Lesson 12: Animal Farm and “Russian Revolution: A New Kind of Power”

Students share about one Russian Revolution historical figure from the previous lesson’s homework reading.

Retell & Paraphrase Partner Check

Have students take out their homework from the previous lesson.

• Lesson 11 Homework: Students read “Russian Revolution: A New Kind of Power” and responded to the following prompts:

  • What events led to the creation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)?

  • Identify one event in the Russian Revolution article that is similar to an event in Animal Farm.

Say these Directions: Work with a partner to discuss the article you read by responding to the following prompt:

• Choose one historical figure you read about in the article. Explain to your partner what you remember about the person and their role in the Russian Revolution. While one partner shares, the other partner will listen and then check the article to verify the information.

  • Tsar Nicholas II was the leader of Russia, whom people rebelled against. The people were hungry, and there were “food riots” and unrest until he stepped down from leadership.

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: Today, we're going to zoom out from Animal Farm and look at the real historical revolution that inspired the novel. You read about the Russian Revolution for homework, and you’ll reread the article today. Then you will analyze what caused the revolution, why people followed certain leaders, and how ideals changed over time. Understanding this history will help us see how Orwell used the Russian Revolution as the foundation for Animal Farm.

Example/Non-Example

Target words: socialism, dictatorship 

Introduce Activity: Share with students that they will read a number of scenarios and decide if each is an example or a non-example of socialism, and then repeat the process with examples and non-examples of dictatorship. 

Say these Directions: Read each scenario below. Decide on your own if each scenario is an example or a non-example of socialism. Then compare your answers with a partner. If you disagree on any answer, each of you should briefly explain your thinking and see if you can agree.

Then repeat the process with the second set of scenarios, deciding which are examples and non-examples of dictatorship.

Part A: Socialism: 

• Major industries and resources are typically owned or controlled by the state or the public.

• The government plays a minimal role in regulating the economy, allowing supply and demand to determine prices and wages.

• Citizens often receive access to services like healthcare, education, and housing, funded through taxation or state planning.

• Wealth is redistributed through taxes, public programs, or state ownership.

• Most people are born into a fixed social class and spend their lives working on land owned by nobles.

• Religious authorities guide laws and social behavior.

Share Student Thinking: Invite partners to share any scenario where they did not initially agree and how they resolved their disagreement. As students share their thinking, prompt students to share their rationale and explain their connections. For example: 

• Ask: How did you come to agree that the second statement is an example?

  • We went back and checked the reading and agreed that the government plays a large economic role in socialism, not a minimal role

Part B: Dictatorship: 

• Citizens can publicly criticize their leaders in open discussion.

• People have a say in how the wealth and resources of the whole society are used

• The government is controlled by one person or a very small group of people.

• People have no or very little choice in their leaders.

• News and media are censored by the government.

• People have many rights that are laid out for them.

Share Student Thinking: Invite partnerships to share their examples and non-examples. As students share their thinking, prompt students to share their rationale and explain their connections. For example: 

• Ask: How did you come to agree that the first statement is an example?

  • We agreed that the first is a dictatorship because the reading mentioned that the government often controls the flow of information that the people can see in a dictatorship.

• Ask: Which system is Animal Farm moving toward by Chapter V? Use one detail to support your claim.

  • The Animal Farm is becoming a dictatorship because Napoleon makes decisions alone and uses the dogs to silence disagreement.

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: The government in Animal Farm is changing, just as it did during the Russian Revolution. Today, you will learn more about the Russian Revolution and how it inspired and relates to this story.

Part A: Analyzing the Russian Revolution (RL.8.2, RI.8.2) (15 minutes)

Students will analyze the leaders and events in the Russian Revolution to start drawing connections to Animal Farm.

Think-Pair-Share

Students will reread the “Russian Revolution” article with a partner, and jot down answers to at least three of the prompts below to then share with a new partner in the next section of the lesson. You may choose to assign items to pairs to ensure all items are answered.

Pass out blank index cards to the students.

Say these Directions: Read the prompts below and choose three you want to answer. Then reread the article “Russian Revolution: A New Kind of Power” with your partner. As you read, write your responses to the prompt on an index card. Use a new card for each of your three prompts. Each partner should have their own set of three cards.

• one cause of the Russian Revolution

• one leader in the Russian Revolution and how they influenced belief

• one idea that was promised during the Russian Revolution and how it changed

• one central idea from the article

• one connection to Animal Farm characters

• one connection to Animal Farm events

• one connection to the use of propaganda in Animal Farm

Model for students with the first item by reading aloud the bullet and writing on an index card:

• One cause of the Russian Revolution is that people were hungry and facing starvation, as it says in the article, there were “food riots and strikes”.

Encourage students to discuss questions they may have with their partner. Explain that they will exchange index cards with new partners when they are done rereading the text and responding to at least three items.

Give One, Get One

Have students use the Give One, Get One protocol to share their ideas with new partners.

• Say: Now you will share your ideas about the history of the Russian Revolution and its connections to Animal Farm with new partners.

Say these Directions: Find a new partner, exchange one of your index cards, and briefly discuss your response. Then, repeat with another partner and another index card response.

Model the exchange of index cards as needed. Have students continue as time allows until all items from the list have been addressed.

• One cause of the Russian Revolution was inequality because Russians, under the leadership of the tsar, had “very little freedom and lived in poverty.”

• Lenin was a leader who promised that life would get better under his leadership by providing “land for the peasants and power to the workers.”

• One promise Lenin made was to reform the rules of government to establish peace, and he was able to do so, but at a “huge cost” to Russia in terms of land.

• One central idea is that the Russian people wanted revolution because life was difficult, but the life they were promised kept shifting under different leaders.

• Lenin reminds me of Old Major and his early ideals of how life could be if there were a “classless” society. After they were both gone, the revolution did not go as originally planned.

• The way ideals kept changing in Russia reminds me of how the ideals keep changing in Animal Farm. A certain way of life is promised, but the results are not there.

• The leaders in Russia, like Stalin, used propaganda to persuade the soldiers and people to see the need for revolution in their own way. This reminds me of Squealer in Animal Farm and how he uses propaganda to influence the animals' beliefs and actions.

Have students reflect on how their thinking may have changed after hearing other points of view.

Part B: Connecting the Russian Revolution to Animal Farm (RL.8.2, RI.8.1, RI.8.2) (15 minutes)

Students will use their initial connections from the previous section to draw even deeper connections between the Russian Revolution and Animal Farm.

• Say: In our reading, we learned some key information about the Russian Revolution:

  • Causes of revolution: inequality, famine, and failed leadership by the tsar

  • Rise of leaders: Lenin (ideals), Trotsky (intellect/strategy), Stalin (power and fear)

  • Messaging and propaganda: posters, slogans, simplified narratives

  • Betrayal of ideals: early promises vs. later authoritarian control and inequality

• Say: This historical event inspired Orwell to write Animal Farm. There are some clear connections between the characters and events in the story and the events from the Russian Revolution.

Lead a whole-class discussion using the following question.

• Ask: Which leader in the Russian Revolution is most similar to Napoleon so far, and which specific details from both texts show this?

  • Stalin is most similar to Napoleon. The article explains that Stalin used the “secret police” to control rivals, and he had Trotsky removed. In Chapter V, Napoleon uses trained dogs to chase Snowball away. Both leaders use fear to gain power.

Historical Snapshot Organizer

• Say: We will begin creating a Historical Snapshot Organizer to record connections between the Russian Revolution and Animal Farm. This will be an important resource that we use in upcoming lessons.

Provide each student with a 3-Column Chart graphic organizer that will function as a Historical Snapshot Organizer.

Say these Directions: Create a Historical Snapshot Organizer by labeling the columns with the headings below. Then, fill in your organizer as we discuss key figures and concepts of the Russian Revolution:

• Key Russian Revolution Figure/Concept

• What the Article Says

• Connection to Animal Farm

Get the students started by asking them to identify the key historical figures and concepts in the left column.

• Ask: Who are the key historical figures and concepts in the article?

Use the responses below to fill out the left column together.

• Tsar Nicholas II, Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin, secret police, and propaganda department.

Think-Pair-Share

Students will work together with a partner to complete the second and third columns about what the articles say about the historical figure or concept, and the connection to Animal Farm.

Say these Directions: Use the article and your notes/index cards to complete the second and third columns of the chart to explain what the article says about the historical figure or concept and the connection to Animal Farm.

Remind students to use gist statements or summary statements in the middle column as opposed to writing verbatim from the article so that they are paraphrasing what the article says.

Consider modeling Tsar Nicholas II as an example before transitioning students into partner work.

After students have worked on the charts in pairs, allow two to three pairs to share with the class.

Turn-and-Talk

Have partners reflect on the connections between the Russian Revolution and Animal Farm.

Say these Directions: Turn and talk with a partner to discuss the prompt:

• What was interesting or surprising to learn about the Russian Revolution and the connections to Animal Farm?

  • It’s interesting to think that Orwell has a character that matches all the major historical figures in the Russian Revolution, and how those characters match the descriptions of the Russian figures.

Instruct students to finish the Historical Snapshot Organizer for homework if they did not finish during the lesson. This organizer will support their writing in the following lesson.