Module 4: The Novel - Animal Farm
Now that you have completely read all of Animal Farm by George Orwell, it is time to analyze the theme of the novel. For this assignment, you will work with your peers to develop a presentation about one of several possible themes. The presentation will be developed collaboratively with a group assigned to you by your instructor.
Collaboration occurs when two or more people work together towards a common goal. In this assignment, your team's goal is to create a ten to fifteen slide presentation analyzing one of the themes of the novel listed below.
Suggested topics include:
- When left unchecked, absolute power leads to corruption.
- If the working people do not stay informed and active in the government, leaders will manipulate and take advantage of the people.
- Rules can be helpful and protect individuals, but they can be used for evil.
- While it is easy to design or dream of a Utopian society, the wants and the needs of the individual will destroy it eventually.
- Religion can provide relief from the struggles of everyday life, but it can also be a source of lies.
- Another topic chosen by your team and approved by your instructor.
Rather than dividing up the assignment between members of your group, plan on setting up several sessions to discuss the content on the slides, which should include an introduction slide and a conclusion slide. In addition, your presentation slides should explain the theme chosen by your group and include at least five quotes supporting the theme. Your presentation should be engaging, original, and clearly-designed so that your coursemates could understand it if you presented it to them, as you may be asked by your instructor to do so. If you need assistance on creating effective presentations, please visit the Developmental Module.
Each time you meet as a group, it may be helpful to assign the following role types within your group. Depending on the size of your group, one person may assume more than one role, or more than one person may assume one role. Make sure to reassign roles each time you meet so that each member of the group gets an opportunity to assume different responsibilities throughout the project.
- Coordinator - this role is responsible for setting the agenda of a meeting and coordinating any tasks
- Recorder - this role is responsible for taking notes at a meeting
- Technical Support - this role is responsible for addressing any technical concerns related to the assignment
- Researcher - this role is responsible for undertaking any research concerns related to the assignment
Before you begin, access the Animal Farm Collaborative Presentation Rubric to make sure you have included all of the needed items required for full credit. You may need to use resources outside of this course to complete this assignment. If so, please submit a Works Cited document. If you need assistance, visit the Developmental Module for information on citing any resources that you use.
Reflection
In this module, you learned quite a bit about communism and the Russian Revolution. In addition, you learned how George Orwell felt about it through his writing in Animal Farm. What is your opinion of communism? Is it a viable political system? Can you think of any real-world instances where it is effective? In a digital document separate from your presentation, compose four to five sentences responding to these questions.
Once your team has completed the presentation and you have completed your reflection, please submit it to the dropbox.
Once you have completed this module, please complete the module test.