Lesson 22: Animal Farm, Argumentative Writing, Part 2

Remind students that in Lessons 20–21, they analyzed how the revolution has changed, including Napoleon’s consolidation of power with scapegoating, confessions, and executions. Today, they will use that reading evidence to make a clear argument about how the revolution betrays its ideals.

Turn and Talk

Have students turn to a partner and discuss the following prompt.

• Say These Directions: Turn to a partner and explain how a claim functions in an argument paragraph. Give one example of a claim you remember from a previous lesson.

• Ask: What is the function of a claim in writing? What does your claim communicate to a reader?

  • A claim is the main argument or position a writer takes in response to a question or prompt. It tells the reader exactly what the writer believes and sets up what the rest of the paragraph will prove. For example, in an argument about Animal Farm, a claim might state that the executions in Chapter VII show the revolution betraying its ideal of justice. This claim communicates to the reader what specific idea the writer will defend and gives them a reason to keep reading to see if the evidence supports it.

Invite one to two students to share an insight with the class.

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: Chapters VI and VII show the revolution on Animal Farm in a very different place from where it started. Today, you’ll choose one powerful moment from those chapters and build a clear argument paragraph explaining how it shows the revolution betraying its ideals. This will help prepare you for your final argument performance task at the end of the unit.

Students study how strong argument claims are constructed.

TEACH: Claim Study

• Say: In your final essay, you’ll need a strong thesis, a clear claim that responds to a question and shows your thinking. A claim in argument writing is the author's position on a specific topic. The claim states their position and explains why they hold that position. Today, we'll study how to build a strong claim and how to use textual evidence to support it.

Model how a claim can be created.

• Say: For example, when we wrote about Chapters 1–5, we took a position on which forces most influenced the animals. One claim that we made was "By the end of Chapter 5, fear has become the strongest force influencing the animals because it silences disagreement and forces obedience."

Display today’s writing prompt and have students review it.

• What is one moment in Chapters VI–VII that shows the revolution has betrayed its original ideals? What does that moment reveal about how the revolution has changed from its beginning?

Display weak vs. strong claim examples:

• “The executions show the revolution is bad.”

• “The executions show that the pigs are unfair and don’t care about the animals.”

• “The executions in Chapter 7 show that the revolution has betrayed its ideals of equality and justice because Napoleon now uses fear and false confessions to protect his own power instead of the farm’s original promises.”

Conduct a brief class discussion analyzing the weak versus strong claims.

• Ask: Which claim is the strongest? Which claim is the weakest? Why? 

  • The strongest claim is the last one because it clearly explains how the executions prove that the revolution has lost its real purpose. It connects the events in Chapter VII to the bigger ideas of equality and justice. The first claim is the weakest because it’s too short and doesn’t explain why the revolution is bad or give any details from the story.

• Ask: What qualities does the stronger claim have that the others do not?

  • The stronger claim takes a position and explains that position with a detailed reason that can be supported by textual evidence.

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: Now you will use what we studied about strong claims to build your own argument paragraph. You'll start by drafting your claim, then gather evidence from Chapters VI and VII, and finally write your complete paragraph.

Part A: Creating a Claim and Gathering Relevant Text Evidence (W.8.1.a-b, W.8.1.e, W.8.9.a) (15 minutes)

Turn and Talk

Students will now craft a claim and gather evidence using their annotations and notes from their Homework Journals.

Transition students to small groups to determine a list of possible moments from Chapters VI and VII that show a betrayal of the revolution's original ideas.

• Say These Directions: In your group, list moments from Chapters VI–VII that show the revolution changing or betraying its ideals. Then choose one moment you can support with at least two pieces of evidence.

Provide students with time to talk with their group to identify the moments from Chapters VI–VII.

• (Responses can vary, but may include):

  • Pigs trading with humans (Ch. 6)

  • Changing/revising the commandments (Ch. 6)

  • Snowball being blamed for everything (scapegoating) (Ch. 7)

  • The hunger and shortages (Ch. 7)

  • The confessions and executions (Ch. 7)

Have groups share out the various moments that can work in response to the prompt. Next, transition the students into independent claim development:

• Say These Directions: During the Literacy Lab, you explored what makes a strong claim. Now you will draft your own claim in response to the writing prompt.

Provide the writing prompt: What is one moment in Chapters VI–VII that shows the revolution has betrayed its original ideals? What does that moment reveal about how the revolution has changed from its beginning?

Have students draft their own claim in response to the writing prompt in their journals. Provide students with the following checklist.

Argument Claim Checklist

• The argument names one specific moment.

• The argument names one ideal that is betrayed.

• The argument explains how the moment is important for understanding how the revolution has changed from the beginning.

Teach: Claim–Evidence–Reasoning

• Say These Directions: A strong claim needs strong evidence. But evidence doesn't work if you just drop a quote into your paragraph. You need to introduce the quote, connect it to your claim, and explain what it proves. Let's look at how to do that by using a clear Claim–Evidence–Reasoning (CER) outline. This outline is like a skeleton for the argument paragraphs you’ll write later in the performance task argument essay at the end of the unit.

Have students complete a simple CER organizer in their journals using their novels, annotations, and notes from their Homework Journals:

C – Claim (response to prompt):

• “The moment that best shows the revolution betraying its ideals is ________ because ________.”

E – Evidence 1 (quote + explanation):

• Lead-in/context:

• Quote: “________________________” (Orwell, p. __)

• What is happening in this scene?

R – Reasoning 1 (how this proves the claim):

• Which ideal is betrayed here? (e.g., equality, justice, honesty)

• How does this moment show betrayal of that ideal?

E – Evidence 2 (quote + context):

• Lead-in/context:

• Quote: “________________________” (Orwell, p. __)

• What is happening in this scene?

R – Reasoning 2 (how this proves the claim):

• How does this second quote deepen or extend your argument?

• How have the revolutionary ideals changed from the beginning?

Conclusion: Restate the claim in a different way with a synthesis of the evidence and explanation.

Circulate to assist students, especially around reasoning, pushing them beyond summary into explanation.

Part B: Writing an Argument Paragraph (RL.8.2, RL.8.3, W.8.1.a-c, W.8.1.e, W.8.4) (15 minutes)

Students will now write their argument paragraph using their notes, annotations, and organizers.

Provide the following directions:

• Write an argument paragraph using your notes, annotations, and organizers. Prompt: What is one moment in Chapters VI–VII that shows the revolution has betrayed its original ideals? What does that moment reveal about how the revolution has changed from its beginning?

Have students write their paragraph and then share briefly with a partner.

• The executions in Chapter VII show that the revolution has betrayed its ideals of equality and justice, and this moment is important for understanding how Napoleon gains total power. When the hens and pigs confess to secret alliances with Snowball, Orwell writes that "they were all slain on the spot” (pg. 53), demonstrating that Napoleon now rules through terror rather than the group decision-making the revolution promised. Furthermore, as the remaining animals huddle together afterward, they realize that "these scenes of terror and slaughter were not what they had looked forward to on that night when Old Major first stirred them to rebellion" (p. 54). This evidence reveals that the animals recognize that the revolution's ideals have been destroyed, but they are too afraid to act. By terrifying the animals into silence and killing anyone who might challenge his authority, Napoleon ensures that power is only with him, proving that the revolution has been deliberately reshaped to serve one leader's control.

Lesson 22 Writing Rubric: Argument Paragraph — Propaganda & Ideal Corruption

Writing prompt: Write an argument paragraph identifying a specific moment from Chapters VI–VII of Animal Farm that shows the revolution betraying its original ideals. Use your claim, evidence from the text, and clear reasoning to argue how this moment demonstrates the corruption of the revolution.

Turn and Talk

Have students reflect on the following displayed prompt by talking with a peer:

In two to three sentences, explain how your chosen moment from Chapters VI–VII helps answer the Essential Question: Why do revolutions rise—and why do some end up betraying their own ideals? Use at least one idea from your argument paragraph for support.

• The executions in Chapter VII show the revolution betraying its ideals because animals are killed without justice. When the hens and pigs are forced to confess to crimes and then killed by the dogs, Orwell reveals that “the air was heavy with the smell of blood, which had been unknown there since the expulsion of Jones” (p. 53). This moment connects to EQ2 because it shows how revolutions fail when leaders use fear and violence to protect their own power rather than uphold the promises that sparked the revolution.

Have students read Chapter VIII (pp. 91–109) of Animal Farm. Instruct students to take notes in their Journal on the following prompt:

As you read Chapter VIII of Animal Farm, annotate the text for the following:

• In what ways has Napoleon's leadership changed from Chapter V to now?