Lesson Title: Rewriting History in Animal Farm

Grade level: 9
Time Length: 50 minutes

Common Core Standards:

- CSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.1
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the
text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
- CSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.6
Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how
an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose.
- CSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.4
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development,
organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

Educational Objectives:
- The students will be able to identify instances in Animal Farm where
history is rewritten.
-The students will be able to determine the effects that rewriting history
has on the plot of Animal Farm.
-The students will be able to determine and discuss whether or not
rewriting history is ethical.
-The students will be able to use what they learn about rewriting history to
rewrite a classic fairytale to make the reader empathize with the villain.

Assessment on Learning:
- Class discussion about rewriting history in Animal Farm
-teacher will record student responses on PowerPoint questions slide
-students will have achieved the objectives if they are able to answer
the questions thoughtfully
-Rewrite of classic fairytale
 -students will write piece on a loose-leaf sheet of paper or type in a
Word document if they have their laptop with them
-students will have achieved objectives if they are able to make the
reader empathize with the villain of the classic fairytale
-teacher will use rubric to grade written pieces

Materials:
-Teacher
-projector
-laptop
-Rewriting History PowerPoint
-link to rewriting history video
-link to wheel of fairytales
-Students
-loose-leaf paper or laptop with access to Microsoft Word
-writing utensil
-Copy of Animal Farm
Vocabulary:
-George Orwell
-Ethical
-Author’s Purpose
-Infer
-Analyze
-Empathize
-Propaganda

Language Function:
-Analyze: Students will be asked to analyze Orwell’s use of rewriting history
in Animal Farm during their class discussion.
-Discourse: Students will engage in discourse when discussing rewriting
history in Animal Farm.

Anticipatory Set/ Attention Getter:

 - Play rewriting history video
-ask students what their reactions are
-what do they think of the practice of editing out certain people or
things from history.
-ask students how this connects to the novel

Sequence of Events:
1. Collect Characterization Playlist Activity from last class.
2. Anticipatory Set
3. Rewriting History PowerPoint
a. What is rewriting history?
b. How is it used in Animal Farm?
i. Effects on plot and characters
ii. when is it used?
iii. Who uses it?
iv. Is it ethical?
4. Rewriting History Activity
a. Explain instructions
i. Students will spin the online wheel to be assigned a classic
fairytale to rewrite in a way that makes the reader empathize
with the villain.
ii. They will twist events in the story, alter facts slightly, and
change the point of view.
iii. If there are any questions about the instructions, answer them.
If students are confused about how to go about making the
reader empathize with the villain, explain that it’s mostly
about perspective. Readers are more likely to empathize with
whoever is narrating the story.
b. Give time to write
i. As students write, walk around and check in with them.
ii. Help them if they need it.

Questions /Higher level

 1. Why do the pigs alter history?-Level 4: Analyze
2. Why does rewriting history work on the characters in Animal Farm?-Level
4: Analyze
3. Is rewriting history ethical?-Level 5: Evaluate
4. How did you make the reader empathize with the villain of your fairytale?-
Level 6: Create
5. Why does Orwell include this in the novel?-Level 4: Analyze

Conclusion/Summary:
- Recap lesson
-What did we learn about rewriting history?
- Ask for student feedback
-Did they enjoy the activity?
-Was it challenging?
-Do they feel like they learned something?
Materials
Rewriting History Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3t5DWcA1DLU
Wheel of Fairytales: https://wheelofnames.com/2xb-dzu