Terms

Satire

Satire is a genre of literature and performing arts, usually fiction and less frequently in non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, corporations, government, or society itself into improvement. Wikipedia.

1. Do a Google search using, "Satirical Cartoon". Choose one you enjoy.

2. Read the following The New Yorker Satirical Cartoon article.

3. Describe a satirical cartoon, based on school, that you would draw.

Irony

Irony, in its broadest sense, is a rhetorical device, literary technique, or event in which what appears, on the surface, to be the case or to be expected differs radically from what is actually the case. Irony can be categorized into different types, including verbal irony, dramatic irony, and situational irony. Wikipedia.

1. Do a Google search using, "Irony Cartoon". Choose one you enjoy.

2. Describe an ironical cartoon, based on school, that you would draw.

Allegory

As a literary device, an allegory is a narrative in which a character, place, or event is used to deliver a broader message about real-world issues and occurrences. Wikipedia

Fable

Fable is a literary genre: a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are anthropomorphized, and that illustrates or leads to a particular moral lesson (a "moral"), which may at the end be added explicitly as a concise maxim or saying. Wikipedia

1. Think of a childhood fable. What was it, and what is the moral lesson?

Dictatorship

A dictatorship is a form of government characterized by a single leader or group of leaders and little or no toleration for political pluralism or independent programs or media. Wikipedia

Animal Farm by George Orwell

A PDF of Animal Farm is located in our Google Classroom.

You can read this edition of George Orwell's Animal Farm directly from your browser, or from your Chrome browser, choose print, then change it to a PDF to read it anywhere without an internet connection. It comes from Project Gutenberg Canada. Animal Farm from Project Gutenberg Canada.

Reading Schedule

Starting on the first day you begin this unit, you will need to read 3 chapters a day of Animal Farm.

There are 2 ways to do this:

1. Preread the Reading Questions. As you read the 3 chapters, stop and jot down your answer.

2. Don't preread the Reading Questions, read three chapters then answer the questions in sequential order.

If you cannot answer the Reading Questions, then it might be a good idea to:

1. Stop.

2. Start the chapter again.

3. Identify if your issue is a based on the plot or an idea in the plot.

4. If you can't answer plot based questions, you should go back and start again with the previous chapter, and look at your answers.

5. If you can't answer idea based questions, refresh your understanding of the terms I gave you at the beginning of this unit.

Animal Farm Reading Questions

Answer these questions in your notebook. We will take them up together. You need textual support (a quote with a page number) for your answer to be complete.

Chapter 1

1. What is significant about how the animals arrange themselves as they gather to hear Major? What might this arrangement say about future meetings or events?

2. According to Major, what is the cause of all the animals’ problems?

3. What motto does Major give the animals?

4. What are the commandments Major gives the animals? Can you think of ways each of them could be considered a vice?

5. Examine the song “Beasts of England” as poetry. What imagery is present? What is the message? Why do the animals like it so much that they memorize it on the spot? To what emotions and needs does it appeal?

Chapter 2

1. After Major’s death what happens to the idea of rebelling against man?

2. Why don’t the pigs like the pet raven Moses’ stories about Sugarcandy Mountain?

3. What causes the animals to finally rebel against Mr. Jones and his four farmhands?

4. When the humans have been chased from the farm, what do the animals do?

5. What do the animals do about the farmhouse?

6. How does the behaviour of the pigs foreshadow their eventual leadership positions?

Chapters 3 and 4

1. What further examples of the difference between the pigs and the other animals occur in these two chapters?

2. What are Napoleon’s ideas about education?

3. How is Squealer able to convince the other animals to accept whatever Napoleon decides?

4. Describe the Battle of the Cowshed.

5. What was Snowball’s part in this battle?

6. Where is Napoleon during the battle?

7. What is the significance of the gun’s placement at the foot of the flagpole?

Chapter 5

1. Why does Mollie run away from the farm?

2. What changes have been made in the weekly meetings over the last year?

3. Explain the windmill controversy from Snowball’s point of view.

4. Explain the windmill controversy from Napoleon’s point of view.

5. What changes does Napoleon make after his dogs chase Snowball off the farm?

6. Why don’t the other animals protest Napoleon’s decisions?

7. Note how the animals now arrange themselves when they enter the barn to receive their orders as compared to the description in Chapter I.

8. What is the importance of the dogs accompanying Squealer when he comes to talk to the animals?

Chapters 6 and 7

1. How much work are the animals now doing?

2. Why does Napoleon decide to engage in trade with neighbouring farms?

3. How do the animals react?

4. How is the windmill destroyed? Why does Napoleon blame Snowball?

5. Why does Napoleon insist the windmill must be rebuilt immediately?

6. Why does Napoleon order that the hens’ eggs be sold?

7. How does Napoleon react when the hens’ rebel against his orders?

8. Why does Napoleon revive the threat of the farm being sabotaged by Snowball?

9. Explain why the animals confessed to being traitors. Or is there any explanation?

10. Why does Napoleon order the animals to stop singing “Beasts of England?”

Chapters 8 and 9

1. What purpose is served by the production figures Squealer reads to the animals?

2. How is Napoleon becoming more and more like a typical dictator?

3. Compare/contrast the poem “Comrade Napoleon” to “Beast of England.”

4. Describe the sale of the stack of lumber. How does Napoleon outwit himself?

5. What makes the battle against Frederick’s men different from the Battle of the Cowshed?

6. Why do the men blow up the windmill?

7. The animals celebrate a victory, but at what cost?

8. What do the pigs decide isn't too bad? How do they plan to make more?

9. Why are the animals so easily fooled, even when they find Squealer with a ladder and white paint beside the barn at night?

10. What is happening to Boxer?

11. What are living conditions like for all of the animals except the pigs and dogs?

12. Why does Napoleon allow Moses to return and to tell his stories about Sugarcandy Mountain?

13. What happens to Boxer? How do the animals accept it?

14. Of what kind of person does Benjamin remind you? Give some examples. What is your opinion of such people? What makes people behave this way?

Chapter 10

1. What changes have the years brought to the farm?

2. How does Orwell make fun of bureaucracy?

3. How do the animals now feel about their social order, their farm?

4. What drastic actions do the pigs use to shatter the animals’ complacency?

5. All seven commandments are erased. What is the new commandment and how has it been true from the beginning?

6. At the conference with neighbouring farmers, what new changes does Napoleon point out?

7. What happens to the pigs’ appearance?

Information Report Assignment - Animal Farm

Becoming familiar with using an approved digital research sources is important for grade 12 and university.

3 Types of Sources

In the following section I will refer to the student as, "you". The term "text" denotes a story, novel, play, poem or article.

Primary Source

• In grades 9 - 12 English, you read the author or poet's text, this is your primary source.

• Your teacher wants to evaluate what you've understood from a given text.

• Teachers will ask you to write your reflections or essays based on ONLY this primary source.

• In Grades 9 - 11 English , the arguments in your essays are usually (exclusively) supported with direct quotations from the text. Grade 12 English class may have the same expectations.

• Scholars use primary sources to write and publish secondary sources.

Secondary Source

• Research based, peer reviewed academic or scientific writing. It is a focused understanding of a specific idea, event or text.

• Stored in journals or non-fiction books which are retrieved physically or digitally.

• In Grades 11-12, your teacher may specifically ask you to:

  • find a list of secondary sources for a research paper

  • write an annotated bibliography, which allows you to evaluate and order your sources

  • write an essay based on a primary source, where you incorporate a secondary source as proof for your arguments

  • write an information (History, Geography, English, Science) or business report (Marketing, Business)

• High school teachers will let you know if secondary sources are required.

Tertiary Source

• This is a summary or a synthesis of an idea, event or text. It is a broad understanding of a large or small idea, event or text.

• The writing is based on secondary and primary sources.

• An introduction to the idea of research: Textbooks, topic specific research books, virtual or physical encyclopedias.

• An introduction to how a library functions.

• An introduction to the idea of multiple sources of information.

• Beginning in middle elementary school and ranging until grades 9 - 10 (usually subject specific: History, Geography, Science).

• High school teachers typically do not want you to use a tertiary source unless you are instructed to.

• The unfortunate misunderstanding is that teachers don't want you to use Wikipedia because it is freely editable. Wikipedia has an interesting page dealing with this called, Wikipedia is not a reliable source. Usually, the reason that teachers don't want you using it is because you are reading a summary of an idea, event or text.

Wikipedia (tertiary) is not an approved digital research source for this assignment- BUT IT CAN HELP YOU BRAINSTORM.

In this unit, you will learn how to:

• research a topic using an approved digital source

• select appropriate information

• write an information report

Notes for writing a report are found on the Writing page.

Take a look at both the Information Report Template and a completed Information Report Template before you start the assignment.

Wikipedia (tertiary) is NOT an approved digital research source for this assignment- BUT IT CAN HELP YOU BRAINSTORM

Assignment

Research an approved topic using approved sources and write an information report based on the planner and structure provided using MLA. Your writing style should be objective, informative, formal, focused and factual. You will need to add 1 additional paragraph to the report where you link your research to the novel. Please see structure for details. Review the researching, paraphrasing and summarizing activity. You will need to have direct quotes, paraphrased information and summaries of information from your research sources throughout your report. Direct quotes from the novel should appear in the "how does your novel link to your research" paragraph, as well as the introduction and conclusion. Depending on the structure of your subtopics, you can also have direct quotes from the novel. Don't forget that showing research from a variety of sources is important. Remember that even though MLA and by extension the "how does the novel link to the research" paragraph are written in the present tense, you will have to write in the past tense when dealing with historical figures and events.

Sources

Encyclopedia Britannica

• Password located in library Google Classroom 3. Encyclopedias

• Good overview

• Citation tool at the top of the article

GALE Secondary General Databases

• Password located in library Google Classroom 2.a Databases

• Can be very specific, consider using:

  • GALE General OneFile (General Reference Center Gold)

• Citation tool located at the bottom of the article

InfoBase

• Password located in library Google Classroom 4. eBooks - non-fiction and fiction

• Returns chapters of Textbooks or eBooks

• Citation tool at the top of the article

Passwords are in our Google Classroom and the school Library's Google Classroom.

Wikipedia (tertiary) is NOT an approved digital research source for this assignment- BUT IT CAN HELP YOU BRAINSTORM

Topics

• Joseph Stalin

• Leon Trotsky

• Vladimir Lenin

• Tsar Nicholas II / Expulsion of the Tsar

• Russian Revolution

• Bolsheviks

• Proletariat

• The Great Purge

• Non-Aggression Pact of 1939

• Anglo-Soviet Treaty of 1942

• Tehran Conference

• Hitler’s Invasion of Soviet Union in 1941

• Industrialization in the Soviet Union

Structure

Your report needs one additional paragraph where you explain how your topic relates to the novel. Your writing style should be objective, informative, formal, focused and factual. Support your sub-topics with direct quotes from the approved sources. Paraphrase and summarize properly.

1. Introduction

2. Sub-Topic 1

3. Sub-Topic 2

4. Sub-Topic 3

5. How does your Topic relate to the novel * THIS IS THE ADDITIONAL PARAGRAPH*

6. Conclusion

7. Work(s) Cited. Remember that the databases will build citations for you.

Submit this assignment to our Google Classroom

How to Access Encyclopedia Britannica

I will show you in class, but if you forget, there is an animation below.

Remember:

• You can save the article by printing it to a PDF.

• You can listen to the article.

• You can double-click any word for a definition.

• You can Find related articles, images and videos.