WebQuest

Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck

1) What are the geographical features of the Salinas Valley in California? The Salinas Valley is located near to monterey bay and Santa Lucia mountains ranges in the nothern coast of California. The winter is mild, thus the climate is excellent for growing vegetables.

2) What kinds of jobs are available in the Salinas Valley? In the Salinas Valley jobs are mostly agricultural (90%). Flowers and grapes were grown primarily but green vegetables allowed to earn more money.

3) What was John Steinbeck's relationship to the Salinas Valley?

John Steinback was born in the Salinas Valley. He grew up there and he really loved Salinas because most of his literature is based in small towns that resemble Salinas. That is to say Salinas served as inspiration for many of his novels. And today he is buried in Salinas.

4) What was the Great Depression?

The Great Depression of 1929 was a worldwide economic depression. On October 24, 1929, it is the “Black Thursday” when 12.9 million shares of stock were sold in one day which causing a stock market crash.

5) What were some of the causes?

There are several causes of the great depression : in the early 30s over 9000 banks failed, the stock market crash provoked a decline in purchases (this led to a reduction in the number of items produced and thus a reduction in the workforce that's why unemployment rose).

6) Who were the migrant workers and how were they affected by the Great Depression?

Migrant workers were landless and jobless people. They had to move to find jobs to keep from starving to death. They moved to find any farm work that was available. Because of the Great Depression many independent farmers lost their farms.

7) Describe the Dust Bowl.

The Dust Bowl was a dust storms in 1932 which causing agricultural damage to American and Canadian farms. This storm destroyed crops, and these crops were replaced by