Unit 3.8 Communism & The Russian Revolution
Stage 1 – Desired Results
Content Standard(s):
7.H.1.3 Use..secondary sources to interpret various historical perspectives
7.H.2.1 Analyze the effects of social, economic, military, and political conflict among nations, regions and groups
7.G.1.1 Explain how environmental conditions and human response to those conditions influence modern societies
7.E.1.1 Explain how competition for resources affects the economic relationship between nations.
7.E.1.3 Summarize the main characteristics of various economic systems
7.C&G.1.1 Summarize the ideas that have shaped political thought
7.C&G.1.4 Compare the sources of power and governmental authority in various societies
7.C.1.1 Explain how culture unites and divides modern societies
7.C.1.2 Explain how cultural expressions influence modern society
Understanding (s)/goals
Students will understand:
 Communism was a reaction to the
conditions of the industrial revolution
 The Russian Revolution established
the first Communist country in the world
 The connection between Animal Farm
and the events of the Russian
Revolution and Stalin’s reign.
 Stalin and other world leaders use
propaganda to influence the people’s
opinions
 The differences between capitalism
and communism
 How WW1 contributed to the Russian
Revolution
 How to correctly evaluate the purpose
of various types of propaganda
 The positive and negative outcomes
of Joseph Stalin’s reign in the Soviet
Union.
Essential Question(s):
How did the conditions of the Industrial Revolution influence Marx and Engles ideas about
communism?
Why did the system of communism appeal to Russian peasants and citizens in 1917?
How did Joseph Stalin’s control of the Soviet Union positively and negatively impact the Russian
citizens?
What is the essential historical symbolism that is present in Animal Farm?
What is the modern Russian perspective of Stalinist Russia?
How is Vladimir Putin using these perspectives to shape the direction of his country today?
How does World War 1 connect to the Russian Revolution?
What vocabulary words are important to any discussion of the Russian Revolution and Communism?
What was Marx and Engles’ plan to transform the world into a communist society?
How closely does the Animal Farm allegory reflect the actual historical facts of the Russian Revolution
and Stalin’s regime?
Student objectives (outcomes):
Students will be able to:
Use tier 3 academic vocabulary
Answer reading comprehension questions using informational texts (making inferences and understanding reading)
Utilize knowledge gained from reading informational texts to answer connection questions
Explain the symbolism of Animal Farm and apply it to the Russian Revolution and Stalin’s reign.
Create posters which demonstrate the characteristics of Animal Farm and the Russian Revolution
Evaluate how historically accurate the Animal Farm allegory is.
Evaluate how modern Russian society views the Revolution and subsequent Communist regime
Evaluate how propaganda can be used to influence people’s opinions and feelings
Use Olympic opening games’ presentations to explain modern perspectives of historical movements within their countries.
Performance Task(s):
 SWBAT create word webs based on
vocabulary (tier 1-3)
 SWBAT answer reading
comprehension questions based on
informational texts
 SWBAT use concepts to apply
historical facts to their modern
world.
 SWBAT compare and contrast a
communist society to a capitalist
society
 SWBAT evaluate media
presentations as a primary source
 SWBAT evaluate media
presentations as propaganda
 SWBAT evaluate and apply
understanding from allegorical texts
to historical events
 SWBAT link historical concepts in a
cause and effect relationship
Stage 2 – Assessment Evidence
Other Evidence:
Movie Poster and critical review of Animal Farm
Stage 3 – Learning Plan
Learning Activities:
[What will the teacher will do to guide the learning] should be thought through in terms of WHERETO:
Where is the unit headed?
Hook the learner with engaging work
Equip for understanding, experience and explore the big ideas
Rethink opinions, revise ideas and work
Evaluate your work and adjust as needed
Tailor the work to reflect individual needs, interests, styles
Organize the work flow to maximize in-depth understanding and success at the summative tasks
W: The unit is about the essential characteristics of a communist society, and how these ideas were applied in the historical
context of the former Soviet Union.
H: The students will work on a variety of work, including stations, technology based assignments, writing assignments, creative
posters, and book reading. Student interest surveys are given quarterly to help direct assignments in an engaging manner.
E: The students will work through a layered curriculum which begins with fundamental knowledge based activities and works up
to creative extension assignments which require more in-depth understanding, to scaffold to increasingly difficult ideas.
R: The emphasis of this unit is on mastery. Students will not be given credit for completing an assignment unless they have
mastered it. They will conference with the teacher and receive immediate feedback to improve the quality of their work, and will
then make the necessary corrections before moving on to the next assignment.
E: The students will complete an exit survey to find out what they liked and didn’t like about the unit. The teacher will also
evaluate formal assessments to make sure that the curriculum is effectively training students to mastery.
T: See “H”
O: The assignments are all paced for mastery. Students will continue working on assignments until they have mastered them.
Unit #8—Communism and the Russian Revolution
Unit completion date: 02/05/15
Assignment
3-At Standard
(Mastery)
4-Above Standard
Vocabulary
All unit vocabulary words are
defined by the student in the
vocabulary section of their
binder
Vocabulary exercises have been
completed for all vocabulary
words assigned for this unit.
Vocabulary
Exercises
Worksheets
8.1
Communism 101
Comprehension questions are
correctly answered. Write about
it prompt is answered, but does
not reflect serious thought about
the topic assigned.
8.2
Road to the
Russian Revolution
Comprehension questions are
correctly answered. Write about
it prompt is answered, but does
not reflect serious thought about
the topic assigned.
8.3
Stalinism
Comprehension questions are
correctly answered. Write about
it prompt is answered, but does
not reflect serious thought about
the topic assigned.
8.4
Introduction to the
cast of Animal
Farm
Parent Interview
Comprehension questions are
correctly answered. Write about
it prompt is answered, but does
not reflect serious thought about
the topic assigned.
Joseph Stalin—
Man of Steel Video
Comprehension questions are
correctly answered. Write about
it prompt is answered, and
reflects serious thought about
the topic assigned and what the
world would really be like.
Comprehension questions are
correctly answered. Write about
it prompt is answered, and
reflects serious thought about
the topic assigned and what the
world would really be like.
Comprehension questions are
correctly answered. Write about
it prompt is answered, and
reflects serious thought about
the topic assigned and what the
world would really be like.
Comprehension questions are
correctly answered. Write about
it prompt is answered, and
reflects serious thought about
the topic assigned and what the
world would really be like.
Assignment is
completed.
We will watch this video in class on
1/30/15.
Extension Activities
Animal Farm
Propaganda Poster
8 points
See rubric for assignment
description
Individual Assignment only. Cannot
be completed as a group.
We will work on this in class 2/2 to
2/5
Score from Rubric:
__________________________
Study of the
Russian
Revolution—Sochi
Olympics
8 points
Puzzle Piece
(Russian
Revolution)
8 points
We will study the modern (2014)
Russian perspective of the Russian
Revolution and history by evaluating
their presentation to the world
during the Sochi Olympics.
Score from Rubric: _______________________________
We will work on this in class 1/27 to
1/29
Connects to:
World War 1
(also may connect to Industrial
Revolution)
Puzzle piece(s) contain all
required elements. See
Puzzle Project Rubric for
exact details.
Puzzle piece(s) contain all
required elements and are
attractive and functional.
Calendar:
January 20th—Pre-test for the 3rd Quarter
January 21st—Powerpoint presentation on Communism (notes)
January 22nd—Powerpoint on the Russian Revolution and Rise of Joseph Stalin (notes)_
January 26th—Powerpoint on the characters of Animal Farm and how they connect to historical figures (graphic organizer)
January 26th-February 13th—At some point during these weeks, students will read Animal Farm in their Language Arts classes
January 27th-29th—Students will evaluate the 2012 London Games (Industrial Revolution) and 2014 Sochi Games (Russian Revolution
and Communist Regime) as propaganda. Teacher will lead discussions and review the requirements for the assignments.
January 30th—Students will watch a documentary on Joseph Stalin (complete movie guide)
February 17-20th—Students will complete a poster project with Animal Farm and will complete a critical review of the connection
between one of the characters and the Russian historical figure that they represented. (rubric provided by teacher)
*Between February 2nd-12th, students will be working on completing a research paper project.