By Emily Cherry
Teachers can find exploring the book “Animal Farm” by George Orwell with high school students to be an especially rewarding experience because they can discuss politics, social issues, and a variety of other topics. Also, it’s a way for teachers to talk about peer pressure and media influences. Students are bombarded with propaganda and advertisements on a continual basis, and they might not even know it.
To introduce the concept of propaganda and bandwagon propaganda at the beginning of the novel, I like to bring in a selection of popular advertisements. I show a slide show, and discuss how advertisers attempt to persuade people to buy their product. For example, in a Volkeswagon car commercial two men are riding along, talking, when out of nowhere a truck slams into their car, deploying their air bags. Both men are scared and shaken, but ultimately fine. I ask my students whether the advertisers are appealing to my emotions, my sense of logic and reason, or are they trying to scare me into believing that if I don't buy their product I won't be safe? As the slideshow progresses, I switch from using advertisement slides to political slides. These can be about current or past events. Using election propaganda can introduce students to the art of manipulation that is an inherent theme throughout the novel.
Another important component to teaching about “Animal Farm” is to introduce students to the history of the Russian Revolution in which the novel is set. It is important to note that the themes in the novel are universal and not limited to any time frame. Throughout the novel it is helpful to keep a list of the themes that students see as applicable to today, as well as during the time that it was written. This can introduce students to the idea that great literature is enduring.
To keep students engaged throughout the novel, I have had my students keep character lists. I like to have them list quotations that they find relevant or revealing about specific characters in the novel. At the conclusion of the novel, I often have my students write a character analysis essay. If they keep a list of quotations in a notebook with their thoughts about the characters, it will serve as a useful tool for a final essay.
“Animal Farm” is a rich, complex novel that, on the surface, can seem deceptively simple. Yet, if you concentrate on the concepts of propaganda, and the universality of the themes addressed, students will be able to come away with a deeper understanding of the text. What follows are more "Animal Farm" lesson plans.
This lesson explores the allegorical features of the novel, and has students compare other famous allegories to "Animal Farm." An important component of this lesson is the analysis of George Orwell's use of rhetorical devices as a means of persuasion.
This novel unit is designed to allow students to apply their creativity to design their own propaganda after reading the novel. Students demonstrate an understanding of the themes in the novel, as well as an understanding of how to use propaganda as a means of persuasion.
At the conclusion of the novel students have the opportunity to create an advertising campaign. This unit is meant as a conclusion to the novel and can be used as an assessment tool.
