Teaching The Jungle

Instructions for You

Objective: In this lesson, students will write a fictional scene about a Socialist meeting. Yes, Jurgis is present, but the big thing is to find out how much info your students got out of The Jungle. In other words, just how well does Sinclair communicate his socialist message?

You can pop this activity into your syllabus any time after Jurgis goes to his first meeting to get all toasty warm, and if you really want to, you can have students do the writing for homework. Set aside about an hour of class time to get them going, and then you can let 'em go any which way works for you (and them).

Materials Needed: Computers with word processing software; copies of The Jungle

Step 1: Jurgis's first socialist meeting is packed full of political messages, so get thee to Chapter 28. (Need a brush up? Click here—we've got your back.) Here are some questions to share with your students to help them get a handle on the political ideology of socialism:

• What ills exist that socialism promises to fix?
• How will socialist ideas help everyone?
• How does socialism function?
• To whom does socialism appeal?
• What does socialism promise?
• How is socialism supposed to work?

Take notes on the board as the discussion rolls along.

Step 2: Now that socialism's been hammered out, it's time to think about a socialist meeting proper. Have students answer these questions using their noggins, jotting their thoughts down in their notebooks:

• What would these meetings be like?
• Who would attend these meetings?
• Would there be food and drink? What kind?
• Would there be folks serving food to each other?
• Who would speak at these meetings? 
• Would there be a call to action (sign up now!), and what would that call to action be?
• What attitude would these folks have to newcomers?
• What mood would be filling the room (angry, hopeful, activist)?
• Where would the meeting be held?
• Why would the meeting be held?

Step 3: Now comes the creative part—yay—as your students get to work on presenting their understanding of a socialist meeting. This is not supposed to be a straight regurgitation of one of Sinclair's scenes. Rather, this has more to do with our kids coming up with a separate, different scene; if you want, you can even let them utilize a different cast of characters.

Their scene should be about two pages long, and speak to the questions gone over in the early steps (see Step 1 and Step 2 to review). Beyond this, though, let your class have fun—think: film scripts, newspaper articles, fictionalized interviews… The sky's the limit.

Step 4: Because there's so much room for creativity in this activity, it's important that you give your students a chance to peer edit before they turn in their final product. Their task as editors is to make sure their partner has taken into account the questions from the earlier steps, and to point out any weak spots in their presentation.

Step 5: Depending on the creative expressions your students have undertaken, we highly recommend giving them a chance to share their work with the larger class before handing it into you. To wrap up, share the following questions with your class and ask for their thoughts:

• How much did you know about socialism before you read The Jungle?
• Did anything in the presentations surprise you? If so, what?

Instructions for Your Students

Objective: Upton Sinclair loved socialism—it was like his BFF of political thought—and because he was so into socialism, you're going to take a good, hard (and totally creative) look at it during this activity. How so? You will be writing a scene starring a socialist meeting. And no, you don't even have to have Jurgis in it… though if you set in Chicago during his lifetime, good luck keeping him away.

Step 1: Check out Chapter 28. This chapter features Jurgis's first socialist meeting, and is packed full of political messages. Here are some questions to help you get a handle on the political ideology of socialism:

• What ills exist that socialism promises to fix?
• How will these fixes help everyone?
• How does socialism function?
• Who does socialism appeal to?
• What does socialism promise?
• How is socialism supposed to work?

As you have answers to these questions, throw your hand in the air and participate in the group discussion.

Step 2: Now that socialism's been hammered out, it's time to think about a socialist meeting proper. Consider what Sinclair had to say, how he describes the meetings, and what happens in his descriptions. Answer these questions using your noggin, jotting down notes in your notebook:

• What would these meetings be like?
• Who would attend these meetings?
• Would there be food? Drink? What kind?
• Would there be folks serving food to each other?
• Who would speak at these meetings? 
• Would there be a call to action (sign up now!) and what would that call to action be?
• What attitude would these folks have to newcomers?
• What mood would be filling the room (angry, hopeful, activist)?
• Where would the meeting be held?
• Why would the meeting be help?

Step 3: Now comes the creative part—yay—as you get to work on presenting your understanding of a socialist meeting. This is not supposed to be a straight regurgitation of one of Sinclair's scenes. Rather, this has more to do with coming up with a separate, different scene; if you ask nicely, your teacher might even let you utilize a different cast of characters.

Your scene should be about two pages long, and speak to the questions gone over in the early steps (see Step 1 and Step 2 to review). Beyond this, though, have fun—think: film scripts, newspaper articles, fictionalized interviews… The sky's the limit.

Step 4: Sharing is caring, right? So pay attention to your partner's work during peer review, making sure they've taken into account the questions from the earlier steps and identifying weak spots in their presentation. Then thank them as they do the same for you.

Step 5: Chances are pretty good that you'll have a chance to share your work with your classmates. Either way, though, be prepared to discuss the following questions as a wrap-up to this activity:

• How much did you know about socialism before you read The Jungle?
• Did anything in the presentations surprise you? If so, what?