'Animal Farm': exploring Orwell's influences and purpose
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain why Orwell wrote 'Animal Farm'.
Key learning points
- Orwell was influenced by his varied life experiences
- Orwell was against authoritarian regimes and viewed his writing as a way to criticise the abuse of power
- 'Animal Farm' is an allegory for the Russian Revolution
- Orwell was a democratic socialist and against the ideals of communism which he saw as easily corruptible and flawed
- 'Animal Farm' explores themes of power and hierarchy
Keywords
Authoritarian - An authoritarian regime enforces strict obedience and the expense of personal freedoms.
Allegory - An allegory is a story, poem or image that has a hidden message, typically a moral or political one.
Socialism - Socialism is a political ideology that believes in equality and shared ownership of resources and production.
Capitalism - Capitalism is an economic system that encourages profit making and private ownership of business and resources.
Marxism - Marxism is a political theory based on the work of Karl Marx. It believes in collective ownership and the eradication of social classes.
Common misconception
George Orwell was a communist.
Although Orwell wanted an equal society, he viewed communism as corruptible and idealistic.
Teacher tip
Task B can be printed as a completed task which students can cut out and rearrange. Asking students to offer justifications of their choices in Task B can develop understanding and critical thinking further.
Equipment
You will need access to a copy of 'Animal Farm' by George Orwell.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Complete this sentence. Social and historical __________ can help us have a better understanding of the texts we are reading.
Q2.In what year did WWII end?
Q3.Equality is...
Q4.What is the definition of a dictator?
Q5.When considering a writer's purpose, we want to try and understand why they were compelled to write. What does the verb compel mean?
Q6.Social class refers to....
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.'Animal Farm' was published in what year?
Q2.George Orwell was against totalitarianism. These are governmental systems defined by which three things?
Q3.What word beginning with 'A', describes a story, poem or image that has a hidden message, typically a moral or political one.
Q4.Which two political systems are considered left wing?
Q5.Marxism is the belief that...
Q6.What is the main goal of capitalism?
To help you plan your 10 English lesson on: 'Animal Farm': exploring Orwell's influences and purpose, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 English lesson on: 'Animal Farm': exploring Orwell's influences and purpose, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 English lessons from the Animal Farm: the pigs and power unit, dive into the full secondary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.