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Lesson 13: Animal Farm, Making Connections to the Russian Revolution Through Writing
50 min
California CCSS: Focus Standards
California CCSS: Supporting Standards
ELD Standards
Student Lesson
Lesson 13: Animal Farm, Making Connections to the Russian Revolution Through Writing
Student Learning Objectives
1
Content
Students will write an explanatory paragraph in which they draw connections between a character in Animal Farm and a historical figure in the Russian Revolution.
2
Language
Students will explain a connection between the Russian Revolution and Animal Farm by using representation verbs (symbolizes, parallels, reflects), embedded quotations from both texts, clause expansion (“which shows . . . ,” “that reveals . . .”), and a formal academic register to build clear explanatory reasoning for the comparison.
3
Foundations
Students will analyze sentence structure and verb voice to understand how language shows power and control in Chapter V.
Essential Question
How do propaganda and rhetorical techniques influence what people believe and how they act?
Connections to
Knowledge-Building:
Students will make allegorical connections between characters in Animal Farm and figures from the Russian Revolution, and draw connections between the text and historical figures and events.
Enduring Understanding:
Students will understand commonalities between Animal Farm and the Russian Revolution as an example of revolutions that rise and fall.
Future Lessons:
In Lesson 14, students will return to their discussion from Lesson 11 and determine in writing which force has the greatest influence on the animal’s beliefs and actions. In Lesson 15, students return to close-reading Chapter VI of Animal Farm.
Unit Performance Task:
Analyzing the Russian Revolution and connecting it to the concrete characters and events in Animal Farm helps students better understand the animals’ revolution and its evolution in the novel.
Lesson Pacing
| Lesson Flow | Purpose of Learning Experience |
|---|---|
Launch5 Minutes | Students will determine a writing goal to apply to their explanatory writing. |
Literacy Lab10 Minutes | Students will review how to recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in verb voice and mood. |
Learning in Action30 Minutes | Part A: Preparing to Write (RL.8.1, RL.8.1, W.8.9.a-b) Students will review their notes and annotations for writing as they examine the structure of the text-to-text paragraph they will write. Part B: Explaining Connections Between the Russian Revolution and Animal Farm (RL.8.1, RI.8.1, W.8.2.a-c, W.8.2.f, W.8.4, W.8.9.a-b, L.8.1.b, L.8.1.d) Students will use textual and factual evidence to draw connections between two texts by writing an explanatory paragraph. |
Material List
- Animal Farm by George Orwell
- Unit 2 Lesson 13 Student Edition
- 3-Column Chart (from Lesson 12)
Routines
- Quick Write
- Language Study
- Think-Aloud Modeling
- Think-Pair-Share
- Peer Review Protocol
- Turn-and-Talk
Lesson Sequence
Lesson Texts
Short-Form Text
The Russian Revolution: A New Kind of Power
Standard News Bureau
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