Group Four: The Life of John Steinbeck

Essential Questions
You may include more information in your presentation, but please be sure to cover these points as a minimum.

• What time and place did Steinbeck live in? What was Steinbeck's childhood like? What key events and people influenced his life?
  
• Describe Steinbeck's career as a writer. What are his famous novels? Where did he write his famous novels? How did Steinbeck use locations in his writing?
  
• Describe Steinbeck's adult life. How did he live? Why did he live as he did?
  
• What is Steinbeck's legacy in American literature? What important prizes or recognitions has he been awarded?
  

Recommended Resources
You may need to go beyond what is listed here, but I’ve included a few ideas to get you started. You will need to cite all sources used at the end of your presentation, so keep track carefully.

• The National Steinbeck Center:
  http://www.steinbeck.org/MainFrame.html
  
• Your American literature textbook
  
• The American Writers website (and if you’re really interested, there’s a two hour video you can watch on this site!): http://www.americanwriters.org/writers/steinbeck.asp#
  
• The Nobel Prize website:
  http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1962/steinbeck-bio.html
  
• Online and print encyclopedias, such as MSN’s Encarta:
  http://encarta.msn.com
  
• Media Center Databases (go to Infotrac and use the Biography Resource Center for excellent Steinbeck bios; see me if you need a password, or get a bookmark from the Media Center!):
  http://www.arlington.k12.ma.us/ahs/mediacenter/databases/databases.htm