Introduction

Use this Real-Life Lens Plan to help students dive deep into George Orwell’s Animal Farm and examine the book’s themes, characters, and philosophies through the lens of manipulation. How do people manipulate others? How do people get others to act against their own self-interest? How can people resist efforts to control them? Can people even trust their leaders? What lessons should people learn from this novel’s use of manipulative language and propaganda? 

Materials

Introduce the Lens

To activate students’ thinking, choose one or two of the following Real-Life Links to use in an engagement activity. Have students read or watch and discuss the content. Encourage students to jot down notes, or record class notes on the board for future reference.

Now pose the following Big Idea Questions to the class:

Why do people try to manipulate others, and how can people resist being manipulated?

How do people around you, like parents, friends, or leaders, use language to manipulate others? Do you agree with their methods? 

Engagement Activity

Have students write quick initial responses to the questions. Then discuss the questions in small groups. Encourage students to recall if they have had experience either manipulating others or being manipulated. If students cannot think of such experiences, ask them to reflect on their own families. For example, how do their parents or guardians get them to do unwelcome activities like cleaning their room, or how do they themselves convince younger siblings to do what they say? After groups have concluded their discussions, ask them to share their experiences with manipulation with the class. Have students keep their answers to the questions, along with any notes from the discussions, to help them as they read Animal Farm. 

CCSS

Introduce the Driving Questions

Begin by having students write their own questions about the lesson topic. Encourage them to think about the causes and results of manipulative language and behavior.

Hand out the Driving Questions Worksheet. Review the questions as a class. Students should enter initial answers to the questions as they read Animal Farm. They will revisit the questions and revise their answers following the lesson activities, classroom discussion, and completion of the text. Remind students to support their responses with text evidence.

Integrate the Driving Questions into your classroom discussions. Use them to help guide students’ thinking about the Big Idea Questions. 

1. How does Old Major encourage the other animals to support his dream? What actions does he hope they will take?

2. How do the pigs use their superior intellect to advance their own position on the farm? Why don’t the other animals resist?

3. How does Squealer use language to convince the other animals that what the pigs do is always right?

4. Why would the animals believe Squealer when he tells them things that conflict with what they have seen with their own eyes?

5. What does Napoleon hope to achieve with the mass executions? Is he successful?

6. How does Boxer’s fate illustrate the difference between what the pigs say and what they do?

7. How do the pigs manipulate the seven commandments of Animalism, and why?

CCSS

Introduce the "Through the Lens" Activity

In this activity, students will participate in a mock election for class president with “candidates” implementing different verbal strategies to get students to vote for them.

Before students begin the activity, write out these six different categories of campaign strategy on slips of paper: making promises, putting down your opponent, sharing relevant experiences, creating a memorable campaign slogan, focusing on an important issue, and telling your personal story.

Have six volunteers take on the role of candidate for class president. Tell them they must try to win the votes of their fellow students using only the campaign strategy assigned to them. Hand each volunteer a slip of paper with a campaign strategy, and then give them a few minutes to jot down a five-sentence campaign speech. Then have students come to the front of the room and give their speeches to the class. 

After all candidates have spoken, use a show of hands to see who “won” the election. Call on volunteers to explain why they voted for their candidate. Encourage students to identify the campaign strategies during the discussion. Ask such questions as: Which campaign strategies made you want to vote for a candidate? Which campaign strategies made you dislike a candidate? Whose speech or slogan was most persuasive and why? 

Before moving on, explain that while reading Animal Farm, students will explore Orwell’s ideas about how people use language and strategies to manipulate, persuade, and control others.

CCSS

Differentiated Instruction

This activity can be modified to help all students access learning.
Decrease difficulty

Provide students with a brief prewritten speech that utilizes the different verbal campaign strategies. Candidates can then give their assigned speech instead of writing their own. After all students have presented, call on individuals to share who they voted for and why. Help students identify each campaign strategy and lead a discussion about why it is effective or ineffective.

Scripts are provided: 

“If I’m elected, I promise to listen to you and speak up for you.” (Strategy: making promises)

“As a member of the student council, I’m confident I have the experience to bring great changes to our school.” (Strategy: sharing relevant experiences)

“Most of you already know me from my role as Yearbook Photographer—who could forget me jumping out of bushes to get that perfect shot! But now, I want to be your class president.” (Strategy: telling your personal story)

“Vote for me instead of Cheri—we all remember what a disaster Junior Prom was when Cheri was in charge of it!” (Strategy: putting down opponent)

“We all want to have better food in the cafeteria, and as your president, I will make that my number one priority.” (Strategy: focusing on an important issue)

“Vote for me, I’m the right choice! Vote for me, I’ll be your voice!” (Strategy: creating a memorable campaign slogan)

Increase difficulty

Broaden the discussion to include manipulation in consumer advertising. Share popular product slogans (for example, “Just do it!”—Nike, or “I’m lovin’ it”—McDonald’s) or notable celebrity endorsements (for example, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson for Under Armour or Steph Curry for Coca-Cola). Encourage students to share their thoughts about how advertisers use these and other tactics to convince consumers to purchase items they may not need.

Introduce the Final Project

Before moving on, introduce the final projects to the class (see below for details). Have students choose the project they will complete and encourage them to keep their project in mind as they read the text. Facilitate the formation of project groups if necessary.

Assign the Midpoint Activities

Activity 1: Napoleon vs. Snowball

After reading through Chapter V, students will compare and contrast the relative strengths of Napoleon and Snowball based on their goals, message, and relationships with the other animals. 

Have students look through the text and take notes detailing Napoleon’s and Snowball’s different goals for the farm and their methods for achieving these goals. Tell students to pay attention to their actual words, their communication style, their support among the other animals, and their actions. 

Then put students in small groups to analyze what the pigs’ language and actions tell about them. Prompt their analyses with questions like: Are Napoleon and Snowball well liked by the other animals? Do they present their ideas so the less-educated or dumber animals can understand them? Do they want to make life better for all the animals? What characteristics does each pig demonstrate? 

Once students have completed this group discussion, assign each student the role of either Napoleon or Snowball. In their assigned role, students should write a short campaign speech—no more than two paragraphs—in which they share why they think they would be the stronger leader for the farm. (Remind students that just because Napoleon has run Snowball from the farm does not mean he makes a better leader.)

CCSS

Differentiated Instruction

This activity can be modified to help all students access learning.
Decrease difficulty

Pair students and assign each person to look through the text for information about either Snowball or Napoleon. Students can then share the information they have gathered to complete the information for both pigs. If it is helpful, assign pairs the same role and have them co-write their campaign speech.

Increase difficulty

Gather the Snowballs into one group and the Napoleons into another group. Have teams debate one another to prove why they would make the better leader. After the debate is completed, ask students to objectively decide which side won.

Activity 2: Old Major’s Dream

Students will relate Old Major’s speech in Chapter I to the Rebellion and its aftermath as detailed in the first half of the book. Students will:

-Read through Old Major’s speech and, in their notebooks, summarize his main points and list his key aspirations for the animals on the farm.

-Consult the text to help determine if the animals achieve these key aspirations and take notes on their findings.

Then, working in small groups, have students discuss the extent to which the animals stay true to Old Major’s ideals. Prompt discussion with the following questions:

-Why does Old Major have such an impact on the farm even after his death? 

-How do the pigs use the principles presented by Old Major to create the new farm government? 

-How do the pigs weaken Old Major’s idealistic vision to gain and exert authority over the other animals?

After the discussion, take a vote to see how many students believe that the animals have created Old Major’s dream society and how many students believe that the animals have been manipulated into enacting a different type of society.

CCSS

Differentiated Instruction

This activity can be modified to help all students access learning.
Decrease difficulty

Organize students into small groups to perform the close read of Old Major’s speech. 

For the first step, each student should take responsibility for reading and summarizing one or two paragraphs and then sharing their work with the others. Groups can create a list of Old Major’s key aspirations together.

For the second step of determining whether the animals have achieved these key aspirations, divide Chapters II through V among group members. Assign each member a smaller chunk of text to be responsible for reading. Members will share their findings with others. 

Increase difficulty

Tell students to imagine they are Old Major responding to what the animals have accomplished—or failed to accomplish—on the farm. Their job is to write a second speech to convince the animals to completely fulfill Old Major’s dream. Before they begin writing, have students research propaganda techniques and choose one method to use in their speech.

Final Projects

Students will work on their final projects after they have finished reading the complete text of Animal Farm. The first project calls for small groups, while the second project can be completed by students working individually. 

Final Project 1: Social Control on Animal Farm

Students will analyze how Napoleon and his supporters use language, propaganda, and action to manipulate and control the rest of the animals. Students will work in small groups.

Students will first learn about propaganda through the What Is Propaganda? Worksheet. Pass out the worksheet. Review the introductory paragraph with students, and then have them work in their small groups to find examples of each propaganda technique from the text of Animal Farm.

Have each group present their findings to the class.

Next, have groups revisit Animal Farm to find and note down:

-Examples of propaganda that influence the “lower” animals’ opinions and behavior.

-Other examples of persuasive or manipulative language that impact the “lower” animals. 

-Examples of actions the pigs and dogs take to keep the other animals under the pigs’ control.

Have each group present their findings to the class.

Finally, have each small group create a multimedia presentation that highlights, explains, and evaluates the different methods used by Napoleon and his supporters. Groups can choose any format you deem appropriate, such as presentation software, video, etc.

Students can present their multimedia presentations with the class.

CCSS

Differentiated Instruction

This activity can be modified to help all students access learning.
Decrease difficulty

Work as a class to find examples of propaganda, manipulative language, and manipulative behaviors in Animal Farm.

Review the definition of propaganda and the different types of propaganda as detailed in the worksheet. Remind students that manipulative language and behavior may be represented in the same scene.

Then read Chapter VII aloud, asking students to point out examples of propaganda or manipulative language or behavior as they hear it. Record students’ observations on the board. Examples abound in this chapter. 

For propaganda: calling one another “comrade” (plain folks); blaming Snowball for everything that goes wrong on the farm (scapegoating); Boxer saying, “I will work harder!” (repetition); labeling Snowball a “traitor” (name calling); altering Snowball’s role in the Battle of the Cowshed (gaslighting); holding public executions (fear).

For manipulative language and behavior: Napoleon’s use of Mr. Whymper to spread a positive message about Animal Farm, the behavior of the dogs when the chickens refuse to lay eggs, the animals’ confessions before their executions and the executions themselves, and the ban on Beasts of England. 

Increase difficulty

Have groups conduct research to find real-life examples representing the six types of propaganda from the worksheet. Students can include these examples in their multimedia presentations.

Final Project 2: Squealer’s Speeches

Students will study Squealer’s words to understand how he uses language as a weapon against the other animals. Because of his words, they accept Napoleon’s rule, act against their own self-interest, deny what they have seen with their own eyes, and scapegoat Snowball. Working individually, students will: 

  • -Locate Squealer’s speeches and conversations in the text (both in dialogue form and paraphrased form). 

  • -Read each passage and take notes on: how Squealer uses different types of manipulative and deceptive language; how Squealer uses language to achieve goals for Napoleon and the pigs as a ruling class; how Squealer escalates his attacks against Snowball; and why they believe the animals are susceptible to Squealer’s verbal tactics.


Once students have analyzed Squealer’s speeches, they will create a rebuttal from the point of view of any other animal but Squealer on the farm. Rebuttals may take any form of students’ choosing—perhaps speeches, posters, advertisements, videos, or songs. Remind students to use their own persuasive, manipulative language in their rebuttals. 

Have students present their rebuttals to the class or to small groups.

Differentiated Instruction

This activity can be modified to help all students access learning.
Decrease difficulty

Have volunteers read Squealer’s speeches and conversations with the animals aloud. (Speeches and conversations, both in dialogue form and paraphrased, are found on pages 55–56, 57–58, 67, 79–80, 81–82, 88, 105, and 124). After each speech, work as a class to identify how Squealer uses manipulative language, creates an alternate reality, and escalates his attacks. Record students’ ideas on the board. Then discuss why the animals believe Squealer. Have students take notes in their notebooks throughout the class discussion so they can complete the rebuttal on their own.

Increase difficulty

Have students work in pairs to create an “ad campaign” against Squealer. Ad campaigns should include a written rebuttal and at least one other type of media.

Assess the Assignments

Use the Rubric for Student Assessment to evaluate student work on the lesson assignments.

Distribute the Student Reflection Worksheet. Guide students through the self-assessment and reflection questions.

Contents Downloads
Introduction Materials Introduce the Lens Introduce the Driving Questions Introduce the "Through the Lens" Activity Introduce the Final Project Assign the Midpoint Activities Final Projects Assess the Assignments