After reading several well-known authors' narratives, students will discuss the meaning of these works in light of various historical and cultural contexts. Students will perform the following tasks: 
- Analyze narrative characteristics to determine how the form relates to the purpose.
- Interpret and analyze the use of literary devices within and between texts.
- Evaluate the author's use of literary devices in different genres.
- Use a range of media to condense, infer, and formulate generalizations.
- Determine and assess the author's intent, the texts' essential content, and their structure.
- Generate fresh, original ideas based on deeper comprehension gained from reading texts critically.
- Examine texts for historical and cultural influences.

- How does text interaction elicit thought and response?

- Inference: A judgment based on reasoning rather than on a direct or explicit statement. A conclusion based on facts or circumstances; understandings gained by “reading between the lines.” 
- Literary Elements: The essential techniques used in literature (e.g., characterization, setting, plot, theme). 
- Plot: The structure of a story. The sequence in which the author arranges events in a story. The structure often includes the rising action, the climax, the falling action, and the resolution. The plot may have a protagonist who is opposed by an antagonist, creating what is called conflict. 
- Point of View: How an author reveals characters, events, and ideas in telling a story; the vantage point from which the story is told. 
- Setting: The time and place in which a story unfolds. 
- Symbolism: A device in literature where an object represents an idea. 
- Theme: A topic of discussion or writing; a major idea broad enough to cover the entire scope of a literary work.

Note: A reading selection for the lesson should reflect the influence of historical events on the work, and in particular on the people who experience the events. Additional materials should include historical information about these events and how the events shaped the cultural response. The suggested selections below have clearly defined and rich settings with well-developed characters, allowing for ample discussion of the works.
- Our Town by Thornton Wilder. Three Plays: Our Town, The Skin of Our Teeth, and The Matchmaker, Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2007.
- Historical Setting Comparison Chart for each student (L-L-2-3_Historical Setting Comparison Chart and KEY)
- Selections from Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Penguin, 2002.
- Of Mice and Men Character/Setting worksheet for each student (L-L-2-3_Of Mice and Men Character-Setting Worksheet and KEY)
- Selections from The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. Penguin Classics, 2006.
- “Surviving the Dust Bowl”: http://video.pbs.org/video/1311363860/ (optional)
- Response journal for each student
- Grapes of Wrath Chapter Notes worksheet for each student (L-L-2-3_Grapes of Wrath Chapter Notes and KEY)

- Focus on how historical events impact people and culture throughout the lesson.
- While admitting that their personal experiences might aid in their understanding of how the characters in the texts respond, make sure that students rely on the texts themselves to support their arguments rather than their own experiences.
- To ensure comprehension, grade worksheets and keep an eye on class and small group discussions.
- Give students feedback on their response journals to help them evaluate their progress toward the goal of understanding historical perspective.

Scaffolding, Active Participation, Modeling, and Explicit Instruction 
W: Instruct students to study a few literary works to comprehend how the author's perspective is influenced by history. 
H: Involve students by asking them to consider their current era and the events, inventions, and societal structures that have an impact on their lives. 
E: Provide historical context so that students can understand texts. Monitor class and group discussions and offer assistance when understanding is lacking. Allow students to respond to the literary works through class and group discussions, as well as worksheets tailored to the content. 
R: Instruct students to present what they initially understood about the texts, and allow them to edit their answers in light of class discussions and additional text readings.
E: Allow students to express their comprehension of texts through group discussions, worksheets, and response journals. Distribute group discussions so that students can hear different interpretations and insights.
T: Visit groups as they finish their tasks, and ask clarifying and focused questions if students appear to be struggling.
O: Start with unstructured conversations to help the text relate to the student's individual experiences. Allow students to work independently to promote individual understanding. Finally, ask them to make text predictions based on the information they've gathered.

Focus Question: What effects do historical occurrences have on people and the society they live in?

Asking students to come up with ideas about what makes their time significant can help you show them the power of current events. Ask, "What will people discover if they research this period in the future?" Students should concentrate on significant figures, events, inventions, and communication. Write the answers down on the interactive whiteboard or board. If a student's response stands out, you can ask them to explain why that specific person, place, or object is important. "How are these events affecting society?" Permit pupils to reply in their response journals.

Part 1

Assign students to read Thornton Wilder's Act One of Our Town. (The reading assignment could be split into two or three sections.)

Review the setting—the place and time where a story is taking place—before you start reading. Then say, "As you read, consider the setting of this play. Look for hints about the location and time of the events. Take into account whether the characters' words or deeds are affected by the historical period in which they are set." You could draw attention to the stage directions at the opening and explain that they are sections of the play that the author included to provide specific details about the setting, characters, actions, and attitudes that aren't covered in character dialogue. (They are typically denoted in dialogue by italics or another method.)

Ask students to describe the play's setting to start a general discussion of the play after they have finished reading. "How does Grover's Corners feel like?" (Possible answers: a church-heavy town; a small New England town; a town where people seem to know each other; a town that seems safe and friendly; a town that seems boring.) Students should be asked to name specific plays that depict the setting.

Draw attention to the stage manager's role. Describe how a stage manager's typical responsibilities include supervising every element of a theatrical production and that their position is typically offstage. Point out to students that the Stage Manager provides a lot of information about the location, including the date, the layout of the town, the locations of people's homes, etc.

The stage manager's monologues contain several passages that allude to the play's historical setting, which is 1901–1900. Students should identify these passages.

Give copies of the Historical Setting Comparison Chart (L-L-2-3_Historical Setting Comparison Chart and KEY) to each student after splitting the class into smaller groups. Say, "There are important historical events and distinctive cultural hints associated with each historical period. We now know that the early 1900s is the period in which Our Town is set. Examine the play for hints about how this era differs from previous ones. Put these hints in the chart's "What is different" section. Next, consider how life is similar in Grover's Corners in 1901 and the present day. Note these answers in the chart's "What is the same section?" Allow students enough time to finish the chart and talk about their findings within each group. Make sure both of the chart's sections are being completed by keeping an eye on the groups. Try asking students to compare the characters' routines, family dynamics, and attitudes if they are having trouble coming up with commonalities.

Examine the group outcomes as a class after each person's discussion. You could use an overhead to keep track of the overall results. Allow students to edit or add to their charts in light of the large-group discussion. Help students understand how many human desires, actions, and attitudes are temporally influenced but also transcend temporal boundaries. People want achievement, acceptance, and love. Parents look out for their children. Children develop and learn.

Reread the play's opening stage instructions to wrap up the conversation. Ask students, "Why does the play start this way? What is the significance of not having a curtain, scenery, or props?" Assist students in realizing that the play seems timeless because it doesn't contain specific details, even though we know it takes place in a distant era. The reader can relate to the feelings and goals of the characters. As a result, a literary work becomes universal.

Part 2

Give students a few passages from John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men to read; the first two chapters are particularly effective. (Note: The novella is divided into six sections, which function as chapters even though the chapters are not numbered.) The fourth chapter is also a good option because it focuses on what the American dream means to various characters, but students will need a recap of prior events to understand what is going on.

Students must be given enough background knowledge about the novella's historical setting before beginning to read it. The novella was released in 1937, right before the Great Depression came to an end.

Provide an overview of the novella. Say, "Of Mice and Men was published by John Steinbeck in 1937, right at the end of the Great Depression. People nationwide had already lost their jobs by this point and were still having difficulty finding enough work to make ends meet. Migrant laborers moved around the West in search of employment on ranches and farms. This novella explores these workers' lives during that trying period." Provide each student with an Of Mice and Men Character/Setting Worksheet (L-L-2-3_Of Mice and Men Character-Setting Worksheet and Key) before they start to read. As they read, ask your students to consider the settings and characters.

Give students time to finish the worksheet after they have read the assigned excerpts. (This will take a while because the first two sections introduce a lot of characters.) Invite volunteers to discuss with the class what they learned about the characters and settings. Ask, "What type of life do George and Lennie lead? " (Possible answers: George and Lennie are nomads who travel with everything they own and rely on others for food and lodging.) Continue asking, "What is the primary cause for their relocation?" Then ask, “What is the main reason they are on the move?” (They left the previous ranch due to Lennie's misbehavior.)

Ask students to list any conflicts that these chapters suggest. (Possible answers: the difficulties of surviving, Lennie's annoying and erratic behavior, the rivalry among ranch hands, and a husband's jealousy.) Assist students in realizing that Steinbeck covers a lot of ground in a brief amount of time regarding character, setting, and conflict.

Remind students of the era in history that the novella is set in. "What indications in the text lead you to believe that the men are from a different era?" (George talks about how work cards are necessary. Additionally, he implies that he "could live so easily" on a fifty-dollar monthly salary. The men will be packing bags full of grain; the bunkhouse has a wood-burning stove; and the harvesting equipment is pulled by horses or mules. George also says they could go away and "pan for gold," where they could make a few bucks a day with just a few dollars.)

As the first section comes to an end, have students read George's account of their dream again. To direct class discussion, use these questions:

"Previously, we found several disputes. Which conflict has the most bearing on the Great Depression?" (At that time, most people's lives included a struggle for survival.)

"What makes the story of George and Lennie's dream important, particularly in the context of the Great Depression?" (The dream comes up several times in the book, particularly in section four when other characters share their interpretations of the dream.) "'To live off the fat of the land'—what does that mean?" (Possible answers: having land; having cattle or other animals; being able to maintain a farm or garden that is rich and sustaining, etc.)

Put the following on the board: "The best-laid plans of mice and men often go astray." Tell them that Robert Burns' poem "To a Mouse" is the source of the book's title. Students should be divided into groups and asked to discuss any possible connections between the novella's historical setting and its title. Suggest, "Discuss who or what the 'mice' in the title refers to and what the 'best-laid plans' might be." (Mice are small animals that are frequently at the mercy of the environment, just as people living through the Great Depression were subject to events beyond their control. Having their land and subsisting on its wealth was George and Lennie's "best-laid plan," but like defenseless mice, they could not overcome their scenarios.)

Let's conclude by pointing out that, despite the novella's ranch setting being very different from city life, people throughout the Great Depression shared the difficulty of putting food on the table and having to make lifestyle compromises. Readers today can relate to these characters and their dreams.

Part 3

Have students watch the PBS documentary Surviving the Dust Bowl (http://video.pbs.org/video/1311363860/ )

Display the images of migrant workers by Dorothea Lange (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/fsahtml/fachap03.html). "Can you tell me anything about the people in these photographs?" ask students. "What sort of lives do these people lead?" (Possible answers: the people seem dejected or resigned, the environment is barren, they lead difficult lives, the elements have worn down their bodies, etc.) Say, "John Steinbeck wrote about these kinds of people in The Grapes of Wrath. He journeyed with migrant workers and saw the Dust Bowl. We'll read selected passages from the book to discover how the Joad family struggles to survive the Dust Bowl."

Students should read Chapters 1–3 of The Grapes of Wrath. Say, "Take special note of each chapter's setting, characters, and turtle in Chapter 3. Consider why Steinbeck starts the book this way." Distribute copies of the Grapes of Wrath Chapter Notes worksheet (L-L-2-3_Grapes of Wrath Chapter Notes and KEY) to every student. Split up the class into smaller groups and ask them to talk about the worksheet's main questions. Make sure that the students comprehend the introduction of the dust storm and the main character, Tom Joad, who is returning home from prison after killing a man, by stopping by each group and monitoring the discussions.

Ask students to share with the class the outcomes of the small group discussions. Utilize these inquiries to direct the conversation:

"What takes place when the dust storm occurs?" (Potential answers: The winds carried the soil away because the land was so dry. It was almost as heavy as smoke and dust. The sky turned black due to the abundance of dust. To block out the dust, people stayed inside their homes and covered their faces with handkerchiefs. All was covered in dust.)

"How do the characters react at the first chapter's conclusion?" (The incident initially confounds and worries the populace; however, the men later grow irate and determined. Due to the men's authority, the women feel secure. They are aware that "it was all right." Even though the circumstances are unclear at the end of the chapter, there is still a feeling that the men will figure it out.)

The first chapter's focus question may elicit different answers, but Steinbeck opens the book by narrating actual events from the perspective of an outsider, introducing a third-person objective point of view. (Review third-person limited and third-person objective points of view, if needed.) Despite the fact that Steinbeck spends the entire book following a single family, the first chapter suggests that they are a representative sample of a larger group.

Go on to talk about chapters 2 and 3 in the same way. Utilize the Chapter Notes Worksheet for The Grapes of Wrath to direct the conversation.

Remind students that a literary work's theme is the main idea or message the author wishes to get across. Say this: "Steinbeck shows us how common people react to extraordinary situations. This book revolves around several key themes. What themes might The Grapes of Wrath explore based on what you have learned so far about the events and characters?"(The human spirit's tenacity, the force of nature, people's innate kindness, and the quest for the American Dream)

Extension:

Students who think they might be going above and beyond the requirements can study more about how historical perspective is reflected in American literature and culture by using the resources listed under Related Resources.

Students in need of an extra learning opportunity could come across a news report about a significant occurrence, like a flood or earthquake. Ask them to use the details from the news article as the basis for a fictional story they will be writing about someone who experienced the event. Describe how this is comparable to Steinbeck's method.

Students with a flair for theater could rewrite sections of Our Town without the role of stage manager. Have them act out how the play might progress differently .