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Lesson 7

Final Discussion – What have we learned about George Orwell’s allegory Animal Farm? How might we extend our learning during the rest of the year?

We will finish the unit by engaging in a whole-class discussion about the unit’s Central Question.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I make connections to personal experiences, ideas in other texts, and society?

  • Can I synthesize information from two texts to create new understanding?

  • Can I generate questions about text before, during, and after reading to deepen my understanding and gain information?

Texts

Core

  • Tradebook
    • Animal Farm, George Orwell, Signet Classics, 2004
  • Unit Reader
    • Afterword to Animal Farm from Signet Classics 75th Anniversary Edition, Russell Baker, Signet Classics, 1954
    • Excerpts from “Why I Write,” George Orwell, The Orwell Foundation, 1946
    • Introduction to 1954 edition of Animal Farm, C. M. Woodhouse, Signet Classics, 1954

Materials

Tools

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Discuss

We will engage in a final discussion of the unit’s Central Question: how do authors develop themes and commentary through allegorical stories and characters? in responding, we will reference what we have learned about Animal Farm and George Orwell as an author who wrote a classic allegorical story.

Participate in a whole-class discussion about Animal Farm, the historical context in which it was written, and Orwell’s thoughts about why literature needs to have a “political purpose.” Consider how the texts, videos, and images you have examined in this unit address its Central Question:

How do authors develop themes and commentary through allegorical stories and characters?

Provide evidence from the texts you have read to support your observations during this final discussion.

Activity 2: Read – Discuss

We will examine and discuss possible connections among the unit, other units from the year, and the research we might choose to do in the final Application Unit.

Follow along as your teacher overviews the Application Unit and the collaborative and independent research project you will be doing to complete the year’s learning. Ask questions about what will be expected of you and what options you will have for completing the culminating project.

Individually, reflect on what interested you during this unit and what you might want to explore further. Capture these reflections on the Application Unit Potential Topics Tool. Use the following questions to help guide your reflection:

  1. Were there any particular topics or texts that captured your attention? Why?

  2. What about each text or topic do you still want to study? What questions do you still have? Write these down in the Questions or Subtopics to Explore column.

  3. How would you begin to research each text or topic?

As a class or in groups, have a final discussion about what engaged you in this unit as well as what and how you might want to study further for the final Application Unit.