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Lesson 8

We will discuss Chapter 4 and Winston’s role in the government of Oceania’s propaganda efforts. We will identify and explore multiple thematic ideas of the novel.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I attend to details to distinguish what is directly stated in 1984 from what is really meant?

  • Can I determine the thematic ideas of 1984?

Texts

Core

  • Tradebook
    • 1984, George Orwell, Signet Classics, 1949
  • Digital Access
    • “Many Americans Say Made-Up News Is a Critical Problem That Needs to Be Fixed,” Amy Mitchell, Jeffrey Gottfried, Galen Stocking, Mason Walker, and Sophia Fedeli, Pew Research Center, 2019

Materials

Tools

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Read – Discuss – Write

In small groups, we will discuss Chapter 4 and use guiding questions to shape the discussion.

In a small group, discuss the questions below. Use your homework annotations to help guide your discussion.

  1. How does Winston directly assist the government of Oceania with controlling and manipulating its citizens? As a reader, how does this make you feel?

  2. What is ironic about the title "Ministry of Truth"? How does Orwell’s use of irony here enhance the reader’s understanding of the power of the Party? What evidence from the text offers the strongest support for this interpretation?

Use the discussion to make revisions to your notes, as needed.

Activity 2: Read – Discuss – Write

We will identify and track the novel’s emerging thematic ideas in chapters 1–4.

A theme in a literary text is the underlying message about life and the human experience. Orwell wrote 1984 to send a message to society.

Most themes, however, are not explicitly stated; rather, they are implied. They are developed and suggested through the language, details, elements, structure, and effects of a text, requiring the reader to discover and make meaning through close reading and study.

While we might not be able to determine the themes this early in the novel, we can begin determining thematic ideas or the general focus areas or topics of a literary text.

Review your notes and recall previous discussions to address the following questions:

  1. What are some emerging thematic ideas of the novel?

  2. What details support that interpretation?

Use your Thematic and Central Ideas Note-Taking Tool to identify at least four thematic ideas that have emerged throughout Chapters 1-4.

Activity 3: Read – Discuss – Write

We will exchange tools with a partner to broaden our understanding of the emerging themes in 1984 and provide feedback.

After you have independently completed the Thematic and Central Ideas Note-Taking Tool, exchange tools with a partner and compare your answers with theirs while providing feedback. Use your partner’s feedback to make revisions to the tool.

Activity 4: Read – Discuss – Write

We will exchange tools with a new partner to broaden our understanding with a different perspective and to refine our own through additional feedback.

Exchange tools with a second partner and compare your answers with theirs while providing feedback. Use your partner’s feedback to make revisions to your tool.

Activity 5: Read – Discuss – Write – Listen

For homework, we will read the report “Many Americans Say Made Up News Is A Critical Problem That Needs To Be Fixed.”

Fabricated information is not exclusive to the fictional world of 1984. It is just as relevant in today’s society. Read and annotate pages 1-10 of the online report "Many Americans Say Made-Up News Is a Critical Problem That Needs to Be Fixed." Use the text features as well as the following questions to guide your notes.

  1. What research findings aligned with your expectations?

  2. What research findings surprised you?

  3. Is there evidence of bias on the part of the authors? If so, where?

Be prepared to share your responses in the next lesson.

Write new or interesting words you encounter in your Vocabulary Journal.