Controlled Assessment: Curley’s Wife

2. Controlled Assessment: Curley’s Wife Learning Objective To recap the key areas for development on our audit and use them to inform preparation for the controlled assessment

3. Why ‘Of Mice and Men’ Matters... NOW: • Reading controlled assessment – 30 marks available! Potential to completely change the grade on your folder! SUMMER OF YR 11: • One of the two novels for your LITERATURE EXAM

4. Year 10 Controlled Assessment Question 2013 How is she introduced? What words does he use to describe her? What do we think of her at the end? The author • TASK • How does Steinbeck present Curley’s wife in the novel: Of Mice and Men? Make sure you write mostly about her Formal word you should use for a story book

5. Quick Fire Challenge What makes an outstanding introduction?

6. Really, really important... • Remember this is a FICTION novel (it’s all made up) – do not write about the characters as if they are real people. • As a reader, what you think and feel about each character and their relationship with one another is because that’s EXACTLY what John Steinbeck (the author) wanted you to think and feel about them. He deliberately set the book out in this way and used certain words to make you think and feel as you do. • Therefore you will need to write about HOW and WHY you think John Steinbeck presented/showed Curley’s wife and her relationships as he did.

7. You will have 4 hours to complete the actual assessment What will I get marks for? • Writing about... • Understanding – show that you understand what happened in the novel and give reasons why you think this. • Steinbeck’s intentions: explain why you think he wrote about Curley’s wife in this way. What was the point he was trying to make about her? E.g. We only ever know her as Curley’s wife – she is never given a name – why? • Structure: how she and her relationships are presented at the start, what she is/they are like in the middle, what we think about her/the relationships are at the end. • Language: what words and sentences does Steinbeck use to show this? Similes, italics, adjectives, adverbs, use of light and dark, dialogue between characters... AND WHY?

8. Who is Curley’s Wife? Grade Booster Steinbeck never provides a name for Curley’s wife and instead uses a possessive apostrophe to indicate she belongs to her husband. Starter? how do this affect our response to her? She is the young, attractive newly married wife of Curley, the Boss’s son.

9. Historical Context: How do these statements impact on Curley’s wife?

10. Group 1 Initial Presentation Group members: • How is Curley’s Wife introduced? • Candy’s comments about her before we meet her – what did Steinbeck want us to think? • Our first impression of her – appearance (is she attractive? Is she over-sexed or does she use it as weapon? • Significance of George’s warning to Lennie • You must remember... • This presentation is to support your preparation for the essay! • Include an example of PEE (including a quotation!) • Create a poster to support your presentation • Everyone needs a part in the presentation – you are being assessed for your Speaking and Listening

11. Group 2 Words used to describe her Group members: • Key points to consider • Name she is called, who calls her it and what they mean... • The words Steinbeck has chosen to present her: ‘a girl’ ‘Curley’s wife (possessive apostrophe) ‘a tart’ ‘jailbait’ ‘rattrap’ etc • Shows her lowly status –like many women at that time (she was neither motherly or a prostitute). Men feared her because of Curley. Men’s double standards – they could sleep with prostitutes but she was a tart for talking to the men. • You must remember... • This presentation is to support your preparation for the essay! • Include an example of PEE (including a quotation!) • Create a poster to support your presentation • Everyone needs a part in the presentation – you are being assessed for your Speaking and Listening

12. Group 3 Crooks’s Room Group members: • We see a nasty side to her in Crooks’s room? • What does she do/say? • Why do you think she says this? • You must remember... • This presentation is to support your preparation for the essay! • Include an example of PEE (including a quotation!) • Create a poster to support your presentation • Everyone needs a part in the presentation – you are being assessed for your Speaking and Listening

13. Group 4 Key theme: loneliness Group members: • Points to consider • Lonely? Theme of the novel... • Life for her on ranch – living with husband and his dad • What does she think of Curley? • Why is she always looking for him? • You must remember... • This presentation is to support your preparation for the essay! • Include an example of PEE (including a quotation!) • Create a poster to support your presentation • Everyone needs a part in the presentation – you are being assessed for your Speaking and Listening

14. Group 5 American Dream Group members: • Key points to consider • Dreams – own version of American dream (1930’s film industry based in Hollywood was growing – influenced by stories of actresses going from rags to riches). • Does Steinbeck want you to feel sorry for her? • You must remember... • This presentation is to support your preparation for the essay! • Include an example of PEE (including a quotation!) • Create a poster to support your presentation • Everyone needs a part in the presentation – you are being assessed for your Speaking and Listening

15. Group 6 Her death Group members: • Key Points to Consider • Kindness to Lennie? • How she appears in death? Did she deserve to die? Does her punishment outweigh her crimes? • Is she killed by loneliness? • In death, still treated badly by Candy. Why? • You must remember... • This presentation is to support your preparation for the essay! • Include an example of PEE (including a quotation!) • Create a poster to support your presentation • Everyone needs a part in the presentation – you are being assessed for your Speaking and Listening

16. Presentations: Quality Audience • What is a quality audience? • What makes a quality English student? Task: As the presentations are taking place you need to make notes for each of the sections. This will help to form a structure for an essay plan

17. Homework • Use the notes you have made in today’s lesson to create an essay plan for the controlled assessment on Curley’s Wife You will be writing the essay in next week’s lessons. This homework will provide support for your planning sheet.

19. Mark Scheme – Grade C

20. Mark Scheme – Grade C The first thing I notice about Crooks is that he lives in the harness room away from the other men. He has a whole variety of things in this space and the quote is “There was cans of saddle soap and a drippy can of tar with its paintbrush sticking over the edge?” this shows that he is put in the same place as the general tools that are used on the ranch. Task: How would you change this section to make it into a B grade?

21. Mark Scheme – Grade A In the opening description of Crooks’ room Steinbeck indicates that “for being alone, Crooks could leave his things about, and being a stable buck and a cripple, he was more permanent than the other men.” This reference is perhaps surprising to the reader as it presents his environment in a positive light with a clear emphasis on the fact he has a sense of stability on the ranch and does not have to worry about the theft of his possessions. However this could be seen as the only positive to come out of the isolated existence he is forced to live.