Here are possible lessons to use in the third week of reading the novel, Animal Farm.  These lessons correspond with chapters 8-10, as well as addressing the novel as a whole.  They may be used to break up in-class reading or to supplement students' independent reading.  Each lesson can be altered to better fit ability and skill levels, as well as differing class schedules.

Lesson Five: Animal Farm as a Fable

Animal Farm is a fable that uses animal characters to represent different types of people.  The novel also has a clear moral to the story. 

By reading some of Aesop's Fables and the morals that fit each tale, students will begin to make the connection to the novel.  Students will respond to questions asking them to think about this connection and to formulate an idea for the moral of Animal Farm. 

     Materials Needed:

     Procedures:

1. Students will access the site for Aesop's Fables, which has a collection of 86 different tales.

2. Students will choose any three tales to read.  They will print the tales out and respond to the following questions for each: Explain the moral of each tale; What kind of animals are the characters?  Why is it more effective to use animal characters rather than human ones?  How can this moral be applied to life?

3. Students will compare the fables to Animal Farm and respond to the following:  1. Compare the fables to Animal Farm. In what ways are they alike?  Different?  2. What is the moral of Animal Farm?  Explain.  3. Why was it more effective for Orwell to use animal characters rather than human ones?

     Evaluation:

This assignment is worth 30 points.  Each question answered is worth a total of 5 points each, for the attempt to make a reasonable response.

Lesson Six: Character Profile

 By the last chapters of the novel, students should have developed a good understanding of each of the major characters.  At this point it will be important for them to review the role and importance of each character in the events on Animal Farm.

Students will choose one of the major characters and complete a character profile on him/her.

     Materials:

     Procedures:

1. Students will choose one of the following character for the profile: Napoleon, Snowball, Boxer, Mollie, Benjamin, Squealer

2. Students will look through their novels for details about the character's personality, actions, and general importance in the novel.

3. Students will use Microsoft Word to create a visual character profile.  For their profile they must include: a graphic image to represent the character, details about the characters personality, explanation of the character's role and importance on the farm.

4. Students will share their work in class to review for the test.

     Evaluation:

Assignment is worth a total of 30 points.  Breakdown of points is as follows:

30 points: Includes image of the character, has all required information, and all information is clearly presented and is correct.

20 points: Includes image of the character, has most of the required information, and most of the information is clearly presented and is correct.

10 points: Includes image of the character, has some of the required information, and some of the information is clearly presented and is correct.

9 or fewer points: Little or no effort and little to no information presented about the character.

Culminating Activity: Animal Farm Newsletter

To review the events and characters in the novel, students will create their own newsletter in Microsoft Publisher.  They will work in small groups, reviewing the content of the novel as well as creating a finished product using technology.

The newsletter will report on important events from the novel and may present the information in the form of news articles, editorials, classified ads, comics, or interviews.  Newsletters will include related graphics and pictures also.

     Materials:

1. Open Microsoft Publisher.  To get started, choose New from a design: Publications for Print.

2. Click again on Publications for Print.  You will now see a list of options for different print publications.  Scroll down until you get to “Newsletters” and click on Newsletters.

3. You will see options for different styles of newsletters, starting with the “Accent Box Newsletter”.  Scroll down the page to view the different options and choose a style for your newsletter by clicking on it with the mouse.

Your second formatting decision is called “Newsletter Options”.  Choose the two-sided printing and “none” for the customer address, as shown.  Do not make any other changes to formatting.

4. You will want to increase the size of the view of your page so that you can see your work more easily.  The page will be set at 28% of the normal viewing.  You will want to choose a view from 50% to 100% to view your work.

5. Begin changing the content of your newsletter by clicking on the Newsletter Title box.  The “Newsletter Title” heading will be highlighted in a different color.  Type in your new title for the newsletter.

6. Next change the content of the boxes immediately under the title box.  Circles appear around the box when you click on it.  You can type whatever content you wish here.  There is one box for the date, which you can use for the due date of the newsletter.  If you wish to delete a box, simply hit the “Backspace” key on the keyboard once it is highlighted.

7. Next, change the “Lead Story Headline” for your first article.  Click in the box and the text will be highlighted.  Type in your first story headline.

8. Next change the text of the article.  By clicking on the box below the Lead Story Headline, you highlight the entire text area of your first article.  By hitting the “Backspace” button on your keyboard, you will erase the text and have the blank space to fill.

9. Once you have completed typing in your first article, you should replace the given image with one that fits your article’s content.  Click on the image to select it.

You may replace this image by inserting Clip Art.  Go to Insert at the top of the page and choose “Picture” and “Clip Art”.

Since the school computers do not have many images downloaded, you will probably need to search the Clip Art on Office Online link.

10. Type in a search subject like “farm animals” to find the type of images you want.  You can hit the “Next” link at the top of each page to search through all of the files found.  When you decide on an image, click on it and choose the copy command as shown below.

When you go back to your newsletter document, right click on the page and select the “Paste” command.  Your image will not be placed as the exact size or in the exact position, so you will have to alter it.  Place your mouse arrow on a corner dot of the picture.  When you see a two-sided arrow appear, you can hold down your mouse and move it toward the opposite corner of the  picture to shrink its size. 

To move the entire picture to the desired location, place the mouse arrow on the edge of the picture until you get the four-sided arrow.  Then drag the picture into place.

Click on the text box below the picture to type in your own caption.

11.  Change the image next to your newsletter title.  Double right-click on the image and choose “Change Picture”.  Most likely, you will choose “Clip Art” and search the online index of clips for your image.  Repeat steps for #10 to place your image.

12. Select the text box below the image and type the names of all group members involved.

13. Complete changes for the second article as you did for the first.  This article does not require images.

14.  When you have completed the above changes, you should move onto the second page of your newsletter.  The first page is not complete yet, but you cannot complete the table of contents until you finish the entire newsletter.  Click on page 2 at the bottom of the page.

15. Pages 2 and 3 will be displayed side by side.  Complete one page at a time.  Change the text and pictures on Page 2 just as you did on Page 1. The only difference is with the second article, which includes a space for a quote from the article, instead of an image.  Once you have typed the article, click on this quote box to highlight it.  Then, type in a line from your article.

16. When you have completed Page 2 and Page 3, click onto Page 4 at the bottom of your screen.

You will complete a final article for the bottom of Page 4 as you did for the previous pages.  At the top of Page 4, select the text boxes on the left side of the page and include: class name, bell #, date, and a list of resources you used to help create the newsletter, including the novel and the computer programs you used.

17. On the right-hand side of the page, you should include personal comments from each group member on what s/he learned from creating the newsletter.

18.  In any space left on this last page, insert images or text to add to the visual appeal of your newsletter.

19.  Now, it’s time to complete the table of contents.  Click on the Page 1 link at the bottom of the page.

On Page 1, click on the text boxes for the section titled “Inside this Issue”. Click on and highlight each “Inside Story” text and change to the titles of your articles.  Change the pages as they correspond to the articles.

20. The last part to change will be the “Special points of Interest” box below the table of contents.  Click on this box to highlight the contents.  Here you can list the types of articles you have or type facts about Animal Farm.  Use this box however you wish, just be sure not to leave it blank.  When you have completed all the parts of your newsletter, print it out, staple it if needed, and turn it in.

     Procedures:

1. Allow students to choose a partner or a group of three to work with on the newsletter.

2. Distribute handout and explain assignment to students.  They should understand that the purpose of the assignment is to both review the story and to produce a newsletter using Microsoft Publisher.

3. Allow students 1-2 class periods to plan the contents of their newsletter. 

4. Allow students 2-3 days (or longer, as needed) to complete the newsletter by following the instruction sheet on their assignment handout.

5. Have students share newsletters with the class.  This may be done by presentations, by displaying them in the classroom, or by having students share them by combining small groups.

     Evaluation:

Project is worth a total of 50 points (half of a test grade) based on following the directions, including the necessary plot elements, and making an effort to create a newsletter with style.  Use Newsletter Evaluation Rubric to determine points.

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This site was last updated 11/26/04