Section 1: Overview
Reading Animal Farm
How does Orwell use story structure, language, and characterization to develop a “fairy story” or allegory?
We will learn about concepts of narrative writing: plot structure, characterization, allegory, theme, irony, and satire. As we read Animal Farm in a series of lessons that correspond to the phases of plot development, we will select and track one character. We will demonstrate our understanding of the novel and a response to the chosen character by developing an evidence-based claim about the character’s role in the allegory and first-person narrative vignettes of parts of the story from the character’s point of view. During this foundational section of the unit, we will develop skills in summarization, close reading, and character analysis, and we will learn to use related tools and reference guides.
Lesson 1:
Allegory – Why might Orwell have presented his story as a fable, in which animals take on symbolic roles and allegorical meaning?
We will learn about the narrative concepts of story genre, structure, and characterization. As we consider Orwell’s subtitle for Animal Farm (“A Fairy Story”) we will compare the genres of the fairy tale, fable, and allegory. We will then watch and discuss an animated fable to consider how it communicates a theme and how it presents its story through the phases of plot development (exposition, complication, climax, and resolution) and through characterization.
Lesson 2:
Exposition – How does Orwell establish the setting, characters, conflicts, and themes in the first two chapters of the novel—the story’s exposition?
We will return to the concept of exposition in a story and use notes from the Summarizing Text Tool to discuss the key narrative details of Chapter 1 in Animal Farm, focusing on passages that establish what is initially happening and those that foreshadow what may happen later in the story. We will note the characters who are introduced and learn about theCharacter Note-Taking Tool.
Lesson 3:
Exposition – How does Orwell establish the setting, characters, conflicts, and themes in the first two chapters of the novel—the story’s exposition?
In reading teams, we will review Chapter 2, taking notes about characters we are interested in following and analyzing additional key details of the story’s plot. We will present initial theories about how the story might be an allegory and what its central themes and commentary might be.
Lesson 4:
Language and Literacy – How does Animal Farm introduce a theme related to the power of language and importance of literacy?
We will review Chapters 1 and 2, focusing on language, in terms of what Orwell’s descriptions convey; we will also examine how the events and characters of the story introduce thematic commentary about the importance of language and literacy in conveying ideas and establishing power. We will learn to use the Attending to Details Tool to analyze the language and meaning of the Seven Commandments of Animalism, “Beasts of England,” and sections of Old Major’s speech.
Lesson 5:
Complication and Character Development – How do characters, conflicts, and themes develop and complicate the narrative and allegory of Animal Farm?
We will review the concepts of complication in a narrative’s plot development and character foils. We will identify characters we are interested in examining closely, then join character study teams. We will discuss the developing theme of literacy and how it separates the various characters from the pigs and each other. As we consider how conflicts develop within the narrative, we will examine the conflict between the animals and returning men in the Battle of the Cowshed and then the relationship between Snowball and Napoleon, two conflicts that lead to key turning points in the narrative.
Lesson 6:
Characterization and Visualization – What visual images come to mind when we think about the characters of Animal Farm?
In character study teams, we will develop a list of words and images that come to mind when we visualize the characters we are following. Using these words and images, we will individually draft a first-person selfintroduction of our character.
Lesson 7:
Characterization and Visualization – What visual images come to mind when we think about the characters of Animal Farm?
We will examine how visual artists and others have visualized Napoleon and used representations of him on covers of Animal Farm. In character study teams, we will then explore how our character has been represented visually, and we will individually search for or create images to accompany our character self-introduction.
Lesson 8:
Rising Action – How does the rising action in Chapters 6 and 7 further complicate the story and foreshadow an ironic fate for the utopian vision of the animals?
We will discuss the concept of irony and its development in Chapters 6–7, in which the Seven Commandments of Animalism begin to be systematically revised by the pigs. We will analyze how characters and conflicts have developed and been complicated within the rising action of the novel’s plot—specifically how the pigs have begun to resemble and trade with the humans outside the farm, and the animals’ reactions to these developments. We will discuss and write about the utopian and dystopian qualities of the novel.
Lesson 9:
Interpreting a Character’s Role – What role does a selected character play in the story’s plot and allegory?
We will continue to examine various graphic interpretations of Animal Farm, focusing on how characters and scenes from Chapters 1–7 have been visualized by others. In character teams, we will discuss our character’s role in the allegory. We will then individually write an evidence-based claim and paragraph about our character’s nature and role.
Lesson 10:
Climax – How do major events in Chapters 8 and 9 represent climactic moments in the plot, conflicts, and thematic development in Animal Farm?
We will focus on two key, climactic scenes from Chapters 8 and 9: The Battle of the Windmill and its aftermath (Ch. 8) and Boxer’s demise (Ch. 9). We will develop claims about the ways in which the scenes represent final, climactic turning points in the narrative. In character teams, we will discuss what has happened in the story, how our character has evolved or been affected, and how the climactic events have further developed Orwell’s allegory. We will draft a short, first-person narrative vignette about our character.
Lesson 11:
Interpreting a Character’s Role – In what ways have the characters of Animal Farm changed or not changed as the story has developed? How are their evolutions as characters important to the story and its allegorical meaning?
We will examine the concept of a character’s evolution and consider how various characters have or have not changed. We will then write a new first-person narrative vignette in which our character tells the story of a key scene from the book.
Lesson 12:
Plot Resolution – How are the plot, characters, conflicts, and themes of Animal Farm resolved in the story’s final chapter?
We will examine and discuss the opening of Chapter 10 and how it indicates (through the passage of time) that the story has moved into its denouement or resolution. We will consider the final ironies of the story: the sparse life of the animals, the pigs walking on two legs, and the final revision of the Seven Commandments of Animalism. We will conclude our reading by discussing the meaning of Orwell’s allegory and the ironic, satirical commentary inherent in the final sentence.
Lesson 13:
Portfolio Preparation – How can I compile the work I have completed in Section 1 to submit for the Section Diagnostic?
We will prepare to submit a portfolio of our work for the Section 1 Diagnostic by considering the task, reviewing our narrative vignettes with our character study team, and finalizing the vignettes for submission.
Lesson 14:
We will compile and submit our portfolio of work from Section 1 and write a reflection, which will serve as the overview for the portfolio.
Lesson 15:
Section 1 Diagnostic Feedback – What can I improve based on feedback from the Section Diagnostic?
We will review feedback on the Section Diagnostic. We will use the feedback to make revisions to our work.
Lesson 16:
We will commence an independent reading program in which we choose texts to read independently as we progress through the unit. We will learn how to choose texts, what activities we may complete, about the final task, and about any materials we will use as we read our independent reading texts. We will begin by reading our texts, using tools to help us take notes and analyze important textual elements.