Animal Farm by George Orwell Introduce the author George Orwell, born Eric Arthur Blair Born: June 25, 1903, Motihari Died: January 21, 1950, London Occupation: novelist, political writer and journalist Award: Prometheus Hall of Fame Award Give a brief biographical note Eric Arthur Blair was known by his pen name George Orwell. His writings are known for his ideas of social injustice. He was opposed to totalitarianism, and wrote creatively about it. He has influenced the political word with his iconic phrases of ‘Big Brother is watching you,’ ‘cold war,’ ‘doublethink,’ ‘thoughtcrime,’ and ‘thought police.’ His work continues to influence our social and political worlds. Introduce the words: Pseudonym – a fictitious name; nom de plume—pen name; pen name—an author’s pseudonym Orwell’s contemporaries— Frank O’Connor, September 17, 1903 – March 10, 1966; Tennessee Williams, March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983 Question: What is a famous George Orwell quote? Answer: “In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” Question: What is a famous George Orwell expression? Discuss this expression in relation to Animal Farm. Answer: Big brother is watching you. Pre-reading Activity Have students make up a pen name based on their personality and character, write it on one side of an index card, write their real name on the other side. Collect them, and have students guess whose pen name is whose, based on what they know about their classmates’ personality and character. Skills to be taught in the worksheets and test for Animal Farm Reading comprehension and interpretation vocabulary through context clues personality and character in fiction—what characters do and say similarities and differences As students read through the text, stop, discuss aspects of the story, and teach examples of the skills found in the worksheets and tests. Supplemental enrichment Have students visit web sites that feature George Orwell’s political quotes, for written interpretation and discussion.

Name ____________________________________________ Date _______________________ Class work / Homework 1

Animal Farm by George Orwell

Understanding Character There are a cast of characters in Animal Farm. We judge a person’s character by what she does and says. Example: What Jenny Does She volunteers at the senior citizen’s center every Wednesday, and on Saturdays, she volunteers to walk the dogs at the animal shelter. What Jenny Says She says, “I feel so sorry for the little abandoned doggies, but I don’t let them feel sad. I walk them and play with them and give them treats and hugs.” 1. What kind of a girl is Jenny? ____________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 2. Put a check beside everything Jenny would NOT do, and be able to defend your answers. _____ Jenny helps the teacher keep the reading center clean and organized. __x__ Jenny charges the teacher a dollar every time she offers to help, because she needs it to buy dog treats for the dogs at the shelter. __x__ Jenny lets her friend get answers from her paper when they take a test because she feels sorry for her friend not being as smart as she is. _____ Jenny won’t let her friend cheat from her paper, but she always offers to help her with her homework. __?__ Jenny invited the new girl to her sleepover, even though she knows her other friends do not like her.

Have students discuss the pros and cons of this.

Name ____________________________________________ Date _______________________ Class work / Homework 2

Animal Farm by George Orwell

Understanding Character There are a cast of characters in Animal Farm. We judge a person’s character by what she does and says. Complete the following character charts. Snowball _______________ _______________ _______________

Napoleon

What Snowball does ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ What Napoleon does

What Snowball says ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________

What Napoleon says

_________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _______________ _________________ _________________ _______________ _________________ _________________ _______________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ ____________ __ Which do you like the better, and why? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

Name ____________________________________________ Date _______________________ Class work / Homework 3

Animal Farm by George Orwell

Understanding Character There are a cast of characters in Animal Farm. We judge a person’s character by what she does and says.

Choose a character from Animal Farm and complete the character chart. Character’s name

What the character does

What the character says

_________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _______________ _________________ _________________ _______________ _________________ _________________ _______________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ ____________ __ Judge the character. What is he or she capable of saying and doing, or not capable of saying and doing? Support your answer with the information above. ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

Name _________Answer Key___________________________ Date ___________________ Test / Animal Farm Vocabulary from pgs 31 – 51 Directions: Give the definitions of the following vocabulary words based on the context clues in the text’s sentences. Students may use the novel for an extended reading of the text. 1. enmity —hate ______________________________________________________________________________ I have little more to say. I merely repeat, remember always your duty of enmity towards Man and all his ways. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.

2. infancy—childhood ______________________________________________________________________________ Many years ago, when I was a little pig, my mother and the other sows used to sing an old song of which they knew only the tune and the first three words. I had known that tune in my infancy, but it had long since passed out of my mind.

3. Animalism—complete system of thought ______________________________________________________________________________ These three had elaborated old Major’s teachings into a complete system of thought, to which they gave the name of Animalism. Several nights a week, after Mr. Jones was asleep, they held secret meetings in the barn and expounded the principles of Animalism to the others.

4. knoll—grassy hill; small mound ______________________________________________________________________________ But they woke at dawn as usual, and suddenly remembering the glorious thing that had happened, they all raced out into the pasture together. A little way down the pasture there was a knoll that commanded a view of most of the farm. The animals rushed to the top of it and gazed round them in the clear morning light. 5. gambolled—jumping and playing ______________________________________________________________________________

Yes, it was theirs -- everything that they could see was theirs! In the ecstasy of that thought they gambolled round and round, they hurled themselves into the air in great leaps of excitement.

6. reproached—scowled; fussed at; criticized ______________________________________________________________________________ Going back, the others found that she had remained behind in the best bedroom. She had taken a piece of blue ribbon from Mrs. Jones’s dressing-table, and was holding it against her shoulder and admiring herself in the glass in a very foolish manner. The others reproached her sharply, and they went outside. 7. unalterable—not changeable ______________________________________________________________________________ These Seven Commandments would now be inscribed on the wall; they would form an unalterable law by which all the animals on Animal Farm must live for ever after.

8. implements—tools; utensils ______________________________________________________________________________ Sometimes the work was hard; the implements had been designed for human beings and not for animals, and it was a great drawback that no animal was able to use any tool that involved standing on his hind legs.

9. shirked—not do his or her job ______________________________________________________________________________ But everyone worked according to his capacity….Nobody shirked -- or almost nobody. Mollie, it was true, was not good at getting up in the mornings, and had a way of leaving work early on the ground that there was a stone in her hoof. 10. maxim—principle; rule; law ______________________________________________________________________________ After much thought Snowball declared that the Seven Commandments could in effect be reduced to a single maxim, namely: ‘Four legs good, two legs bad.’ This, he said, contained the essential principle of Animalism.

Name _______Answer Key_______________________________ Date ________________ Test / Animal Farm Character Traits Match the following statements to the animal based on his personality and character. Write the name of the animal on the line.

Animal Name Old Major

Genus Old boar (pig)

Personality and Character Wise, a leader; experienced

Napoleon

Pig

Snowball

Pig

A smart leader; he argued w/Snowball; he had a following of animals A smart leader; he argued w/Napoleon; he had ideas

Mollie

Mare (female horse)

Conceited; self-centered, foolish

Old Benjamin

Donkey

Wise, cynical; pessimistic

Boxer

Horse

Faithful, follower; hard worker

Clover

Old mare

Kind, caring; motherly

Squealer

Porker (young teen pig)

Follower of Snowball and Napoleon

1. ______Squealer_________ He would probably go to the other animals to convince them that Napoleon’s words were true or correct. 2. ______Mollie___________ She wanted an easy life filled with pretty things and delicious treats. 3. ______Clover___________ She probably worried about Mollie, and wondered if she was doing okay.

4. _______Old Benjamin____ He went to bed every night not convinced that the projects of Animal Farm would amount to anything. 5. _______Napoleon________ He changed the rules as often as he needed to for his own advancement and comfort. 6. ______Boxer____________ If there was extra work that needed to be done, he was the one to do it. 7. ______Snowball__________ He probably would have started animal schools and encouraged all of the animals to get an education. 8. ______Old Major_________ He was the type to encourage all of his animal friends to come together to learn about their history.

9. How does Napoleon change in the story? _________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 10. On the Venn diagram below, fill in how Mollie and Clover are similar and different.

11. What are your likes, dislikes, and attitude about the text? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ 12. How did Boxer’s beliefs guide his actions? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 13. Which one is your favorite character and why? _____________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________

14. Which one is your least favorite character and why? ________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

Name _____________________________________________ Date ____________________ Comprehension Test / from Chapter Seven to End Animal Farm by George Orwell

1. Why did the hens have to give up their eggs? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 2. How has Snowball’s role been changed by the end of Chapter Six? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 3. Why did Napoleon begin executing animals? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 4. Whom did Boxer blame for the executions? What was his solution? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 5. Why did the animals sing the “Beasts of England” song slowly and mournfully as they were gathered on the knoll? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

6. Why was the singing of “Beasts of England” banned? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

7. In what ways has Napoleon set himself apart from the other animals? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 8. How did Frederick cheat Napoleon? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 9. What moved the animals to attack Frederick and his men at the Battle of the Windmill? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 10. Why was Comrade Napoleon “dying”? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 11. What were the Seven Commandments? 1.____Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.________________________________ 2.____Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend._____________________

3.____No animal shall wear clothes.___________________________________________ 4.____No animal shall sleep in a bed._________________________________________ 5.____No animal shall drink alcohol.__________________________________________ 6.____No animal shall kill any other animal.____________________________________ 7.____All animals are equal._________________________________________________ 12. Who gained leadership of the animals? Why? _____________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 13. What changes did Napoleon make first? _____________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 14. Why did Napoleon begin executing animals? _____________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 15. Why was Comrade Napoleon “dying”? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

16. What happened to Boxer? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 17. The animals on the farm worked hard. What was their consolation? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 18. What was Clover startled to discover? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 19. What commandment took the place of the Seven Commandments? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

20. What did the other animals see when they looked in to the farmhouse? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

Name _______________________________________________ Date ________________ Review Test / Animal Farm

Animal Name Old Major

Character Traits

Genus

Personality and Character

Napoleon

Snowball

Mollie

Old Benjamin

Boxer

Clover

Squealer

9. Which is your favorite character and why? _________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 10. Which one is your least favorite character and why? ________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________