The importance of the windmill in 'Animal Farm'
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain the importance of the windmill in ‘Animal Farm’.
Key learning points
- At first the windmill signifies the battle for power between Snowball and Napoleon.
- The windmill becomes a symbol of hope when it is viewed as the key to a 'three day week'.
- The windmill becomes a symbol of corruption as the animals work harder than ever to rebuild it.
- The windmill physically represents the cyclical nature of the novella.
Keywords
Futility - having no effect or relating to something useless or pointless
Utopian - describes a perfect place or society
Laborious - needing a lot of hard work, time and effort
Motif - a repeated idea that occurs or is referenced throughout a text
Apathy - express an attitude of not caring and having little or no interest
Common misconception
The windmill is only presented as a negative.
Explore Snowball's initial plans. How does he view the role of the windmill? Orwell is showing how industry and progress can be exploited.
Teacher tip
Opportunity for group work in Task A. This could take the form of a carousel where each station could focus on a chapter.
Equipment
You will need access to a copy if 'Animal Farm' by George Orwell.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.In 'Animal Farm' how does Napoleon show his contempt towards Snowball's windmill plans?
Q2.In 'Animal Farm' how does Napoleon plan to get supplies to build the windmill?
Q3.In 'Animal Farm' what reason does Napoleon give for the windmill collapsing in the wind?
Q4.In 'Animal Farm' what reason do the humans give for the windmill collapsing?
Q5.What name is given to the windmill in 'Animal Farm'?
Q6.Which word beginning with 'm' describes 'a repeated idea that occurs or is referenced throughout a text'?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What initially motivated the animals to work diligently on building the windmill in 'Animal Farm'?
Q2.In Chapter 10 of 'Animal Farm', what purpose does the windmill serve?
Q3.In 'Animal Farm' the windmill is initially a symbol of hope. What does Snowball campaign for?
Q4.In 'Animal Farm', Napoleon is resistant to the idea of the windmill and creates the slogan: "vote Napoleon and the__________"
Q5.What language technique is being used in this quote taken from 'Animal Farm': "all the animals worked like slaves"?
Q6.Which word beginning with 'a' describes Benjamin's attitude in 'Animal Farm'?
To help you plan your 11 English lesson on: The importance of the windmill in 'Animal Farm', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 11 English lesson on: The importance of the windmill in 'Animal Farm', 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: lies and deception unit, dive into the full secondary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.