Lesson 2 Animal Farm (Fable or Fairy Story)

‘Animal Farm’
‘a fairy story’
or fable?
L/O: understanding George Orwell's

intention for the novel
WALT and WILF
What Are we Learning Today
 Working in groups to develop an understanding of the novel’s
form
 Sharing ideas of George Orwell’s intention for the novel
 Developing imaginative ideas as a group
What I’m Looking For

 Grade C: ability to explain the writer’s ideas clearly
 Grade B: engagement with the writer’s ideas
 Grade A: sustained and sophisticated engagement with the
writer’s ideas
How the novel began…
‘…one day…I saw a  In your groups, draw your
little boy, perhaps ten years own animal characters and
old, driving a huge cart- name them – what role
horse along a narrow path, would they play in your
story?
whipping it whenever it tried
to turn. It struck me that if
only such animals became 1. A mean political leader (like
aware of their strength we …………………)
should have no power 2. A hard-working proletariat
over them, and that men (like ……………)
exploit animals in the same 3. A cynical character (like
ways as the rich exploit the …………………)
proletariat.’ 4. An innovative character
(like ……………..)
Use the images in your book to help you

Animal stories
Animals play a large  How many stories containing
part in stories and books for talking animals can you think
children and can be used to of in your group?
hide a more serious
meaning.
‘Animal Farm’ ‘Charlotte’s Web’
disguises Orwell’s strong
feeling about political
leaders who tried to gain  Think of three more reasons
power. He wanted to write why you think so many
a story that warned people children’s books are about
of the dangers of trusting animals
political leaders.
The innocent form
of ‘Animal Farm’ therefore 1. Animal stories make life seem
hides its true content – simple and straightforward
clever huh? 2. So that young children can
learn simple lessons in life
‘A fairy story’
Although the novel  In your groups, write down
describes, in simple elements of two more fairy
language, the events on a stories that have talking
farm led by animals, it does animals in (think of
not have a happy ending.
characters and events to
George Orwell help you)
subtitled the novel ‘a fairy
story’ to obscure his real
intention for writing the Fairy Story Elements
novel: on the surface, the
novel is a story about ‘The Three wicked wolf, an
farmyard animals; beneath Little Pigs’ intelligent pig, a
the surface, it’s about how
humans behave and happy ending
organise themselves in ‘Little Red
different kinds of society. Riding
Hood’
Fairy stories aren’t always as simple and innocent as they seem; many of them were
originally intended for adults only. What elements of your fairy stories would not
be suitable for young ears?
Moral: a lesson to be
learned from a story
A fable or event
Animals are used in  Read the following example

fables to make serious moral of a fable by Aesop and
points. Fables combine invent a one line moral in
features of fairy stories and your group
animal stories.
Although ‘Animal Farm’
doesn’t have a stated moral
at the end, it is closer to a
fable than a fairy story as it
uses animals to symbolise
certain attitudes or
viewpoints
Example morals:
‘don’t expect a reward for a good deed’
‘some people find fault in what they cannot have’
‘don’t count your chickens before they hatch’
‘Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing’
A wolf had a clever plan to steal a
sheep for his supper. Disguised in a
sheepskin, he crept quietly amongst a flock.
The sheep suspected nothing. But that night
in the farmhouse, the family wanted roast
lamb for dinner. In the darkness the farmer
mistook the wolf for a plump sheep and took
him for their supper.
invent a one line moral in your group

Plenary
1. What was George Orwell’s intention for the novel?
2. What is the novel’s form?
3. Why did George Orwell use animals in the novel
and give them human behaviours and
characteristics?
Next lesson you are going to use your animal

characters that you created at the beginning of the
lesson to form your own animal story for display – if
you’ve finished the above questions you can start to
create a plan in your group

Lesson 2 Animal Farm (Fable or Fairy Story)

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Lesson 2 Animal Farm (Fable or Fairy Story)

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‘Animal Farm’

L/O: understanding George Orwell's

What I’m Looking For

Use the images in your book to help you

Animals are used in  Read the following example

invent a one line moral in your group

Next lesson you are going to use your animal

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