Abusing Power: Animal Farm and Wicked History

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

“Communism”
“What Is Capitalism?”

Standards

RI.8.1RI.8.3

Explain the events, ideas, and social conditions that began to shape Stalin's behavior and beliefs about the world.

Joseph Stalin (A Wicked History) pp. 1–31

Standards

RI.8.2RI.8.3

Identify the people, events, ideas, and social conditions that led to the Russian Revolution, and explain Stalin's role in the establishment of a new communist society and government.

Joseph Stalin (A Wicked History) — Chapters 4–6 (pp. 32–49)

Standards

RI.8.2RI.8.3

Identify an author's perspective in a nonfiction text and explain the various techniques authors use to establish their perspectives.

Joseph Stalin (A Wicked History) — Chapters 1–6
“Excerpts from The Stalin Era” — (excerpt from Chapter 1)

Standards

RI.8.1RI.8.6

Explain the purpose of Stalin's Five-Year Plan, its impact on the people of the Soviet Union, and how author McCollum uses specific text features to develop key ideas about this time period.

Joseph Stalin (A Wicked History) — Chapters 7–9 (pp. 52–67)

Standards

RI.8.2RI.8.5

Define propaganda and gather evidence about a specific propaganda technique in preparation for creating an informational poster.

Standards

RI.8.2W.8.2W.8.9

Draft a paragraph and create a poster that informs classmates about a propaganda technique.

Standards

W.8.2W.8.2.aW.8.2.bW.8.5

Identify examples of propaganda and explain how Stalin used them to control the people of the Soviet Union.

Joseph Stalin (A Wicked History) pp. 68–89 — Chapters 10–12

Standards

RI.8.2RI.8.3

Determine the central idea of individual chapters of Joseph Stalin (A Wicked History) and the text overall, and explain how the author’s purpose for writing contributes to how he develops and supports these ideas.

Joseph Stalin (A Wicked History) — Chapters 1–12

Standards

RI.8.2RI.8.6

Explain how Orwell uses descriptive language to develop Old Major's perspective and make connections between Old Major's speech and real-world economic systems.

Animal Farm — Chapter 1 (pp. 3–14)

Standards

RL.8.2RL.8.4

Identify specific events and lines of dialogue that reveal character traits, and explain the impact of events on the plot of Animal Farm.

Animal Farm — Chapter 2 (pp. 15–26)

Standards

RL.8.3

Identify the actions that various animals take to develop, support, and defend Animal Farm, and explain what these actions reveal about their characters.

Animal Farm pp. 27–44 — Chapters 3–4

Standards

RL.8.3RL.8.6

Explain how George Orwell has interpreted individuals and events from the Russian Revolution and portrayed them in his allegorical text, Animal Farm.

Animal Farm pp. 45–58 — Chapter 5
Joseph Stalin (A Wicked History) — Chapter 6 (pp. 44–49) & Chapter 7 (pp. 52–56)

Standards

RI.8.1RL.8.1RL.8.3

Explain how the pigs use propaganda techniques to manipulate the other animals and how Orwell reveals this to the reader.

Animal Farm pp. 59–71 — Chapter 6

Standards

RL.8.4RL.8.6

Explain how George Orwell interpreted the events of the Russian Revolution and Stalin's regime and portrayed them in the allegorical text, Animal Farm.

Animal Farm pp. 73–89 — Chapter 7
Joseph Stalin (A Wicked History) pp. 52–82 — Chapters 7–12

Standards

RI.8.1RL.8.1RL.8.3

Explain how the relationship between the pigs and the principles of Animal Farm has changed, and how Orwell uses dramatic irony to convey this change.

Animal Farm pp. 91–109 — Chapter 8
Joseph Stalin (A Wicked History) pp. 68–72 — Chapter 10

Standards

RL.8.3RL.8.6

Explain how the pigs use language and propaganda to continue manipulating the other animals, and analyze the effect of this manipulation on both the characters and the reader.

Animal Farm pp. 111–126 — Chapter 9

Standards

RL.8.3RL.8.4RL.8.6

Explain the significance of specific lines and events in Animal Farm and what they reveal about characters and the plot.

Animal Farm pp. 127–141 — Chapter 10

Standards

RL.8.3RL.8.4

Utilize historical context and analysis of propaganda to draw conclusions about Orwell's purpose for writing Animal Farm.

Animal Farm pp. 6–11
Joseph Stalin (A Wicked History) — p. 27; pp. 70–72

Standards

RI.8.6RL.8.2RL.8.6

Identify places where the film version of Animal Farm differs from the original text and evaluate the choices made by the filmmakers.

Animal Farm pp. 3–26 — Chapters 1–2
Animal Farm — 0:35–23:30

Standards

RL.8.7

Identify places where the film version of Animal Farm differs from the original text and evaluate the choices made by the filmmakers.

Animal Farm pp. 27–71 — Chapters 3–6
Animal Farm — (22:30–44:47)

Standards

RL.8.7

Unpack a narrative writing prompt, study a Mentor Text, and begin to outline their "rewrites."

Standards

RL.8.2W.8.3W.8.5

Complete a full draft of narrative "rewrites."

Standards

W.8.3W.8.3.aW.8.3.dW.8.3.e

Engage in peer feedback with a partner and present narratives to the class.

Standards

SL.8.4W.8.3W.8.5

Identify places where the film version of Animal Farm differs from the original text and evaluate the choices made by the filmmakers.

Animal Farm pp. 73–141 — Chapter 7–end
Animal Farm — 44:47–end

Standards

RL.8.7

Socratic Seminar

Demonstrate a deep understanding of the texts and topics in a Socratic Seminar by posing and responding to questions and providing evidence to support ideas.