Cannery Row
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Time: Moderate
Materials: Varies based on project.
For the past 50 years, California has been known as a place of wealth and prosperity. Starting broadly, research the 1930’s. What was life like? What kind of appliances existed during the time period? What kinds of activities were considered entertainment? After learning about the 1930s, research more specifically what California was like in the 1930s.
After your research is completed, choose what you would like to do with your newfound information:
Create a timeline
What significant events occurred during the 1930s? Create a timeline on a piece of paper, poster board, or on a PowerPoint that illustrates significant events of the 1930s. You can narrow your timeline by focusing on California during the 1930s specifically.
Write a short story
What was life like during the 1930s? Be creative and write a short story that illustrates 1930s life.
Write an alternate ending
If you didn’t like the way that Cannery Row ended, write and alternate ending. Using your knowledge of what would have and would not have been possible during the 1930s, write an alternate ending that could have actually happened.
Trivia cards
After learning about 1930s culture, pick out some of your favorite actors, actresses, movies, or fashions and create trivia cards. You can make them single answer or multiple choice.
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Time: Moderate
Learning Type: Visual
Materials:
Cannery Row memory can be played the same way as normal memory. You have the option of using Cannery Row related words, pictures, or phrases as the items for matching. Put the group of cards face down on the floor in a square or rectangle shape and keep turning over cards until you have a match. The memory cards can be created from scratch using construction paper and colored pencils/markers, or you can use a normal deck of cards and paste information over the numbered side.
Difficulty: Medium
Time: Moderate
Learning Type: Audio
Materials:
The activity doesn’t require any materials other than the book, unless you choose to use props.
You can choose a piece of dialogue from Cannery Row that you can perform. A monologue by Doc is a good choice if you choose to do this activity by yourself.
If you choose to do this activity in a group and have a video camera available, act out several parts of Cannery Row that summarize the story and see if you and your group mates can create a mini-movie.
Difficulty: Medium
Time: Moderate
Learning Type: Audio/Hands On
Materials:
If you choose to do this activity by yourself, create a list of questions after reading Cannery Row or use some of the short answer study questions available on this site. Be careful to select questions that you don’t already have memorized.
Set a timer and see how long it takes you to answer the questions. You can also ‘race’ yourself by setting the timer for a specific period of time and trying to finish before the timer sounds.
If you choose to complete this activity in a group, designate a person to keep time or set a timer. You can hand out the list of questions to those participating in the activity and tell them to answer the questions as quickly as possible, or you can have the person who is keeping time read the questions out loud.
The individual who answers the list of questions in the least amount of time with the largest number of correct answers wins the quiz race.