Who Moved My Cheese

Title: Who Moved My Cheese?: For Teens

Arthur:  Dr. Spencer Johnson

Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons

Genre: Informational Books

Summary: As a business education teacher namely marketing I am challenged with incorporating relevant novels into the course.  I have selected 2 books that illustrate skills necessary for their continued success. There are few things in life that are constant.  As a matter of fact I have heard that there is but one thing that’s constant and that is change.  As teens a part of life that can make or break them is how well they deal with change.  I introduce this book once I rearrange the room and I hear the murmuring and complaining from the students.  I then tell them they have their next assignment is a book assignment.  They of course complain and but want to read the book to determine what I am referring to.

The book starts with a group of teens gathered at lunch in the cafeteria and a student begins to tell the parable of two mice Sniff and Scurry and two little people Hem and Haw and their adventures in a maze.  While in the maze both groups are in pursuit of cheese.  Cheese leads to happiness for both groups.  The problem comes in when the cheese is “moved” and they have to decide what to do since it is gone.  In summary they run around daily looking for cheese.  Both groups find cheese at Station “C” and they assume there will always be cheese there.  Once the supply is gone Hem and Haw complain and return daily to the place where cheese once was seeking cheese.  Change had happened and they were not able to change with it and find themselves wasting away because they didn’t want to change.  On the other hand sniff and scurry sought out a new supply of cheese and found it.

By the end of the story they are more than excited to come up with their own parable about change and how they handle change.  The most amazing thing is that they can always identify with change and find that one of the characters identifies closely with their response to change.   This is a great book for young adult readers. 

 

Reaction: It has been said that the only constant is change.  The ability of students to adapt to change will be the difference in how students handle the changes in their lives.  There is no one can accurately predict what will happen in life but it has been said that life is less what happens to us and more how we handle what happens to us.  Learning to embrace and adapt to change can give my students a advantage over similar students in the same situation.

 

Application: This book can be used in almost every classroom.  It is written specifically for teenagers and the theme can be translated to several subject areas.  In science they can delve into how the scientific method could be used to solve the dilemma of having no more cheese.  In English it lacks the literary techniques of some works but allows the students to use foreshadowing and the use of parables in literature.  In math they can use formulas to predict the supply of cheese and when it would run out.  In social studies they can use it to explore supply and demand.  

Who might use this book: middle and high school students