Lesson 4
Final Claim – How do we understand the lasting meaning and significance of Animal Farm?
We will express a final interpretive claim about the lasting meaning and significance of Animal Farm, then include that claim in our final graphic design for a cover that complements our interpretation and first-person narrative.
Lesson Goals
Can I review previous interpretive claims to form a final claim about the lasting meaning and significance of Animal Farm, which I will present as a central idea and element in my final cover design for my character-based interpretation of the allegorical narrative?
Can I prepare and publish a final cover design to accompany and complement my first-person retelling of the story from a selected character’s point of view?
Texts
There are no texts for this Lesson.Materials
Tools
Activity 1: Read – Write
We will review the various interpretive claims and explanations we have written throughout the unit and develop a final claim in response to the question: what is the lasting meaning and significance of Animal Farm’s allegory to our society and us as readers?
Step 1
Throughout the unit, you have formed and explained a series of interpretive claims that express your developing understanding of Orwell’s allegory. These include:
Section 1: A claim about your character’s role in Orwell’s allegory
Section 2: A claim about your character’s allegorical significance and symbolic representation of a historical counterpart
Section 3: An analytical claim about a visual interpretation of the story and how it is consistent with your own interpretation of the allegory
Section 4, Lesson 1: An analytical claim and explanation of “the lasting meaning and relevance” of Animal Farm
Locate and read through these four claims or explanations you have previously written, all concerned with the meaning of Orwell’s allegory
Step 2
Using ideas from the previous claims you have written, form a final, summary claim in response to the question:
What is the lasting meaning and significance of Animal Farm’s allegory to our society and us as readers?
Think about this claim as a final representation of your understanding of Orwell’s allegory after all that you have learned about the story, its historical context, and the ways that others have interpreted it.
Write your final claim as a statement that will be part of the copy on the back cover of your book design. See it as a conclusion that will be presented on (perhaps as an overall heading or title idea) and organize and unify the exhibit you create to present your thinking, first-person narrative, and cover design for the Culminating Task.
Step 3
After drafting your final claim, review it to see how well it fits with your first-person narrative and your cover’s design proposal and mockup.
Share your claim with your previous editing partner and get feedback about how clear, interesting, and consistent with your other work it is.
Activity 2: Write
We will work on executing a final design for our book cover, using a central image of our character, front cover titling that graphically complements our image, and informational copy for the back cover.
Step 1
Review again the expectations for your cover design, as presented in the Cover Design Brief:
Your cover or poster design should include:
One or more images of your character that reflect and communicate your interpretation of the character’s role in the allegory.
Other graphic images that enhance the central image of your character.
Titling in a font and layout that complements your images and interpretation and that includes the following copy:
Animal Farm
A Fairy Story
As Told by (your character’s name)
By George Orwell & (your name)
Copy for a back cover or poster that includes:
An interpretive quote (such as one from Baker, Bragaru, or Obreht—or from elsewhere in your reading) that fits with your interpretation of the allegory
A final claim written by you that communicates your interpretation of the allegory and its lasting meaning
A short summary of the story that highlights key events as your character might see them
Graphic elements, color choices, and layout that complement and enhance your design.
Step 2
Review any feedback you have received from your teacher or a review partner about your design proposal and mockup that you submitted for the Section 3 Diagnostic.
Think about how your ideas may have evolved in this section of the unit as a result of reading Téa Obreht’s introduction and forming your final claim about the lasting meaning and significance of Orwell’s allegory.
Make final decisions about the images, titling, and copy you will use in your cover design.
Step 3
As directed by your teacher, create a final graphic design for your book cover (either through your own artistic creation or through digital design). Make your design as visually interesting as possible and ensure that it is consistent with and complementary to your first-person narrative and final interpretive claim about the book’s lasting significance.
Activity 3: Write – Design
We will finalize our graphic cover designs and prepare them for inclusion in our final exhibition for the Culminating Task design review.
For homework, finalize your graphic design for a new Animal Farm book cover, using one or more images of your character, graphically interesting titling for the front cover, and informative copy for the back cover.
Use fonts, graphical images, and symbols to unify the front and back covers into a coherent and interesting design.