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In section 3,students will read Chapters 3-5 of Animal Farm by George Orwell. Students will continue to analyze the persuasive techniques Orwell gives to the characters and persuasion and propaganda’s impact on the plot and points of view of the characters. Students will determine which characters wield the most power on the farm based on their ability to manipulate the minds of others.

Section Diagnostic

In a three-paragraph argumentative response, including an introduction and two body paragraphs, answer the following question: Which character has been able to best manipulate and change the minds of the animals in Chapters 3-5 of Animal Farm? What makes his or her persuasive techniques so influential on the points of view of the other characters?

 

 

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#1  In this lesson, students will read Chapter 3 of Animal Farm. Students will begin to analyze the role of propaganda and its impact on the growing inequalities on the farm.

Objectives:

  • Can students analyze how propaganda plays a role in Chapter 3?

  • Can students analyze the impact of language on the plot of a story?



TLW Listen to and follow along with the read aloud of Chapter 3 from Animal Farm. Read from the beginning of Chapter 3 through “And not an animal on the farm had stolen so much as a mouthful.”  

 

Reading focus:

  • How do the animals react to their new ownership of the farm?

  • How effective are the commandments so far?



TLW Continue reading Chapter 3 from Animal Farm with your partner. Read from “All through that summer the work of the farm went like clockwork” through “The Meeting always ended with the singing of Beasts of England, and the afternoon was given up to recreation.”

  • Why might the different animals’ contributions be unequal?

TLW read the following sentence and respond:’

“Snowball and Napoleon were by far the most active in the debates. But it was noticed that these two were never in agreement…”

TLW answer:What does this section foreshadow about Snowball and Napoleon? How do their differing points of view create suspense?

TLW Continue reading Chapter 3 from Animal Farm with your partner. Read from “The pigs had set aside the harness-room as a headquarters for themselves” through “When they had once got it by heart, the sheep developed a great liking for this maxim, and often as they lay in the field they would all start bleating ‘Four legs good, two legs bad! Four legs good, two legs bad!’ and keep it up for hours on end, never growing tired of it.”

TLW consider how the idea of intelligence versus ignorance develop in this section?

  1. What consequences could stem from the animals’ differing reading abilities?  This plays into the idea of ignorance versus intelligence. The animals who fail to learn how to read can easily be manipulated as they have no way to learn additional information that could counter those who can read.

  2. What persuasive techniques does Snowball use when explaining the “essential principle of Animalism”?Snowball uses generalizations and descriptive language. By summarizing the seven commandments into one simple statement, the animals are more likely to remember the general idea that animals are good and humans are bad. The use of two legs and four legs gives them an easy visual that will also help them remember the principle.

TLW finish reading chapter 3 focusing on how this section challenges the commandment “All animals are equal.”
TLW answer

  1. In what ways are the pigs separating themselves from the rest of the animals? The pigs continue to claim that because they are the most intelligent and are doing most of the thinking and planning for the farm, they need and deserve more resources such as milk and apples.

  2. How does Squealer use persuasive techniques in this section? For what purpose? Squealer uses rhetorical questions and appeals to fear in his explanation to the animals. He is attempting to manipulate the animals into believing that the pigs deserve more resources.

TLW will respond to the prompt: How does propaganda play a role in Chapter 3?  To whose benefit is it used?  Provide evidence from the text to support your response.



TTW pull small groups for GAME and others will work on IReady.

 

 

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#2 In this lesson, students will read Chapter 4 of Animal Farm. Students will analyze how events in the story reveal aspects of the characters and display the impact of persuasion.

 Lesson objectives:  

  • Can students analyze the various perspectives of the animals and humans that lead to the battle with the farmers?

  • Can students discuss their analysis of point of view and conflict in a text?




TLW Listen to and follow along with the read aloud of Chapter 4 from Animal Farm. Read from the beginning of Chapter 4 through “ This was what came of rebelling against the laws of Nature, Frederick and Pilkington said.”

Reading focus:   What information is spread by both the animals and the humans?

  1. What can we infer are Frederick and Pilkington’s reasons for spreading rumors about Animal Farm? They are fearful their animals will do the same and ashamed that animals could overcome the rule of humans.

  2. What is persuasive about the information they share? The farmers are persuasive because they use descriptive language and details such as, "the animals there practised cannibalism, tortured one another with red-hot horseshoes" to describe the animals on the farm.



TLW Listen to and follow along with the read aloud of Chapter 4 from Animal Farm. Read from “However, these stories were never fully believed” through “‘I have no wish to take life, not even human life,’ repeated Boxer, and his eyes were full of tears.”

Reading Focus:  How does this section propel the action within the text?

 

TLW answer the questions: 

Questions:

  • What happens in this section? What meaning might be suggested by the events?

  • What do the characters’ actions and reactions reveal about them?

  • How are the characters impacted by persuasion?

  • What themes or messages do the events and characters’ actions seem to support?

TLW finish reading the text :What are the animals’ different points of view of the battle?

  1. Is Mollie’s life better or worse since the rebellion?  Why?    Mollie’s life is worse. She appreciated the treatment of humans, the gifts they gave her, and living a gentle life. The rebellion has taken all of this away from her and made her feel ashamed because of who she is.

  2. How do the animals actions after the battle conflict with their hatred of humans?  The animals’ actions after the battle conflict with their hatred of humans because the way they celebrate their victory and memorialize the heroes and fallen of the battle (flags, speeches, songs, military honors, etc.) is very human-like.

TLW respond to the prompt:  How are the characters benefited or harmed by persuasion or propaganda in this chapter?  Use evidence from the text to support your response. 

 

TTW pull small groups for GAME and others will work on IReady.

 

 

 

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#3  In this lesson, students will read Chapter 5 of Animal Farm. Students will determine what themes exist so far in the novel and how Orwell develops those themes.

Lesson Look fors:

  • Can students determine themes developed by Orwell in the first half of Animal Farm?

  • Can students effectively express their analysis of how an author develops themes through discussion?

 

TLW  begin reading Chapter 5, stopping at “None of the animals ever mentioned Mollie again.”

TLW answer:  How does the incident of Mollie’s escape reflect irony? Mollie's escape reflects irony because the animals' rebellion was originally intended to afford the animals more rights and freedoms than they had before and to make their lives better overall. However, Mollie's ideas about a happy life do not fit the overall idea of "Four legs good. Two legs bad," so she is made to feel guilty and wrong in her beliefs and behaviors. She feels more oppressed than before and feels the need to escape Animal Farm.

TLW continue reading through “But of all their controversies, non was so bitter as the one that took place over the windmill.”

  • How do Napoleon and Snowball use persuasion differently?  Students should note the evidence, “At the Meetings Snowball often won over the majority by his brilliant speeches, but Napoleon was better at canvassing support for himself in between times” as well as the explanation that Snowball relies on his intellect and speaking skills whereas Napoleon is more secretly persuasive, as is evidenced by how he has the sheep on his side passive-aggressively interrupting Snowball’s speeches.

TLW  continue reading through “And from then on he adopted the maxim, “Napoleon is always right,’ in addition to his private motto of ‘I will work harder.’”

  1. What happens to Snowball? Why? Snowball is run out of the farm by Napoleon’s dogs. He is then made to be an enemy of the farm.

  2. What is the role of the dogs in propelling the action? The dogs are Napoleon’s brute strength, enforcers, and way of intimidating others into what he wants.

  3. What is the role of Squealer in Napoleon’s schemes? Squealer is Napoleon’s master manipulator. Squealer uses mind manipulation through propaganda to convince the other animals of Napoleon’s perspective.

  4. Why do these tactics work on the other animals? The other animals are afraid of the dogs because there are many of them and they seem violent. Squealer’s tactics work on them because most of them are ignorant or lazy and do not have the means or motivation to educate themselves enough to discover the truth.

 

TLW Finish reading Chapter 5.   What changes occur after Snowball is banished?

  • What themes does Orwell seem to be developing so far in the novel?

(EXAMPLES OF THEMATIC TOPICS: Ignorance, Manipulation, Power, persuasion, propaganda, knowledge, fear, credibility, reason, rebellion, freedom)

  • TTW/TLW write a thematic statement based upon the topics.

  • TLW write one additional thematic statement and use evidence from the text that supports that theme statement

Ignorance can cause a person to be easily manipulated.

  • “The animals were not certain what the word meant, but Squealer spoke so persuasively, and the three dogs who happened to be with him growled so threateningly, that they accepted his explanation without further questions.”

Those who seek power will sometimes use violence to get it.

  • “But suddenly the dogs sitting round Napoleon let out deep, menacing growls, and the pigs fell silent and sat down again.”

Propaganda can cause fear to overcome reason.

  • “One false step, and our enemies would be upon us. Surely, comrades, you do not want Jones back?”

  • TLW answer: What persuasive techniques have we seen being used so far in Animal Farm and what has been their impact?  Use evidence from the text to support your answer.

TTW pull small groups for GAME and others will work on IReady and Language Live

 

 

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#4  In this lesson, students will write a three-paragraph argumentative response, including an introduction and two body paragraphs, to answer the following questions: Which character has been able to best manipulate and change the minds of the animals in Chapters 3-5 of Animal Farm? What makes his or her persuasive techniques so influential on the points of view of the other characters? This is the section diagnostic.

Lesson Look Fors:

  • Can students argue which character has been able to use persuasive techniques to best manipulate the minds of the animals on the farm?

  • Can students write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence?




PROMPT:

Which character has been able to best manipulate and change the minds of the animals in Chapters 3-5 of Animal Farm? What makes his or her persuasive techniques so influential on the points of view of the other characters? Write a three-paragraph argumentative response, including an introduction and two body paragraphs, to answer the prompt. Acknowledge a counterclaim in your response. Be sure to include a variety of sentence types, transition words and phrases, and verbs in the active voice.

 

TLW Form a claim

  1. Is the claim clearly stated?

  2. Does the claim communicate a position or argument about the text?

  3. Is the claim based on evidence you gathered from the text?

  4. Is the claim specific to the question, original, and able to be supported by evidence?

  5. What would be the counterclaim (alternate or opposing view)?

 

TLW create an introduction

  1. How will you introduce the prompt? What is a general statement that expresses the topic of the prompt?

  2. What text is the focus of the response? How does the text relate to the prompt?

  3. What is your position in response to the prompt?

 

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TTW pull small groups for GAME and others will work on IReady and Language Live