In-Class Essay

Test for Animal Farm

For your test on the movie, you will be working with one other classmate to write an in-class five paragraph essay (typed or written). This will be a test grade; here are your requirements:

1. You and your partner need to work together to write a five paragraph essay. It's up to you and your
    partner to decide how you'll write this essay. You can take turns, dictate to each other, etc.

2. Choose one of the following prompts to write an essay on:
    A. Compare and Contrast the Theme of "Propaganda" in the book to the movie.
         1. Think about how the book portrayed propaganda vs the book
         2. Consider the the use of television in the movie to the book - why was it included
         3. Consider Squealer in the book vs Squealer in the movie

    B. Compare and Contrast the Theme of "Corruption of Power" in the book to the movie.
         1. Consider how the movie portrays Napoleon vs the book - was there a difference?
         2. Think about how the corrupt leaders are shown in the movie vs the book
         3. What does the movie emphasize about the corruption of leaders vs the book?

3. Your essay will be graded on the same aspects as your other papers: grammar, formal tone,
     analyzing vs summarizing, etc.

4. Follow this essay guideline for your four paragraphs (6-8 sentences per paragraph):

    I. Introduction
        A. Generalization
        B. Thesis

    II. First Body Paragraph
         A. Compare/Contrast

    III. Second Body Paragraph
          A. Compare/Contrast

 IV. Third Body Paragraph
       A. Compare/Contrast

  V. Conclusion Paragraph
          A. Summarize your thesis and two body paragraphs briefly
          B. End with a lasting statement

The Russian Revolution and Animal Farm

Making the Connection: From Fiction to Real Life

As we're finishing up our reading of Animal Farm, we will focus on the real historical connections to this allegory written by George Orwell. Every character and action in the novel can be traced to a person or event that took place during the Russian Revolution - which we will discover this week. Here are your group requirements:

1: 350 word research report. MLA format. Parenthetical citation. TWO authentic 
    sources cited in the paper (Direct Quote/ Paraphrase/ Summary) 

2: Keynote presentation: Essential Question (Opening discussion and Closing discussion) 

3: Connection to the Book - Who/what does each person/action/group represent in the book?

There are two main lessons the class will be teaching. Your group will do one of the following:

I. LESSON ONE:

1: Karl Marx
* Who was Karl Marx?
* What kind of life did he lead?
* His legacy?
* Brief bio
* Connection to the book

2: Leon Trotsky
* Who was Leon Trotsky?
* What kind of leader was he?
* Brief bio
* Connection to the book

3: Joseph Stalin
* Who was Joseph Stalin?
* What is he notorious for?
* Brief bio
* Connection to the book

4: Czar Nicholas II
* Who was Czar Nicholas II?
* Was he a good leader?
* How did he treat the people?
* Brief bio
* Connection to the book

II. LESSON TWO:

1: Russian Propaganda
* What were the techniques of Russian propaganda during the war?
* What were its effects on the people?
* Examples?
* Brief history
* Connection to the book

2: KGB
* What was the KGB?
* How was it a tool in the Russian Revolution?
* Brief history
* Connection to the book

3: Religion
* How did Karl Marx view religion?
* What was the role of religion in the Russian Revolution?
* Connection to the book

4: Russian Revolution
* What are the overall details of the Russian Revolution?
* Why did it start? How did it end?
* Connection to the book

Group Project: The Power of Speech

Create a COMPARE/CONTRAST diagram for Old Major and Martin Luther King Jr.’s speeches

Answer these questions in your COMPARE/CONTRAST diagram:

1. Give the specific literary devices used by each speaker. Give as many examples as possible for each literary device found. 
2. For each example you write down, give an explanation. For example, in a metaphor, why did he compare those two objects? etc.
3. What is the purpose of each speech? What did the speaker want to create in the people? 
4. What was the effect created in the people from each speech?
5. What is the enemy of each speech?
6. What was the solution offered in each speech against their enemy?

Satire: A Modest Proposal

What is the best way to tackle social/economic/political issues? Is it to protest by picketing or rioting? Is it to give moving speeches? One way that writers throughout history have tackled issues in their lifetime is through satire: the use of irony, sarcasm, or ridicule in exposing/denouncing/deriding some problem. In Animal Farm Orwell tackles political issues through satire with the animals on the farm. Similarly, in Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal, he tackles the issue of poverty, homelessness, and economic struggles through a terrifying solution. For the next few days, we will read A Modest Proposal in class and then write our own version of a satire.

1. Read A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift: A MODEST PROPOSAL

2: Write your own satire that tackles a social/political/religious/governmental/economic issue

Survival Guide: Surviving in the Wild

Survival in the wild is a key theme in Lord of the Flies. For this project, you will be working in groups on creating a survival guide. This is will be a part research and part creative project. Here are your requirements:

1. A Survival Manual
Your group will write a survival guide manual that will contain appropriate visuals/pictures/covers, etc. Each member of your group will write a chapter in the manual. Your chapter needs to be 350 words and needs to have TWO AUTHENTIC SOURCES. Your group needs to pick an environment and survival situation for the basis of your environment (think jungle, the arctic, the desert, etc.) Here are the chapters:

A. Government
* What would be the best government to set up in your survival situation? Why?
* Explain how it would be set up and how it would work

B. Environment
* What is the environment your group is choosing?
* Describe the environment

C. Essentials/Shelter/Equipment/Food
* What are the essentials/shelter/equipment/food needed in your survival situation?
* This will also be specific to your environment and survival situation

D. Potential Dangers
* What are the potential dangers in your specific survival situation?
* How would you respond?


2. Presentation of Survival Manual
Your group needs to make a presentation of your survival manual. Here are your options:

A. Instructional Survival Guide Video
* Think about the shows Survivor Man or Man vs Wild

B. Show and Tell Presentation
* Bring objects/items and have a show-and-tell type of presentation to the class

C. Survival Guide Tour
* Set up and create your survival situation outside using obstacles, etc. and take the class on an
   instructional, guided tour

Debate Topics

First Topic:

1. Mankind, without civilization and order, becomes an evil savage. He is not innocent by nature.

2. The savage man is pure and innocent by nature because he is uncorrupted by civilization.

Second Topic: 

1. The best government is a pure democracy that is run by the people with no elected leader. 

2. The best government is one where there is an elected leader who governs others. 

Third Topic: 

1. The most important characteristic in a leader is moral character. Any other skill or ability is secondary 

    in importance.

2. There are other characteristic(s) that are more important and necessary in a leader than his moral 

    character.

Fourth Topic:

1. Religion has no place in a government. It can only cause trouble in leadership 

    or the people. 

2. Religion can play an important role in a government. It can lead to good within leadership and the 

    people.

The Debate Speech

Your team should take time to study the claim that you are supposed to prove. Each member of your team will write a debate speech. Each member's debate speech should be a different and unique reason why your claim is true. For example, let's say this was your team's claim:

CLAIM: Smoking is an unhealthy habit that should not be practiced. 

As a team, you want to come up with different reasons each member of your team can have to write a speech on. So, let's say your team comes up with these important reasons:

REASONS: 1) Smoking can cause lung cancer
                     2) Smoking can cause gum disease
                     3) Smoking can harm others who are around by second-hand smoke
                     4) Smoking can harm a baby if a woman is pregnant 

If these are the four most important reasons your group comes up with, then each member on your team would write a speech on one of the four reasons. EACH SPEECH NEEDS TO BE UNIQUE AND DIFFERENT THAN THE OTHERS. There should be FOUR paragraphs in each debate speech:

I. Introduction/Generalization/Claim 
* Your first paragraph should begin with generalization on your topic to get your audience familiar
* You should end your introduction with your team's CLAIM

II. Your Main Reason/Support for Your Claim
* Here is where you will focus on your unique reason why your team's claim is true
* Need at least TWO authentic sources CITED in your debate speech - either a direct
   quote/summary/paraphrase of each source; look for studies, statistics, definitions, etc.

III. Your Defense against Counter-Argument 
* Briefly explain a counter-argument that could be used against you
* Explain WHY that counter-argument is WRONG

IV. Conclusion
* Summarize your debate speech
* What was your team's claim again? Why is your team's claim correct?

Debate Rules and Regulations

I. Presentation of Arguments by One Team

* Each member of the team will take turns reading their debate speech

II. Criticism by the Opposing Team

* The opposing team will listen to the first team's speeches and take notes while listening. They will
   then have time to talk as a group and gather their criticisms together.

* The team will elect one person to read the criticisms to the audience.

III. Rebuttal by the First Team

* The first team will then have time to speak together to answer the criticisms of the second team.

* The first team will elect one person to speak their rebuttals.

IV. Closing Speech

* Each team will then have TWO minutes to share ideas on a closing speech to present to the audience.

* One person one each team will present the closing speech to the audience. The speech should
   summarize the strengths of their argument and point out the weaknesses of the opponent's argument.

Dystopian Lyrics

"A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" by Bob Dylan

Oh, where have you been, my blue-eyed son ?
And where have you been my darling young one ?
I've stumbled on the side of twelve misty mountains
I've walked and I've crawled on six crooked highways
I've stepped in the middle of seven sad forests
I've been out in front of a dozen dead oceans
I've been ten thousand miles in the mouth of a graveyard
And it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard, and it's a hard
It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.

Oh, what did you see, my blue eyed son ?
And what did you see, my darling young one ?
I saw a newborn baby with wild wolves all around it
I saw a highway of diamonds with nobody on it
I saw a black branch with blood that kept drippin'
I saw a room full of men with their hammers a-bleedin'
I saw a white ladder all covered with water
I saw ten thousand takers whose tongues were all broken
I saw guns and sharp swords in the hands of young children
And it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard, and it's a hard
It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.

And what did you hear, my blue-eyed son ?
And what did you hear, my darling young one ?
I heard the sound of a thunder, it roared out a warnin'
I heard the roar of a wave that could drown the whole world
I heard one hundred drummers whose hands were a-blazin'
I heard ten thousand whisperin' and nobody listenin'
I heard one person starve, I heard many people laughin'
Heard the song of a poet who died in the gutter
Heard the sound of a clown who cried in the alley
And it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard
And it's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.

Oh, who did you meet my blue-eyed son ?
Who did you meet, my darling young one ?
I met a young child beside a dead pony
I met a white man who walked a black dog
I met a young woman whose body was burning
I met a young girl, she gave me a rainbow
I met one man who was wounded in love
I met another man who was wounded and hatred
And it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard
And it's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.

And what'll you do now, my blue-eyed son ?
And what'll you do now my darling young one ?
I'm a-goin' back out 'fore the rain starts a-fallin'
I'll walk to the deepths of the deepest black forest
Where the people are a many and their hands are all empty
Where the pellets of poison are flooding their waters
Where the home in the valley meets the damp dirty prison
Where the executioner's face is always well hidden
Where hunger is ugly, where souls are forgotten
Where black is the color, where none is the number
And I'll tell and think it and speak it and breathe it
And reflect it from the mountain so all souls can see it
Then I'll stand on the ocean until I start sinkin'
But I'll know my songs well before I start singin'
And it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard, and it's a hard
It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.

Utopia: The Perfect Society

Is it possible for a perfect society to exist? Describe what you think would make a perfect society.