This is a suggested teaching schedule for a 10 day class study of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. Lesson plans and handouts can be downloaded individually by clicking on the name of the file in the schedule below. Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view these files.
Audio Guide CDs are available only for the communities participating in The Big Read. If your community is participating, contact the lead community organization to receive a free Audio Guide CD. Non-participating communities can listen to the full audio online.
Day One
FOCUS: Biography
Day One Lesson Plan
Activities: Listen to The Big Read Audio Guide. Read Reader's Guide (pp. 3-4; 6-7; 10-11). Write about an important, view-changing book.
Homework: Read Chapters 1-5 (pp. 1-39).*
Day Two
FOCUS: Culture and History
Day Two Lesson Plan
Activities: Read Handout Two. Go to www.neajazzintheschools.org. Write an essay on how artists are influenced by politics.
Homework: Reader's Guide essay "Major Characters in the Novel" (pp. 4-5). Read Chapters 6-9 (pp. 40-89).
Day Three
FOCUS: Narrative and Point of View
Day Three Lesson Plan
Activities: Explore Steinbeck's use of parallel narration. Tell story from the point of view of one of the characters.
Homework: Read Chapters 10-13 (pp. 90-149).
Day Four
FOCUS: Characters
Day Four Lesson Plan
Activities: Explore the antagonist. Write about how myths inform characters.
Homework: Read Chapters 14-17 (pp. 150-200).
Day Five
FOCUS: Figurative Language
Day Five Lesson Plan
Activities: Document figurative language in assigned chapters. Use metaphors in personal description of a road journey.
Homework: Read Chapters 18-19 (pp. 201-239).
Day Six
FOCUS: Symbols
Day Six Lesson Plan
Activities: Analyze three major symbols: the road, the West, and the grapes of wrath.
Homework: Read Chapters 20-21 (pp. 240-284).
Day Seven
FOCUS: Character Development
Day Seven Lesson Plan
Activities: Map the transformation of individual Joads and the family as a whole.
Homework: Read Chapters 22-24 (pp.285-345).
Day Eight
FOCUS: The Plot Unfolds
Day Eight Lesson Plan
Activities: Chart the turning points of the novel. Invent an alternate ending. Read Reader's Guide essay (pp. 12-13).
Homework: Read Chapters 25-26 (pp. 346-405).
Day Nine
FOCUS: Themes of the Novel
Day Nine Lesson Plan
Activities: Develop an interpretation based on a theme: the individual against the corporation, the American dream, redemption.
Homework: Read Chapters 27-28 (pp. 406-455). Begin essays. Outlines are due at the next class.
Day Ten
FOCUS: What Makes a Great Book?
Day Ten Lesson Plan
Activities: Explore the qualities of a great novel and the voice of a generation. Examine qualities that make Steinbeck’s
novel successful. Have students review one another's paper outlines or drafts.
Homework: Finish essays.
HANDOUTS
Handout One: The Dust Bowl
Handout Two: The WPA
Handout Three: Migrant Farm Workers
*Page numbers refer to the Viking Penguin 2006 edition of The Grapes of Wrath.
