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CURRICULUM
GUIDE
Unit Title: Animal Farm: Anatomy of a
Revolution
Grade Levels: 7 - 8
Subject/Topic Areas: Orwell's Animal Farm and the
nature of revolution
Key Words: Animal Farm, poetry, literature,
revolution, totalitarianism, tryranny
Unit Designers: Mary Ann Cusack, Lesley Bannatyne
Time Frame: Six weeks
Created at the Morse School, Cambridge.
Link to Massachusetts Standards:
Language Arts #1(discussion), #2 (questioning, listening,
contributing), #3 (oral presentation), #4 (vocabulary &
concept development), #8 (understanidng a text), #9 (making
connections), #12 (fiction), #18 (dramatic reading and
performance), #20 (consideration of audience and purpose);
Arts: Theater #1 (acting), #2 (reading and writing scripts)
#5 (critical response)
Brief Summary of Unit (including what students
will understand as a result of this unit)
George Orwell's Animal Farm seems to be a fairy tale about a
group of farm animals who attempt to establish a perfect
society, or Utopia. However, the characters in the book are
stand-ins for revolutionary figures and members of social
and political groups involved in the Russian Revolution and
the novel communicates Orwell's negative feelings about a
government that exploits and abuses people. Students will
create a dramatic performance in order to understand the
causes and casualties of revolution in any culture.
Drama Strategies
Character research and study
Warmup improvisation exercises to help students explore
animal behavior, vocal patterns and character traits
Journal writing: oral presentation of journal writing
Performance of poetry
Choreographing small groups
Mock election and campaign (oral presentation/debate)
Key Concepts (What statement(s) clearly expresses
what I want students to know and understand?)
Revolution occurs when certain circumstances push people
past the point of complacency and into action. These
circumstances occur across cultures and throughout time. By
giving human traits to different barnyard animals in Animal
Farm&emdash;leaders, followers, those who want to keep the
status quo, those who drop out&emdash;we can understand both
the causes of revolution and how revolution affects people
in varying social classes.
Essential Questions (What specific questions will
guide this unit and focus teaching and learning?)
• What causes people to rise up and rebel?
• What prevailing conditions cause revolt?
• What is the nature of power and how do people
get it, take and use or abuse it?
• What are the stages of a revolution and how
does Animal Farm follow this formula?
• What are the qualities of a good leader?
• How does revolution affect individuals both
rich and poor, leaders and followers?
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Students will know
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Students will be able to
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• The vocabulary of political
revolution
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• Explain in their own words what a
revolution is and what causes it
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• The meaning and use of allegory and
metaphor, simile and satire
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• Describe an author's literary and
political intentions
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• How to define and recognize
propaganda
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• Empathize with people from other times
and places; fully understand the anger, sadness,
humiliation, terror and pride that existed during
Civil War years; relate the circumstances, thoughts
and feelings of these people to their own
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• The basic dramatic elements of conflict,
character, plot, suspense, climax, protgonist,
antagonist
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• Diagram the plot of Animal Farm
• Incorporate good dramatic writing ideas in
many types of written work
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• How to assess the traits of different
characters; how to predict behaviors based on a
character's thoughts and actions
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• Articulate and defend a point of view
• Express themselves as a character in both
monologue form and in poetry
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• What elements make a good performance;
what an actor needs to do to "capture" his/her
audience
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• Construct a performance adapted from
literature that communicates a story to a younger
audience
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• How to articulate and project their
voices; how to express actions and feelings with
their bodies; how to add phrasing and
emotional/expressive qualities to speech
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• To speak clearly and be heard; act with
expression, move with confidence
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EVIDENCE OF STUDENT
UNDERSTANDING:
Summary of performance tasks and projects
• Students maintain a journal
in the persona of an animal
• Students invent a character with gesture,
speech pattern, an essential prop and a costume
piece
• Each student designs a poster that shows the
character development of their animal
• Each student creates a placard summarizing
their animal's motto
• Class holds mock election
• In groups or as individuals, students write
a poem that illustrates their animal's point of view
on the revolution
• Class produces and presents a poetry
performance that demonstrates understanding of plot,
character and acting values
Summary of quizzes, tests and prompts
• Essay prompts about content (e.g., Why
did Orwell choose specific animals with particular
personalities?)
• Journal prompts
• Worksheet:
Who would you vote for as a leader?
• Quiz: stages of a revolution
• Final test (objective paper and pencil
test)
Other Evidence (e.g., observations, work
samples and dialogues)
• Daily discussions of journal entries
• In-class warmups before acting out animal
behaviors
• Rehearsal process
• Self-assessment: What did you learn from this
unit?
• Self-assessment: How can your performance be
better?
• Observation of students involved in theater
games
• Peer critique of poetry performances both in
rehearsal and after final performance
SEQUENCE OF ACTIVITIES:
What sequence of teaching and learning experiences will
equip students to develop and demonstrate the desired
understandings?
Sequence (note: some activities listed take more
than one class session)
Summary of unit activities:
Each student takes on the role of a different animal
in the book and keeps a daily journal in which they
chronicle the thoughts and emotions of their character
chapter by chapter. Journal entries are eventually used
as research for each student's poem about their animal.
The poems are performed as part of a final theatrical
presentation, "Animal Farm: the Reunion."
1. Teacher introduces concept of revolution, stages of
revolution and vocabulary necessary to understand this (a
helpful resource is Sundance Publications' Animal
Farm Learning Guide).
2. Class begins to read Animal Farm. Over the
next four weeks, students read some in class, some as
homework. Quiz: Stages of Revolution
3. Teacher introduces symbolism found in Animal
Farm.
4. Teacher introduces animal journal: students choose
an animal in the book&emdash;either a character or a
generic barnyard animal&emdash; and imagine the feelings
and thoughts of the animal. Students write a journal
entry after each chapter reading and in-class discussion.
Teacher provides prompts for each entry. Class reads and
discusses student writing for first 15 minutes of each
subsequent class meeting. Establish regular "drama
training" time (30 minutes) each week, beginning with
vocal warm-up for improved articulation (see resources
for specific exercises).
5. Group drama activity: students make the sound of
their animal, move as they would move; take on the
character of the animal (a good resource is Bring in
the Arts, Lesson plan 4, p. 33, "People are Like
Animals.")
Homework: find a unique movement that your
animal would do. Demonstrate it for the class the
following day without sound of any kind.
6. Teacher initiates discussion about major characters
and how they change during the early stages of
revolution. Working in small groups, each chooses a
character from Animal Farm and makes a list of
that character's strengths and weaknesses at the
beginning of the book, and again after the pigs seize
control and the commandments are posted on the barn.
Discuss changes as a class.
Homework: Create a poster showing your animal
as he or she goes through a character change: how does he
or she evolve in their thinking, behavior, emotions? How
would you show this symbolic change?
7. Acting exercises: teacher helps students build
character "bodies" and voices using theater games.
Students improvise invented scenarios from Animal
Farm.
8. Students fill out worksheet, "Who would you choose
as leader?" Share work with class. Teacher introduces
mock election: students must elect a barnyard leader from
among their animals. Nominations are taken. Homework:
devise a political campaign speech for your character if
you are a leader; a support speech for another candidate
if you are not a leader.
9. Teacher gives information on propaganda. Students
work on Propaganda worksheet in class. In small groups
(one for each candidate), students devise a campaign
strategy and presentation for "election day."
10. Election day: students deliver campaign speeches
or support speeches. Class elects leader. Teacher leads
discussion on difference between democracry and
totalitarianism; between Russian Revolution/American
Revolution and present democratic nations.
11. Teacher leads discussion: how can you portray an
animal without acting like an animal; what kind of human
attributes does your animal have and how would you
portray that? Teacher leads theatre improvisation to help
students become more expressive on stage. (A good
resource is Bring in the Arts, Lesson plan 10, p.
89, "Animals - a Careful Eye.")
Homework: Bring in a prop or piece of clothing
you think defines your animal character.
12. Students watch Animal Farm video (TNT 1999
production directed by John Stevenson; available on
Amazon.com). Discuss.
Homework: write the first few lines of a poem that
expresses your animal's attitude at the beginning of
Animal Farm.
13. Teacher leads theater games; actor warmup for
articulation skills and projection. Students perform
first lines of their poem in character; peer critique.
Class brainstorms how to retell the story of Animal
Farm so that younger children can understand it; how
to sequence poems and create narrative in between
poems.
Homework: Students continue working on
poems.
14. Teacher gives information about structure of
novel. Work as a group on defining and understanding the
five stages of the plot. Students create a story pyramid
of Animal Farm (see resources).
15. In groups (all the dogs, all the cats, pairs and
trios of characters, etc.) students create a tableau of
"before" and "after" the revolution that shows their
prediction for how their animal's life will change.
Homework: Create ending of poem that
illustrates how your animal's life has changed.
16. Teachers leads theater games and actor's warmup.
Students read finished poems aloud to class; peer
critique. Students do final revision of poem.
17. Teacher leads students in development of
production; introduces sequence of events, assigns
parts.
Homework: Either create or find in the book a
motto for your animal and make a placard sign of it.
Teacher displays completed placards in classroom.
Placards are used as props in final performance.
18. Students work in small groups to choreograph their
part of the performance (pigs, dogs, etc.)
Homework: Bring in all costumes pieces and
props for your character.
19. Teacher leads articulation and vocal warmup.
Students rehearse performance with lines memorized.
20. Students perform "Animal Farm, the Reunion" for a
test audience of younger children. Ask for feedback and
discuss.
21. Students rehearse on stage; work on projection,
expression, timing. Complete self-evaluation form.
22. Students perform "Animal Farm, the Reunion" for
families and older classes.
23. Teacher gives paper and pencil unit test on
Animal Farm.
24. Teacher hands out self-assessment sheets to be
completed one-on-one with each student.
What resources are helpful and/or necessary to
accomplish this curriculum?
Books
• Novel Ideas, Sundance Publishers,
Littleton, MA
• Animal Farm Teacher Research Book,
Sundance Publishers, Littleton, MA
• 101 Theatre Games for Drama Teachers,
Classroom Teachers and Directors, Mila Johansen
(copies in CPS Dept. of Drama and Dance)
• Live on Stage! Performing Arts for Middle
School, Carla Black, Jody Roberts, Dale Seymour
Publishing, Palo Alto, CA, 1997
• Bring in the Arts. Improvisations in
Dramatics, Art, and Story Writing for Elementary and
Middle School Classrooms, Pamela Prince Walker,
Heinemann Publishing, 1993
Specifically:
p. 33 People are like animals
p. 89 Animals, a Careful Eye
websites
•
http://turnerlearning.com/tntlearning/animalfarm/
A learning guide for teachers that provides
much background info for studying Animal Farm
and viewing the film, TNT's Animal Farm.
Includes what each character represents,
background on Marx, Russia 1900-1918; Communist
Revolution; Stalin: and USSR to the present.
• TNT video, Animal Farm (1999, PG,
directed by John Stephenson).
Curriculum developed by the Department of
Drama and Dance, Cambridge Public School teachers and
Studebaker Theater artists involved with the Cambridge
Public School Drama Collaborative, a project funded in part
by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. CPSDC
is a multi-year teacher training program that helps teachers
integrate drama into the curriculum.
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