Lesson 26: Animal Farm, Argumentative Writing, Part 3

Students engage in a partner discussion to discuss why revolutions either uphold or betray their original ideals.

Think-Pair-Share

Transition students into pairs to engage in a Think-Pair-Share activity about revolutionary ideals.

• Say these Directions: Discuss the following questions with your partner:

  • Why are some revolutions able to protect their ideals?

    • Revolutions protect their ideals when leaders remain accountable to the people and continue to follow the original principles of the revolution.

  • Why do some revolutions betray their original ideals? 

    • Greed, corruption, or a desire to gain and maintain power can cause leaders to abandon the original ideals of a revolution.

After pairs finish discussing, invite one to two students to briefly share what they discussed with the class.

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: You now have evidence of how historical and fictional revolutions progress and what influences whether or not the original ideals are protected or corrupted. Today, your task is to use that evidence to build a precise, arguable claim for your unit performance task. Strong revolutions rise on strong ideas, and strong essays rise on strong claims.

Mini-Lesson: What makes a Powerful Claim When Writing an Argument?

Explain that you will be discussing argument claims and how to identify a strong claim. Remind students that they have previously discussed argument claims in Lessons 14 and 22, and this lesson will build on that work.

Display the performance task prompt: Write an argument essay explaining how Animal Farm shows that revolutions can either protect or corrupt ideals.

• Say: When we come to the performance task for the unit, you will be making a claim in response to this prompt. A claim is a position or stance you are taking on a topic. It is your opinion based on evidence. In argument writing, your claim is the position you are arguing for.

Display the example claims below for the class.

• Say: These are examples of weak claims. They do express an opinion, but these opinions are not fully thought out. The claims are vague and not specific enough to the argument we want to make.

  • “Some revolutions fail because of bad leaders.”

  • “Animal Farm shows that revolutions can go wrong.”

  • “Propaganda affects revolutions.”

• Say: Here are some stronger claims that are more specific and answer the prompt more directly.

  • “Revolutions fail when leaders use fear instead of upholding the revolution’s ideals.”

  • “Napoleon’s dictatorship shows how the Animal Farm revolution betrayed its original goals.”

Display the following Checklist for a Strong Argument Claim.

• Say: Our argument claims need four components:

• Answers the prompt by taking a position

• Names specific forces or conditions that played a part in the revolution

• Clearly shows the cause and effect in the revolutions’ outcomes

• Is arguable, meaning someone could disagree

• Say: Here is a strong claim that we can look at as an example:

  • “Animal Farm shows that revolutions are corrupted when the leaders take control of education and the laws, which causes the other animals to lose their agency and eventually their freedom.”

Allow one to two students to communicate ideas for strong claims as time allows.

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: Today, we will be working on developing strong claims in response to the performance task prompt.

Part A: Developing an Argument Claim (W.8.1.a) (15 minutes)

Explain that students will now begin developing a strong claim for their final argument essay by connecting ideas from Animal Farm with historical examples studied in the unit.

• Say: Before writing a claim, strong writers first organize their ideas and evidence to make sure their claim can be supported by evidence. Answer the questions below to begin developing your claim for the unit performance task.

Turn and Talk

Transition students into pairs. Have students develop their claims using the following steps by talking about each step with a partner.

Step 1: Identify the main explanation

• Say these Directions: What is your main explanation for why revolutions uphold or betray their ideals based on Animal Farm and the other historical events explored in the unit?

Instruct students to talk with their partner about the main explanation. Encourage students to choose one main explanation, not several unrelated ideas.

• fear, control of information, propaganda, erasure of truth, lack of accountability, corrupted leadership

Step 2: Evidence from Animal Farm

• Say these Directions: What is evidence from Animal Farm that supports your main explanation? Which moments in the text best support your position?

Instruct students to talk with their partner about evidence from Animal Farm that supports their main explanation or position.

• Throughout the novel, Napoleon uses violence and fear to control the animals. For example, in Chapter V, Napoleon uses the dogs to chase Snowball off the farm, showing how violence replaces democratic debate and allows Napoleon to take control.

Step 3: Evidence from the Russian Revolution

• Say these Directions: What is evidence from the Russian Revolution that supports your main explanation? Which detail best supports your position?

Instruct students to talk with their partner about evidence from the Russian Revolution that supports their main explanation.

• During the Russian Revolution, political opponents were intimidated, arrested, or even executed. This shows how fear and violence were used to silence opposition and maintain power. In Chapter VII of Animal Farm, Napoleon orders the animals to confess and then has them executed. This moment mirrors how revolutionary leaders may use fear and violence to silence opposition and maintain control.

Step 4: Evidence from the American Revolution

• Say these Directions: What is one contrasting or reinforcing example from the American Revolution? How does it show a different outcome OR a protected ideal?

Instruct students to talk with their partner about evidence from the American Revolution that either supports or negates their main explanation.

• After the American Revolution, leaders created the Bill of Rights to protect freedoms such as speech and religion. This shows how a revolution can protect its ideals by limiting government power and protecting citizens’ rights. In Animal Farm, the pigs secretly change the Seven Commandments, removing protections for equality. Unlike the American Revolution’s attempt to protect rights through written laws, the pigs manipulate the rules to increase their power.

Step 5: Propaganda or rhetorical techniques in Animal Farm

• Say these Directions: What is one example of propaganda or rhetorical techniques from Animal Farm that supports your position? What does it reveal about how leaders influence belief or action?

Instruct students to talk with their partner about propaganda or rhetorical techniques from Animal Farm that support their position.

• Squealer tells the animals that the pigs need milk and apples because they are the “brainworkers,” convincing them that the pigs deserve special privileges (p. 36). This propaganda persuades the animals to begin to accept inequality on the farm.

Transition students into working independently to draft their claim based on the preceding steps and their partner discussion.

Step 6: Draft your claim

• Say these Directions: Now combine your ideas into a clear, arguable claim. Use the following frame to begin drafting:

Display the following frame to support students in drafting their claim.

Revolutions uphold or betray their ideals when __________, as shown by __________ in Animal Farm, __________ in the Russian Revolution, and through __________ persuasion or rhetorical techniques.

Encourage students to revise the frame as needed to make their claim clear and precise.

Circulate to check for accuracy and conceptual clarity as students draft their claims.

Provide students with a confidence continuum (i.e., 1–5). As needed, model how to demonstrate a level of confidence using the continuum.

Part B: Introducing the Claim (W.8.1.a, W.8.4, W.8.5) (15 minutes)

Introducing the Claim

Instruct students to develop their claim in an introductory paragraph (three to five sentences) using the following criteria. Display the following information and review it with students.

Develop an introductory claim paragraph (three to five sentences), including:

• A brief introduction to the topic and the text, Animal Farm

• Your argument’s claim

• A brief preview of the evidence you will use in the final essay

• Say: Use your claim-building from the first half of the lesson and the example frame below to draft your introductory claim paragraph. Your paragraph should clearly explain why revolutions protect or betray their ideals and preview the examples you will use as evidence.

Display the following example frame to support students with writing this introductory paragraph.

Example Frame:

“Throughout history and in Animal Farm, revolutions rise with hope but collapse when ________. This pattern appears in Orwell’s depiction of ________, the Russian Revolution’s ________, and propaganda messages that rely on ________. Together, these examples show that revolutions often betray their ideals because ________.”

Provide students with time to independently draft their introductory claim paragraphs.

Peer Review Protocol

Have partners exchange claim paragraphs.

Say these Directions: Use this checklist to review your partner’s introductory claim paragraph.

Display the checklist.

Checklist: A strong argument claim must:

• Identify one main explanation (not several unrelated ideas)

• Distinguish itself from other claims

• Include a reference to Animal Farm

• Be arguable and precise (not a summary)

Have partners offer one suggestion to strengthen precision (word choice, clarity, or specificity). Allow students to revise their claim paragraphs based on feedback.

Lesson 26 Writing Rubric: Argument Essay Introduction — Developing the Claim

Writing prompt: Draft a clear introductory paragraph for your argument essay that develops a precise, arguable claim explaining how Animal Farm demonstrates that revolutions can protect or corrupt ideals (or both).

Turn and Talk

Prepare students to reflect on the following prompt with a partner:

• Say these Directions: Turn to your partner and discuss the following questions:

  • How did writing your claim today help you better understand why revolutions rise or betray their ideals? Use an example from Animal Farm or from the historical events we discussed in class.

    • Writing my claim helped me understand that revolutions often fail when leaders control information. In Animal Farm, Napoleon changes the Seven Commandments, and Squealer uses speeches to convince the animals that the pigs are always right.

Invite one to two students to briefly share their thinking with the class.

Instruct students to read Chapter IX of Animal Farm. Instruct students to take notes in their Journal on the following prompt: How does Chapter IX continue to show betrayals against the revolution's ideals?

• Read Chapter IX of Animal Farm and take notes in your Journal on how Chapter IX continues to show betrayals against the revolution’s ideals. Record at least two examples from the chapter that show how the animals’ original hopes or promises are being broken.