on Chapter 1 of the book.
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Of Mice and Men Imagery Activity - Chapter 3
Directions: Read the following excerpts from Chapter Three, underlining each word that evokes some sensory stimulation (sight, sound, hearing, touch, taste). Then answer the questions that follow.
“They took places opposite each other at the table under the light, but George did not shuffle the cards. He rippled the edge of the deck nervously, and the little snapping noise drew the eyes of all the men in the room, so that he stopped doing it. The silence fell on the room again. A minute passed, and another minute. Candy lay still, staring at the ceiling. Slim gazed at him for a moment and then looked down at his hands; he subdued one hand with the other, and held it down. There came a little gnawing sound from under the floor and all the men looked down toward it gratefully. Only Candy continued to stare at the ceiling.”
1. To what senses is Steinbeck appealing in this paragraph?
a. taste and smell c. sight and touch
b. touch and sight d. sound and sight
2. How is the information in this paragraph organized?
a. order of importance (most to least or least to most important)
b. chronological order (the order in which the events occurred)
c. spatial order (description of the space or surroundings)
d. order of sensory description (description of what you see, hear, taste, smell, etc.)
3. What mood pervades most of the paragraph?
a. delight c. anxiety
b. embarrassment d. desolation
4. Which of the following can you infer from the information given in the paragraph?
a. The men want to play cards. c. Candy was not invited to play cards.
b. The men do not know what to say or do. d. Slim wants to console Candy.
5. Why do you think Steinbeck included this paragraph in the novel? ______
______
“George’s hands stopped working with the cards. His voice was growing warmer. “An’ we could have a few pigs. I could build a smoke house like the one gran’pa had, an’ when we kill a pig we can smoke the bacon and the hams, and make sausage an’ all like that. An’ when the salmon run up river we could catch a hundred of ‘em an’ salt ‘em down or smoke ‘em. We could have them for breakfast. They ain’t nothing so nice as smoked salmon. When the fruit come in we could can it—and tomatoes, they’re easy to can. Ever’ Sunday we’d kill a chicken or a rabbit. Maybe we’d have a cow or a goat, and the cream is so God damn
thick you got to cut it with a knife and take it out with a spoon.”
“Lennie watched him with wide eyes, and old Candy watched him too. Lennie said softly, ‘We could live offa the fatta the lan’.’”
6. What senses are used to define the setting in the passage above?
a. smell and touch c. taste and sound
b. sight and sound d. sight and taste
7. How would you describe the mood of the passage?
a. sullen c. festive
b. optimistic d. tense
8. How does this paragraph reflect the time period in which it was written? ______
______
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Of Mice and MenConflict Activity - Chapter 4
Conflict is the struggle between opposing forces in a story. Three common types of conflict are:
• Character versus character—______
• Character versus self—______
• Character versus nature—______
In Of Mice and Men, conflict surrounds the plot and is a major part of the action. Several conflictsemerge at the same time, and ultimately cause the plot to materialize into an interesting andsuspenseful story.
Conflict / Type of Conflict / EffectGeorge gets frustrated and irritated
with the fact that Lennie has trouble
remembering things, and often scolds him for forgetting. / Character versus character / George has to take care of Lennie as if he were a child, like carrying his work card for him, and speaking on his behalf.
1) Lennie likes to pet soft things, such as mice, but tends to pet them too hard or kill them, unaware of his own strength.
2) George complains that if he didn’t
have to take care of Lennie he would
have a better life, and would be able
to do the things he always wanted to
do.
3) George and Lennie dream of one
day being able to own their own farm, and to work only for themselves, but for now they must work to survive.
4) Curley, who has been known to pick fights with bigger men, picks a fight with Lennie.
5) Curley is jealous and suspicious of his wife, who seems to flaunt herself in front of other men.
6) Hoping to avoid any trouble, Lennie suggests that he and George leave the ranch.
7) Crooks lives apart from the other
men, ostracized, merely because he is African-American.
Of Mice and MenCharacterization Activity - Chapter5