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Teaching Cannery Row

California dreamin'.

  • Activities: 13
  • Quiz Questions: 66

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Raging parties, fist fights, and...frogs? It might be hard to imagine how all that comes together, but you know you're in for a wild ride at Cannery Row. In case your students don't see the same modest charm of the Cannery Row residents that we've grown so fond of, this teaching guide might help.

In this guide you'll find

  • an activity that uses descriptions from the text to map the layout of Cannery Row.
  • resources to help bring the novel into the 21st century.
  • discussion and essay questions to prompt students to find the deeper meaning in this relatively light-hearted novel (as far as Steinbeck goes, at least).

Note: Shmoop cannot be responsible for any stolen frogs or parties thrown in your honor after reading this book.

What's Inside Shmoop's Literature Teaching Guides

Shmoop is a labor of love from folks who love to teach. Our teaching guides will help you supplement in-classroom learning with fun, engaging, and relatable learning materials that bring literature to life.

Inside each guide you'll find quizzes, activity ideas, discussion questions, and more—all written by experts and designed to save you time. Here are the deets on what you get with your teaching guide:

  • 13-18 Common Core-aligned activities to complete in class with your students, including detailed instructions for you and your students.
  • Discussion and essay questions for all levels of students.
  • Reading quizzes for every chapter, act, or part of the text.
  • Resources to help make the book feel more relevant to your 21st-century students.
  • A note from Shmoop’s teachers to you, telling you what to expect from teaching the text and how you can overcome the hurdles.

Want more help teaching Teaching Cannery Row?

Check out all the different parts of our corresponding learning guide.



Instructions for You

Objective: Who wouldn't want to go to Cannery Row for a nice vacation? Dud parties, suicides, the smell of fish in the air… Okay, clearly the tourism department needs some help, so in this activity your students are going to work up travel brochures advertising the benefits of Cannery Row back in the day. Tell them to grab their propaganda hats and start thinking of all the awesome reasons one might want to take such a trip to the fishiest street in America.

This activity will take about an hour, and once they're finished, students should have a really solid sense of the setting for this book. Yay.

Materials Needed: Paper and drawing supplies or computers with word processing or design software; computers with Internet access (for research); copies of Cannery Row.

Step 1: Hook students up with computers and have them gather this info to get this puppy rolling:

  • Where is Cannery Row? Like, really—because it's a real place.
  • Who are the people who live there in the time of the book? Not names, but more general characteristics, like salt of the earth folks or fancy ladies in their finery.
  • What attractions are there? Why would anyone want to go? Think recreation, art and all the fun stuff that may (or may not) be happening on the Row.
  • What is the climate like? If you're travelling mid-winter, do you need a coat or a bathing suit? Are autumns especially beautiful? Summers sublime?
  • Don't forget pictures and graphics.

Step 2: Once they've gathered the goods on the Row, have students look up travel brochures to get a sense of what they look like.

Step 3: Now it's time for students to assemble those brochures. Make sure they hit on all the important information and remind them that their brochures should sound professional and polished. This will require editing and revision. You might want to have them get with a partner to do some quick and dirty edits to make sure everything is copacetic.

Step 4: Have kids present their work, pitching Cannery Row to each other in small groups or in front of the entire class. Then collect those suckers and get ready for a vicarious vacation.

Instructions for Your Students

Objective: Who wouldn't want to go to Cannery Row for a nice vacation? Dud parties, suicides, the smell of fish in the air… Okay, clearly the tourism department needs some help, so you're going to work up a travel brochure advertising the benefits of Cannery Row back in the day. Grab your propaganda hat and start thinking of all the awesome reasons one might want to take a trip to the fishiest street in America.

Step 1: Gather the following information, working with both your book and the Internet.

  • Where is Cannery Row? Like, really—because it's a real place.
  • Who are the people who live there in the time of the book? Not names, but more general characteristics, like salt of the earth folks or fancy ladies in their finery.
  • What attractions are there? Why would anyone want to go? Think recreation, art and all the fun stuff that may (or may not) be happening on the Row.
  • What is the climate like? If you're travelling mid-winter, do you need a coat or a bathing suit? Are autumns especially beautiful? Summers sublime?
  • Don't forget pictures and graphics.

Step 2: Once you've gathered your goods, take a few minutes to look up travel brochures. What do they look like? What characteristics do you want to be sure to include in your own?

Step 3: Now it's time to write up your brochure. Make sure you hit on all the important information and that your brochure sounds professional. This will require editing and revision, and if you're lucky, you'll have the help of a partner for this step.

Step 4: Now present your work, pitching Cannery Row to your teacher and class. Good luck!