Abusing Power: Animal Farm and Wicked History

Students explore human nature through careful study of the Russian Revolution, focusing on the ways in which leaders manipulated and oppressed their own people.

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ELA

Unit 3

8th Grade

Unit Summary


Please Note: In October 2024, this unit and its lesson plans received the enhancements outlined here.

The overall length of units may increase or decrease by up to 2 instructional days, with some lessons from the original unit removed, combined, or otherwise adjusted. Teachers should pay close attention as they intellectually prepare to account for the updated pacing, sequencing, and content.

George Orwell's Animal Farm has had great international impact for its messages about power and political corruption in the 20th century. Orwell witnessed the atrocities sanctioned by Joseph Stalin under communism, and his famous novel is a satire of societies that allow leaders to lie, cheat, and oppress the naive, obedient masses. The author's decision to feature animal characters recalls classic children's fables, but there is nothing simple or childlike about this story. Orwell's novel is not intended to entertain; rather, it is a criticism of historical events and a warning to future generations about the dangers of tyranny.

In order to provide students with necessary background knowledge and context needed to understand the time period that Orwell satirizes, this unit begins with the informational text Joseph Stalin (A Wicked History). This text dives into the history of Joseph Stalin and the Russian Revolution. This text is intended to introduce students to the real-life atrocities committed during this time period and give them a small window into the lives of the tens of millions of people who were murdered, starved, exiled, imprisoned, or killed on the battlefield, at the instruction of Joseph Stalin.

Through their work with these two core texts, students will explore questions about the power of language and draw conclusions about the way it can be used as a method of control. They will dig deeply into the use and impact of propaganda as well.  Students will explore the genre of allegory, the impact of satire, and the way that historical knowledge can create dramatic irony within a text. Additionally, students will have the opportunity to think about artistic interpretation through two lenses: they will think about how authors use and interpret historical events in a fictional text, and they will analyze how a film interpretation can differ from the source text and evaluate the decisions directors make.

As this unit follows directly behind the unit focusing on Elie Wiesel's Night, students will continue their year-long study of justice and injustice, particularly in the context of extreme human cruelty and suffering. Much like Elie Wiesel's message that the stories of human atrocities must continue to be told, so too does Orwell's text continue to act as an urgent, relevant call-to-action.

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Texts and Materials


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Core Materials

Supporting Materials

Assessment


The following assessments accompany Unit 3.

Content Assessment

The Content Assessment tests students' ability to read a "cold" or unfamiliar passage and answer multiple choice and short answer questions. Additionally, a longer writing prompt pushes students to synthesize unit content knowledge or unit essential questions in writing. The Content Assessment should be used as the primary assessment because it shows mastery of unit content knowledge and standards.

Vocabulary Assessment

The Vocabulary Assessment tests student's knowledge and usage of the unit's of text-based vocabulary.

Fluency Assessment

The Fluency Assessment measures students' ability to read a grade-level text with accuracy and prosody, at a proficient rate, with a reading passage drawn from one of the unit's core texts. Find guidance for using this assessment and supporting reading fluency in Teacher Tools.

Unit Prep


Intellectual Prep

Unit Launch

Before you teach this unit, unpack the texts, themes, and core standards through our guided intellectual preparation process. Each Unit Launch includes a series of short videos, targeted readings, and opportunities for action planning to ensure you're prepared to support every student.

Text Selection Rationale

  • Joseph Stalin (A Wicked History) has a Lexile Level of 970L, which–by this measure–puts it below the middle-of-the-year median reading level for 8th-grade students. However, this text’s presentation of complex subject matter in straightforward language makes it a valuable resource for developing student schema around the rise of Communism and the Russian Revolution. By reading this text before diving into Animal Farm, students will more clearly understand the way that Orwell has crafted an allegory that satirizes a significant part of 20th-century global politics and be able to confidently draw connections between the text and real-life events.
  • Animal Farm has a Lexile Level of 1170L, which–by this measure–puts it below the middle-of-the-year median reading level for 8th-grade students. However, the qualitative features of the text make it arguably the most complex text that students will read in 8th grade. The language Orwell uses in the text is very complex, as he regularly uses tier-two and tier-three vocabulary words, subtle irony, and dense sentence structures that students will need to read carefully to determine meaning. Additionally, this text assumes a significant amount of knowledge about the Russian Revolution; students will need to bring the schema they developed from reading Joseph Stalin (A Wicked History) to this text. Additionally, the fact that the novel is an allegory, the first allegory that students encounter in the K-8 Fishtank curriculum, and adds several levels of complexity.

Essential Questions

  • What is propaganda and how can it be used as a tool of social control?
  • Other than propaganda, what techniques do corrupt leaders use to establish and maintain power over people?
  • How have human beings tried to solve the problem of inequality in society, and what were the results?

Enduring Understandings

  • Josef Stalin was the violent, tyrannical communist leader of the Soviet Union during and after the Russian Revolution, who is remembered by many as "the greatest criminal in history" (McCollum, p. 1) 
  • Language can be used to manipulate and mislead others; propaganda is a powerful way to influence people’s behavior and beliefs.
  • It is essential that citizens are educated, informed, and willing to speak out when they see those in power acting against the best interest of the people.

Vocabulary

Text-based

abolishadversarycharismaticcomplicitydevoteddictatorialdissidentexploitationlaboriousmanipulationnotoriousoppressionperceptionruthlessshrewdlytoiltreacheroustyrannical

Literary Terms

allegoryallusionauthor’s purposeauthor's perspectivecentral ideacredibledictionfablehyperboleinferenceprologuepropagandasatire

Root/Affix

dict-mal-

To see all the vocabulary for Unit 3 , view our 8th Grade Vocabulary Glossary.

Supporting All Students

In order to ensure that all students are able to access the texts and tasks in this unit, it is incredibly important to intellectually prepare to teach the unit prior to launching the unit. Use the guidance provided under 'Notes for Teachers' below in addition to the Unit Launch to determine which supports students will need at the unit and lesson level. To learn more, visit the Supporting all Students Teacher Tool.

In order to ensure that all students are able to access the texts and tasks in this unit, it is incredibly important to intellectually prepare to teach the unit prior to launching the unit. Use the guidance provided under 'Notes for Teachers' below in addition to the Unit Launch to determine which supports students will need at the unit and lesson level. To learn more, visit the Supporting All Students Teacher Tool.

Notes for Teachers

  • The beginning of this unit is focused on a complex historical period. This is only a brief introduction and does not cover or explain all of the dynamics at play during the Russian Revolution. Students need not understand every detail of this time period, but it is wise to emphasize the events and people that appear in Animal Farm. Character charts, timelines, and visual anchors will be useful in helping students remember essential details.
  • Animal Farm is a relatively dense text, and students will be expected to read a substantial amount of text each evening for homework. It may be useful to review the gist of each chapter with students at the beginning of each chapter as well as to continue to track specific characters as the text progresses.
  • This unit contains a large quantity of domain-specific knowledge. To keep track and build background on this information, encourage students to refer to the timeline, glossary, and index on pages 122–127 of Joseph Stalin (A Wicked History) for definitions and context as needed.
  • In addition to asking students to make connections between the text and the Russian Revolution, students should be encouraged to talk about their own reactions to the text. This book is full of injustices, and students will likely have strong feelings in response to events and characters. It is essential that students think about this book as speaking to the present moment as much as it speaks to a specific moment in the historical past. We encourage you to draw on relevant current events as you teach this unit.
  • In general, this book includes descriptions of violence, bloodshed, famine, cannibalism, exile, torture, war crimes, and death. While such descriptions are not necessarily graphic, they are numerous. Consider how you will address this with students in a way that is sensitive to their emotional needs but that also does not downplay the seriousness and severity of what occurred.

Lesson Map


Common Core Standards


Core Standards

L.8.1
L.8.1.c
L.8.1.d
RI.8.2
RI.8.3
RI.8.6
RL.8.2
RL.8.3
RL.8.4
RL.8.6
RL.8.7
SL.8.1
SL.8.1.a
SL.8.1.c
SL.8.4
SL.8.5
W.8.1
W.8.1.a
W.8.1.b
W.8.1.c
W.8.1.d
W.8.1.e
W.8.2
W.8.2.a
W.8.2.b
W.8.3
W.8.3.a
W.8.3.d
W.8.3.e
W.8.5
W.8.7
W.8.8
W.8.9

Supporting Standards

L.8.2
L.8.2.a
L.8.2.c
L.8.3
L.8.3.a
L.8.4
L.8.4.b
L.8.5
L.8.5.a
L.8.5.c
L.8.6
RI.8.1
RI.8.4
RI.8.5
RI.8.10
RL.6.6
RL.7.9
RL.8.1
RL.8.10
SL.8.1.b
SL.8.6
W.8.2.c
W.8.2.d
W.8.2.e
W.8.2.f
W.8.3.b
W.8.3.c
W.8.4
W.8.6
W.8.9.a
W.8.9.b
W.8.10

Next

Define and articulate the differences between capitalism and communism, including how they influence human behavior in society.

Lesson 1
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