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Lesson 2

We will preview the Section 2 Diagnostic and read a letter from George Orwell, composed shortly before he began working on 1984, to explore his motivations for writing the novel.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I explain what I need to know and be able to do to succeed on the Section 2 Diagnostic?

  • Can I recognize points of connection among texts, textual elements, and perspectives to make logical, objective comparisons?

Texts

Core

  • Unit Reader
    • “George Orwell Explains in a Revealing 1944 Letter Why He’d Write 1984,” Colin Marshall, Open Culture, LLC, 2014
  • Tradebook
    • 1984, George Orwell, Signet Classics, 1949

Optional

  • Unit Reader
    • “Totalitarianism, Authoritarianism, and Fascism,” Robert Longley, ThoughtCo, 2020

Materials

Tools

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Read – Discuss – Write

We will read and analyze the section 2 diagnostic checklist. We will identify specific knowledge and skills we will need to succeed on the diagnostic.

Read and annotate the Section 2 Diagnostic Checklist. Determine what skills and knowledge you need to succeed on the diagnostic. In a small group, discuss and respond to the following questions:

  1. What is the focus of the Section 2 Diagnostic? What does the task ask you to do?

  2. What questions do you have about the Section 2 Diagnostic?

  3. What do you need to understand and think about to be successful on the Section 2 Diagnostic?

  4. What skills do you need to build in this section to be successful when you complete the Section 2 Diagnostic?

  5. What habits do you need to practice in this section to be successful when you complete the Section 2 Diagnostic?

Access your Culminating Task Progress Tracker. For each knowledge and skill identified, assess how prepared you are.

Activity 2: Read – Discuss – Write

We will read an informational text to build our background knowledge on totalitarianism, authoritarianism, and fascism.

Read and annotate the article "Totalitarianism, Authoritarianism, and Fascism."

Write down your answers to the following questions in your Learning Log:

  1. What is the definition of totalitarianism?

  2. What characteristics of totalitarianism are evident in 1984?

  3. What are some historical examples of totalitarian states? What are some contemporary ones?

  4. What is the definition of authoritarianism?

  5. What characteristics of authoritarianism are evident in 1984?

  6. How is authoritarianism different from totalitarianism? What are some contemporary examples of authoritarian states?

  7. What is the definition of fascism?

  8. What characteristics of fascism are evident in 1984?

  9. How is fascism different from totalitarianism? What are some contemporary examples of fascist states?

Discuss your answers in a small group.

Activity 3: Read – Discuss – Write

We will read a letter that George Orwell sent a friend shortly before he began writing 1984.

George Orwell published the novel 1984 in 1949. In 1944, he wrote to one of his friends expressing his thoughts about the current state of the world.

Read and annotate the letter. Use the following questions to guide your annotations:

  1. What does Orwell fear?

  2. What is he optimistic about? What specific examples can you provide from the text to describe his optimism?

  3. What does he caution against?

  4. What is the tone of the letter? What word choice supports your conclusion?

Discuss your answer in a small group.

Activity 4: Read – Discuss – Write

We will reread the letter, examining the connection between thematic ideas found in the letter and thematic ideas found in the novel.

Reread and annotate the letter, analyzing Orwell’s inspiration for writing 1984. Use the following questions to guide your annotations:

  1. What thematic ideas in the letter are also present in the imagined world of 1984?

  2. What textual evidence supports your conclusion?

Discuss your answers as a class. Use the discussion to revise your notes, as needed.

Activity 5: Read – Discuss

We will analyze the final sentence of the letter.

Reread the final sentence of the letter.

I think, and have thought ever since the war began, in 1936 or thereabouts, that our cause is the better, but we have to keep on making it the better, which involves constant criticism.

Discuss the following with your group:

  1. Why do you think George Orwell wrote 1984?

  2. What contemporary issues might you be interested in writing about? Generate a list as a group and share with other groups.

Activity 6: Read – Write

For homework, we will read chapters 6–7 of 1984 and answer a set of guiding questions.

For homework, read and annotate Chapters 6-7 of 1984. Use the following questions to guide your annotations:

  1. What do we learn about Winston’s marriage? How does the Party use the institution of marriage to control Oceania’s citizens?

  2. In Chapter 7, Winston says that "hope…lies in the proles." What is preventing the proles (who make up 85 percent of the population) from overthrowing the Party?

  3. Who are Jones, Aaronson, and Rutherford? What happened to them?

Include evidence from the text in your annotations,

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