Mar. 28 - April 1: Animal Farm (novel study)

*** Poetry test Blk F Mon. Mar 28; Blk. G Tues. Mar 29; Blk. E Fri. Apr 1***


Fri. Apr. 1, 2011 Animal Farm online novel
- 25 min. silent reading from Animal Farm  
- Review chapter 3 and 4 questions
- Identify propaganda examples from Animal Farm and advertisements

Classroom:
- Group "propaganda" exercise:
---Review the "Types of Propaganda" handout.
---Take 4 sample ads collected during Thursday's class
---Use Post-It Notes to label the types of propaganda in each ad.
---Report your labels/discussion to the class.

- Complete the propaganda advertisement assignment

Thurs. Mar. 31, 2011
- 25 min. silent reading from Animal Farm
- Review chapter 1 and 2 questions
Animal Farm Synopsis
Orwell didn't include two phases of revolution in his story. This is one example where there isn't a tidy parallel between the book and the real history of the revolution. Animal Farm seems to lump together the Russian Revolution (February 1917) and the rise of the Bolshevik party (October Revolution 1917).

Activity:
- Read the definition of the word "propaganda" (see slideshow).
- Write the definition at the top of a blank piece of paper.
- Search the newspapers / magazines.
- Find one example of propaganda and paste it in the centre of your blank paper.
- Continue reading from chapter 3 - 5.

Wed. Mar. 30, 2011

Review the Animal Farm character comparison chart and watch the Russian Revolution (Part 1) and Animal Farm Synopsis videos.
Russian Revolution (Part 1)
What happened to Nicholas II and the Romanov family?
- National Geographic "Tsar's Family's Death."
- 2008 Russia Today news story.

Tues. Mar. 29, 2011 Animal Farm online novel
- 15 min. of silent reading
- Review the Animal Farm character comparison chart
- Read chapters 1, 2 and 3 of Animal Farm.
- Complete the vocabulary and answers to the chapter questions.


Mon. Mar. 28, 2011
- 15 min. silent reading 

Animal Farm by George Orwell is a novella that can be described as a roman à clef (French for "novel with a key"), which is a work describing real-life behind a façade of fiction.
Although Animal Farm is short, it can be read and interpreted on several levels:

A "fairy tale" or "fairy story" can mean any far-fetched story that may feature folkloric characters such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, giants, and talking animals, and usually enchantments, often involving a far-fetched sequence of events (Wikipedia).

A fable is a succinct story, in prose or verse, that features animals, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature which are anthropomorphized (given human qualities), and that illustrates a moral lesson (a "moral"). Fables can be described as a didactic mode of literature. They frequently have as their central characters animals with the ability to reason and speak (Wikipedia).

In satire, human or individual vices, follies, abuses, or shortcomings are held up to censure by means of ridicule, derision, burlesque, irony, or other methods, ideally with the intent to bring about improvement.Although satire is usually meant to be funny, the purpose of satire is not primarily humour in itself so much as an attack on something of which the author strongly disapproves, using the weapon of wit (Wikipedia).

An allegory is a form of extended metaphor in which objects, persons, and actions in the narrative are equated with meanings that lie outside the narrative itself (Microsoft Encarta).

To appreciate the deeper satirical and allegorical elements within Animal Farm, it is important to have an understanding of the author, George Orwell, and the historical and political dynamics of his time.

View parts 1 -5 of George Orwell's biography and complete the questions (see Assignments & Handouts link):
George Orwell - Part 1
George Orwell - Part 2
George Orwell - Part 3
George Orwell - Part 4
George Orwell - Part 5