Who Moved My Cheese?

• Genre: Nonfiction; business; motivational
• Originally Published: 1998
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 900L; college/adult
• Structure/Length: Introduction and 3 chapters; approx. 95 pages; approx. 1 hour, 40 minutes on audio
• Central Concern: Using a simple parable that compares the actions of two mice and two people in a maze, the book teaches lessons about preparing for change and enjoying the challenges of new situations.

Spencer Johnson, Author

• Bio: 1938-2017; born in South Dakota and grew up in Los Angeles; earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology at the University of Southern California and went on to study medicine; as a doctor, became convinced that people’s ailments were often not physical but in their minds or souls; wrote historical biographies for children before coauthoring The One Minute Manager; took time to get input from many people before publishing each of his short books; gained a loyal following and sold millions of copies of his books
• Other Works: The One Minute Manager (with Kenneth Blanchard; 1982); The Precious Present (1984); Peaks and Valleys (2009); Out of the Maze: An A-Mazing Way to Get Unstuck (2018)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• Action in the Face of Adversity
• Seek Out Simple Solutions
• How to Search for Cheese

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Develop an understanding of the social and cultural contexts surrounding adaptability and change.
• Analyze paired texts and other brief resources to make connections via the text’s themes of Action in the Face of Adversity, Seek Out Simple Solutions, and How to Search for Cheese.
• Plan and design adjustments to a business model to implement changes based on text details.
• Analyze and evaluate text details to draw conclusions in structured essay responses regarding Hem’s and Haw’s character traits and behavior, the symbolism of the search for cheese, and other topics.