Understanding the Art of Persuasion with “Animal Farm”
Abby Franks

Understanding the Art of Persuasion with “Animal Farm”
Abby Franks
The Teaching Context
I think my lesson plan could serve at any kind of school. Because I went to a suburban school, I can see it being taught there, but I do think that this would be effective at any type of school in any location.
I think it will especially lend itself well to working or middle class schools where they see their parents working hard and maybe not getting the right recognition. It could also be in a school where students that have something to say and need to learn how to say it, which I believe is most schools across the country.
I want to teach “Animal Farm” to upper high school students, probably 12 th grade. They need to be close enough to the “real world” in order to make this as accessible and relevant as possible. The students would need a solid foundation in reading, writing, and critical thinking, although I hope to emphasize critical thinking throughout my lessons.
The students would already know how to work through the writing process and understand the parts of a story or novel. They would know how to work in groups to help their classmates discover their strengths and weakness, while being able to give a take effective criticism. I would want this to be a unit that was in the second semester, right around spring break, so that they have had a lot of growth throughout the year and have this be their final proof of how much they might have grown intellectually.
Additionally, the end of the semester would make it so that the students are very comfortable with one another so that debates, ideas, and opinions can be expressed openly without fear of criticism. Lastly, the students will be on the verge of being able to make a solid argument, including being able to use evidence to back up their argument.
In order to thrive in my unit, I would hope that the students can be as open minded as possible. I want my students to learn without biases or previous knowledge of the subjects presented in “Animal Farm” as well as be willing to change their viewpoints if necessary. I want the students to have motivation to not only read the novel, but also be excited to debate topics and argue/debate to make their point known.

Understanding the Art of Persuasion with “Animal Farm”
Abby Franks
The Rationale
The focus of this unit is learning how to write persuasive/argumentative papers. I will do this by teaching “Animal Farm,” the history and tenets of capitalism, socialism, democracy, totalitarianism and propaganda. I will be expecting students to come to the lessons with an open and ready mind. I will be asking my students to write daily journals as a reflection of what we are learning in class as well as things to help them have a deeper understanding of themselves. Additionally, the student will be writing a number of persuasive pieces to prepare them for the final persuasive piece of the unit. They will also try various other types of writing, such as poetry, comparison, editorial, and possibly more, depending on what the student chooses to write when options are available.
This unit will help students develop a voice in their writing. I will teach how to let how they feel, think, and believe shine through in their writing. In order to do so, we will be discovering their stance on arbitrary, as well as reasonable arguments and opinions. Through their writing and reflection they will discover how to make a sound argument and how to be persuasive, by thinking critically about certain subject matters.
The best way to understand how and why you think or believe certain things is to learn how to think critically. In my unit, my students will not be able to answer with “because that’s what I think,” “that’s what my parents said,” or “I don’t know, just because.” They will understand why they think the way they do and then be able to back that up with solid evidence. I will do this by giving them the materials to learn about something and make assessments based on what we learned. They will reflect upon their thoughts and ideas daily to assert a better sense of self and their writing. Hopefully the reflection will prove to be beneficial not only to this class, but to their lives as well.
I think that this lesson plan will be successful because they are going to read a novel that is different than most others today. It is not a hard novel, so they shouldn’t get frustrated with it, but it is dense enough to be able to take something away from it with much reflection. I chose “Animal Farm” because it has a very sociological background to it, that interests me, but I also think that it is highly relevant in today’s world. Everywhere you turn you are expected to know what is going on in our country and in the world and often times the media that is telling us is skewed. As educators, we need to teach our students how to think critically and come to their own conclusions. They also need to develop the sense of self that comes with making opinions and beliefs that are based on reason and logic. This lesson plan will give them a new view of the world that our society might not have offered before. I hope that they can come away with it seeing the world a little differently than how they saw it previously. I hope that they will learn to think for themselves and develop a voice in their writing that is their own. A voice that shows understanding and is also thought provoking to whoever reads it.

Understanding the Art of Persuasion with “Animal Farm”
Abby Franks
The Texts
I chose to use “Animal Farm” by George Orwell as my main text for the unit. I wanted my students to read an “easy read” so that they could really immerse themselves in the book, while also focusing deeply on their writing. I also got some essays, “Politics of the English Language” and “Why I Write” from George
Orwell himself to show the students how authors are rarely one dimensional and also have something to say besides the book they’ve written. I also used Purdue Owl to showcase what makes a good argumentative essay. Additionally, I used mentor texts to show what kind of writing I wanted for certain sections.
This unit studies how to write a solid persuasive or argumentative piece. Because “Animal Farm” requires a lot of critical thinking and parallels historical events, I wanted a literary study that would also coincide with critical thinking skills needed for reading the novel. I think that persuasion lends itself well especially with the propaganda displayed in the novel. It’s important to not only know what you think or believe, but why. It’s great if you think you know what you think, but if you can’t back it up with evidence and understanding, then you don’t have much. Persuasion and critical thinking are both extremely important in life and will be necessary in college or the real world. I want my students to have that and be able to take that with them after they leave my class and maybe, but hopefully not, forgotten “Animal Farm” altogether.

Understanding the Art of Persuasion with “Animal Farm”
Abby Franks
The Alterations
With feedback and reflection upon my lesson plan, I went back to make only minor alterations. I wanted and needed to change my titles to explicitly explain what that day would be coving. I didn’t want the reader, or teacher, to have to read every single lesson to get to the point of what he or she might want to borrow. After making more clear titles, I thought I wanted to make my lesson more concise, but in doing so,
I felt that my plan lacked the depth of what I wanted and needed to cover. I think that with teaching at the
12 th grade level, this is some of our last chances to really impact our students before they leave us for the real world or the college world. I don’t want there to be any doubt or misunderstandings about what I absolutely wanted to ensure I taught and included on each day. With that, I simply changed my bullet points to outline format. I wanted one to be able to see, plainly, the goal (i.e. title) for the day and then be able to decide if that was what they wanted to teach or simply be able to use my timeline in their own way.
As I was going through the writing process, I didn’t really discover any examples of the students
needing to be taught anything new. At the 12 th grade level, my students will be fully knowledgeable in the revision process, as well as know what is expected of them and how to execute it capably. I am proud of my lesson and really excited to bring it to my future classroom to implement. I hope my future students have as much fun reading “Animal Farm” and doing my quirky assignments as I had making and writing them.

Understanding the Art of Persuasion with “Animal Farm”
Abby Franks
Bibliography
Orwell, George. Animal Farm, Centennial Ed. New York: Penguin Group, 2003. Print.
Orwell, George. “Politics of the English Language.” George Orwell Web Ring, O. Dag, 24 7 2004. Web. 14
Apr 2011. <
http://orwell.ru/library/essays/politics/english/e_polit>
Orwell, George. “Why I Write.” George Orwell Web Ring, O. Dag, 24 7 2004. Web. 14 Apr 2011.
< http://orwell.ru/library/essays/wiw/english/>
Purdue OWL Family of Sites. The Writing Lab and OWL at Purdue and Purdue U, 2008. Web. 23 Apr.
2008
Stephenson, John, Dir. Anima l Fa rm . TNT : 1999, Film . http://www.bestessayhelp.com/examples/persuasive/How%20to%20write%20a%20persuasive%20essay.p
df http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/media/hh/pdfs/samplepapers/persuasive_sample.pdf http://protestpoemsdotorg.blogspot.com/2011/04/eve-lyons.html www.glencoe.com/sec/literature/litlibrary/pdf/animal_farm.pd http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/toledoblade/obituary.aspx?n=lavon-seth&pid=148833231 http://wonderingminstrels.blogspot.com/1999/03/to-whom-it-may-concern-adrian-mitchell.html4

Understanding the Art of Persuasion with “Animal Farm”
Abby Franks
Schedule
Day
1.
Introduction to persuasion and “Animal Farm” a.
Mini lesson about what makes a good persuasive piece b.
Read a couple of example mentor texts c.
Explain journals for the unit(hypothetically I will be using journals all year, but this will serve as a reiteration of how we will be using the journals to keep together our thoughts, ideas, questions, likes/dislikes etc.) d.
As a class, we’ll discuss and list debatable topics(can be political, personal or as simple as cat vs. dog) e.
Homework: Make a list of likes/dislikes that are dichotomizable and/or what side you’re on from the list we made in class. Write everything in journal.
2.
How to debate effectively with a solid stance and good evidence a.
Share lists with class. b.
Divide the class into four groups that I have chosen i.
Groups 1 and 2 are Cats vs. Dogs ii.
Groups 3 and 4 are Chocolate vs. Vanilla ice cream iii.
In their groups (using the rules from a good persuasive piece), write down points and evidence on why their group is better than the group they will be debating.
How can they persuade the other two groups, who aren’t a part of their debate, that they are “right.” c.
Homework: Tie up loose ends. Gather any information you might need to present
(random facts, visual aids, etc.)
3.
*Put into practice how to take a stance and convince your audience a.
Have Groups 1 and 2 present (without rebuttal, simply their arguments and evidence and then the other group will present) b.
Groups 3 and 4 present c.
For Homework: Writing Assignment: 1. Decide which group “won” the debate from the other groups. Write a first draft of your decision and use solid evidence and support
(persuade the reader why that debate was better etc).
4.
Collaborate about persuasive experience a.
Journal about the process of the debate. How did you choose a winner? Etc. b.
In groups, discuss papers: read paper to group and get effective feedback. c.
While working in groups, visit each group to see how they are understanding persuasive pieces. d.
Individually work on revision. Final Draft due: Day 6.
5.
Building a base with key terms associated with “Animal Farm” a.
Have class break into 5 groups. i.
Each group will be assigned a word(capitalism, socialism, democracy, totalitarianism, or propaganda) b.
Using books in the classroom (encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauruses, sociology and history textbooks etc) the will research their group’s word and organize a poster that displays the definition largely.
6.
Presentations about students’ research a.
Have each group explain what they found in their research and present their posters.

Understanding the Art of Persuasion with “Animal Farm”
Abby Franks b.
Posters will be hung in classroom as a reference point while reading “Animal Farm” to encourage connections between the words and the novel.
7.
*Segue into “Animal Farm” a.
As a class: i.
Read a short biography about George Orwell ii.
Read excerpts from George Orwell’s “Politics of the English Language” essay. iii.
Discuss what Orwell is arguing. b.
Mini-lesson about the importance of his rules c.
Begin homework: Write a creative and informative paragraph about something you know
(well) and love. Use Orwell’s 6 rules (especially 1-5). Footnote examples where you followed each of the rules. If you decide to use rule 6, explain how and why you broke one of his other rules. Additionally, read “Why I Write” by George Orwell.
8.
Collaboration of a clear and concise paragraph and the beginning of “Animal Farm” a.
Journal about the process of writing the paragraph and/or reactions to “Why I Write.” i.
Briefly discuss journal entries. b.
Have students meet in their groups for collaboration about their paragraph. Final Draft due: Day 10. c.
Read Chapter 1 to class. i.
Have them start their character list and finish it for homework.
9.
“Animal Farm” and persuasion using poetry a.
Open discussion about the first chapter. i.
Vocab lists, likes, dislikes, and character list. b.
Work in small groups and decide a tune on which to sing “Beasts of England” c.
Have groups present to class (they don’t necessarily have to sing the entire thing, just a stanza or two). d.
Homework: Read Chapter 2 and journal as usual as they go (vocab words, quotes they like, etc)
10.
Diving into “Animal Farm”: checking for understanding a.
Discuss Chapter 2 and journal entries. b.
Mini-lesson about poetry and its potential persuasive properties. c.
Start homework: write your own 7 commandments for the ideal society, school, family, or whatever you choose. With the 7 commandments, write a poem about this ideal society and use the language to persuade the reader why it is ideal. Read Chapter 3 and journal.
11.
Reflection of persuasive poetry and continuing “Animal Farm” a.
Discuss poems in groups. Revise at home. Final drafts due: Day 12. b.
Discuss Chapter 3. c.
Begin reading Chapter 4 individually. d.
Homework: finish Chapter 4 and journal.
12.
Checking for understanding at halfway point in “Animal Farm” a.
Discus Chapter 4, new vocab words and b.
Read Chapter 5 as a large group. c.
As a group, discuss what we’ve learned so far about characters, themes, etc and also make predictions for the future. d.
Because this is the halfway point, I want the students to write down discussion questions in groups. Put the most thought provoking questions on the board for the students to answer for homework.

Understanding the Art of Persuasion with “Animal Farm”
Abby Franks
13.
Student led discussion/review of “Animal Farm” so far a.
As a group discuss the discussion questions from the previous day. b.
Have students read Chapter 6 silently and journal as they go. c.
Have individual conferences about poem assignment. d.
Homework: Read Chapter 7.
14.
*Character sketches and persuasion a.
Discuss Chapter 7. b.
Mini-lesson about character sketches. i.
Including how to persuade someone that this person or character is what you say they are. c.
Have students write an obituary about one of the characters that were executed in Chapter
7. It can be completely fictional, but it must persuade the reader to consistently think about the character in a good light. d.
Homework: Finish obituary draft and read Chapter 8.
15.
*Knowing and writing to your audience a.
Share obituaries in small groups for collaboration and revision. b.
Read and discuss Chapter 9 as a class c.
Mini lesson about the importance of knowing their audience. d.
Writing time to practice writing to different types of audiences. e.
Homework: Write a short prediction for the ending of the story 3 different ways with a sentence or two describing how they changed their claim and support depending on the type of audience they are writing to.
16.
Finding your voice and your audience a.
Journal and then discuss the process of writing to different audiences. b.
Read Chapter 10 to the class. c.
Have a wrap up discussion of “Animal Farm.” d.
Introduce next writing assignment: Write an article (can be an editorial) about an event or character in “Animal Farm.” Focus on your voice and the audience you will be writing to
(the readers who live around or in “Animal Farm). e.
Homework: Bring in a draft of newspaper article for collaborating and editing. Final Draft due: Day 18.
17.
Revision and begin watching “Animal Farm” a.
In small groups, share draft and begin revisions. b.
Begin “Animal Farm” the movie. Tell students to take note of differences as well as likes and dislikes.
18.
*Importance of openers and the final persuasive piece a.
Continue and finish the movie. b.
Discuss likes, dislikes, differences, and similarities. c.
Mini lesson about the importance of openers to catch the reader’s attention. d.
Introduce writing assignment: Write an argumentative/persuasive essay. Choose any topic relating to “Animal Farm,” (book or movie) but be sure to use a strong claim and logical evidence to support. We will be thoroughly workshopping this piece. (This will serve as the assessment for the unit, therefore students are expected to show their understanding of the novel as well as their understanding of persuasive/argumentative writing) e.
Homework: Work on a first draft.

Understanding the Art of Persuasion with “Animal Farm”
Abby Franks
19.
Collaboration, revision, and editing a.
Collaborate with small group about paper. b.
Teacher will be going around and checking each small group c.
Individual writing time to revise and edit. d.
Homework: Bring in a second draft for individual conferencing.
20.
Writing, conferences, and rewriting a.
Individual writing day. Continue re-reading and revising/editing pieces. b.
Meet for individual conferences. c.
Meet with a partner if need be. d.
Final Draft due: next class.

Understanding the Art of Persuasion with “Animal Farm”
Abby Franks
Daily Lesson Plans
Day 3
Title/Focus: Persuasive/Argumentative Writing: Making Effective Claims
Materials: Handout of Purdue Owl Argumentative Essay, Mentor texts of persuasive essays and
Assignment sheet
Connection to prior teaching: We already understand what makes a good essay, but now we’re going to focus more on writing persuasively or argumentatively.
Teaching points: We’re going to learn how to make a claim about something, pointing out claims in text.
Also make a list of example claims on board. After making a solid claim, then we can back up that claim with logical evidence. It is also important to understand the argument against your claim so that you can counter, or rebuttal, and reinforce you point.
Active engagement: Students will write a list of debatable topics and choose a side of each. Then, after debating an easy topic (cats vs. dogs or chocolate ice cream vs. vanilla) in groups against classmates, students will write a persuasive argument about who “won” or had a more solid argument and evidence in the debate that they did not participate in.
Formative Assessment Plan: During collaboration and revision, I will be sitting in on groups to see how they are understanding the material. When students turn in their final draft, I will write them a thorough letter about how effective their writing was in this assignment.
Wrap up Activities: Reinforcement of skills learned in this mini lesson will carry throughout the unit.
Sending: Write a solid paper with a clear claim and support. Bring draft for collaboration and revision.
Use comments and suggestions received in groups to fix your paper and make a solid final draft to be turned in.
Day7
Title/Focus: What Makes Good Writing: Clarity and Conciseness
Materials: “Politics of the English Language” Essay by George Orwell and Assignment sheet
Connection to prior teaching: Since we already understand what it means to write an essay and a persuasive argument, we’ll now focus on our writing itself. It’s necessary to be aware of how you write.
Teaching points: We’re going to discuss writing style in relation to George Orwell’s rules for good writing.
In doing so we’ll learn what it means to be concise and clear in order to make a point or be easily understood.
Active engagement: Students will write a paragraph about something they know well and love. Using
Orwell’s six rules they will footnote how they are following his rules and if they use rule 6, they must give rationale on why they chose to break a rule from rules 1-5.
Formative Assessment: I will discover what the students learned when I sit in on their small groups and when I read their final draft of the paragraph.
Wrap-up activities: Students will also read “Why I Write” by George Orwell to get a better understanding of why writing is so important and notice how Orwell follows his rules.
Sending: For the next class students should make a draft of their paragraph and be prepared to share it in their small groups for collaboration and revising.

Understanding the Art of Persuasion with “Animal Farm”
Abby Franks
Day 10
Title/Focus: Poetry as Persuasive
Materials: “Animal Farm” and Assignment sheet
Connection to prior teaching: We have written poems in the past, but have they had a deeper purpose, like to persuade the reader?
Teaching points: We are going to learn how to use the art form of poetry to persuade the reader of our opinion or your understanding of something by reviewing mentor texts.
Active engagement: Students will write a list of their own 7 commandments, similar to those in “Animal
Farm” that might represent rules for their ideal society, school, family, etc. Using their 7 commandments, they will then write a poem describing their ideal society and how these commandments fit in.
Formative Assessment: When the students work on the rough draft in groups, I will circle the room to check for understanding and comprehension of persuasive pieces thus far. I will also be reading their final drafts to check for understanding and respond in a timely matter so they can take my feedback and use it for the upcoming assignments.
Wrap-up activities: I will reinforce the art of persuasion by continuing to ask my students to write prompts that make persuasion necessary.
Sending: The students will write their rough drafts at home, revise them in class the next day, and then make final touches and turn it into me.
Day 14
Title/Focus: Using character sketches as a mode to persuade
Materials: “Animal Farm” and Assignment sheet
Connection to prior teaching: When we were exploring creative writing, we learned how to write a character sketch to better know the character we would be writing about.
Teaching points: We’re going to write a character sketch now to try to persuade the audience to think a certain way about a character in “Animal Farm” that was executed. We want to convince the reader that the animal you choose had a good life, was a good animal, etc. For example one of the sheep, who was a patriotic sheep and always sang the “Beasts of England” with soul…
Active engagement: Students will write an obituary about an animal that was executed by Napoleon.
Their job is to use concrete descriptions and details, while also following George Orwell’s writing rules, to write an obituary for their animal.
Formative Assessment: When the students are working in their small groups, I will sit in to hear the readings and feedback from the students in order to see how they are doing and possibly add a mini lesson in the future to re-emphasize an old point.
Wrap-up activities: The students will use what they learn to write their next persuasive pieces and build upon their prior knowledge.
Sending: Write your obituary. Be creative and have fun with this, but also remember to persuade the reader.

Understanding the Art of Persuasion with “Animal Farm”
Abby Franks
Day 15
Title/Focus: The importance of knowing your audience
Materials: Assignment sheet
Connection to prior teaching: During our first lesson about persuasive pieces, we mentioned how important it is for the writer to know and understand who they are teaching to.
Teaching points: We are going to discuss why knowing your audience is very important in a persuasive piece. Because the job of your piece is to convince your reader (audience), if you don’t speak to the reader, you can’t effectively persuade them using their characteristics or prior knowledge. It could mean the difference from the reader agreeing with you wholeheartedly, or it could mean confusion or frustration because they don’t understand what you’re writing, it isn’t clear to their point of view, or it is too dense.
Active engagement: Students will write a short prediction of the story’s ending, but three different ways.
Their goal is to persuade 3 different types of audiences (i.e. children, college students, their peers etc.) that the ending their predicting is actually right. Be sure to also include a sentence or two about who their audience is for each and how you changed your argument or support based on your audience.
Formative Assessment: When the student turns in their paper, I will be sure to check their progress in my notes and see if they need any extra help or guidance. Additionally, I will write them an extensive letter back explaining my thoughts and critiques.
Wrap-up activities: I will reinforce their understanding of audience in the next day’s writing assignment; to write a newspaper article about an event on “Animal Farm” to an audience in or around “Animal Farm.”
Sending: Complete a rough draft for tonight and be ready to justify your decisions of changes made because of the audience choice.
Day 18
Title/Focus: Openers to Grab the Reader’s Attention
Materials: Assignment sheet
Connection to prior teaching: Now that we know how to write a good persuasive piece, including unique ways to persuade, i.e. poems etc, we’re going to refine how to make the pieces more appealing to the reader.
Teaching points: It is really important to get the reader’s attention right away so that the reader gets interested in what you’re writing. We’re going to practice solid ways to open a paper and some bad examples of openers.
Active engagement: Students will write their final persuasive piece of the unit. They will pick their topic and then write several sample openers as well as begin their first draft for workshopping.
Formative Assessment: Students will meet with me on an individual basis during collaboration with peers in order to tie up any loose ends that they have been struggling with throughout unit or any questions they might have.
Wrap-up activities: With the individual conferences, I will be able to reinforce the opener mini lesson, as well as the previous lessons during the unit.
Sending: Students will finish draft and prepare for collaboration.

Understanding the Art of Persuasion with “Animal Farm”
Abby Franks
Summative Assessment Plan
For the students’ assessment, I plan to take the writing they completed throughout the unit, in addition to their journal entries, and see how they grasped the subject of persuasion and their ideas about
“Animal Farm.” I will take into account their progress with persuasion and how well they completed the assignments. Drafts and revisions are also going to be very important because I want to see that they are taking the writing process seriously. As a part of this, I will be taking notes about how on task they are during collaboration and working in small groups. I will also be noting participation of discussion and depth of their input. I want to see how they used my mini lessons in their papers and if they continued using the skills they learned in previous mini lessons throughout the rest of the unit. Throughout the unit, I will be in collaboration with the students on each writing assignment they turn into me. Their “final drafts” will be returned in a timely manner with a letter on the back explaining my input and suggested revisions. This communication will allow students to meet with me for questions throughout as well as prepare for the final turn in of all the assignments for the assessment grade. I’m also looking that their final paper shows a deep understanding of “Animal Farm” as well as a good argument with solid support. I expect the students to have revised their “final drafts” as well as show their revisions, reflections, and final persuasion to showcase what they learned throughout.

Assignments
Understanding the Art of Persuasion with “Animal Farm”
Abby Franks