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Animal FarmText Overview

We will read George Orwell’s Animal Farm and informational texts to build knowledge around the historical context to which the allegorical tale was responding, and view images and film depicting Orwell’s allegory. The titles, authors, and locations of these texts are indicated in the unit text list. Unit Readers are available through Open Up Resources. A detailed list of texts that need to be purchased to implement the unit can be found in the FAQ section Resources for Teaching the Units.

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
    • Animal Farm: Introduction to Signet Classic 75th Anniversary Edition, Téa Obreht, Signet Classics, 2020
    • Excerpts from “Why I Write,” George Orwell, The Orwell Foundation, 1946
    • Introduction to 1954 edition of Animal Farm, C. M. Woodhouse, Signet Classics, 1954
    • “What Is Totalitarianism? Definition and Examples,” Robert Longley, ThoughtCo, 2022
  • Multimedia
    • Animal Farm, Joy Batchelor, John Halas, Halas and Batchelor, 1954
    • Animal Farm, John Stephenson, Hallmark Entertainment, 1999
  • Digital Access
    • “Animal Farm: The Cartoon Strip and the Cold War,” Mark Dunton, British Information Research Department, 2020
    • “George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’ illustrated by Ralph Steadman,” Natalia Bragaru, Kids Book Explorer, 2022
    • “Joseph Stalin Explained in 25 Minutes — Best Stalin Documentary,” The Life Guide, YouTube, 2021
    • “Joseph Stalin — Dictator,” Biography, YouTube, 2012
    • “Sendlbeck — Animal Farm Book Cover,” Sascha Sendlbeck, Sascha Sendlbeck, 2018
    • “The Revolution That Shaped Russia — National Geographic,” National Geographic, YouTube, 2017

Optional

  • Digital Access
    • “Art of Animation: Art of Animal Farm,” Joy Batchelor, John Halas, Character Design References
    • “Troy — Animal Farm Book Cover,” Katie Troy, Drexel University, 2016

Text Icons

The following text icons are used in the Text pages:

Unit Reader Unit Reader Texts

Digital Access Digital Access Texts

Tradebook Tradebook Texts

Multimedia Multimedia Texts

To find digital access texts on the Internet, complete the following steps:

  1. Locate the reference information for the text (text title, author, date of publication, and publisher) found on the Text page for a unit, section, or lesson.

  2. Highlight and copy the reference information.

  3. Paste the information into a search engine.

  4. The text will appear as one of the first search results.

  5. Verify the result by comparing the reference information on the website to the information on the Text page.