You already know why George Orwell’s Animal Farm is the most relevant novel to teach right now. It’s much more than a talking animal story—it’s a timeless reflection of the human condition. Now, let’s talk about how to teach it effectively.
In my thirty years of teaching, I’ve seen Animal Farm used everywhere—from advanced 6th graders in my first job to 12th graders in British Literature. This range is possible because the novella’s Lexile level (1170) makes it uniquely flexible.
The key to its success across grade levels (most often 8th–10th) is in differentiating the analysis—not the text itself. We can use the same short novel to build foundational comprehension skills in middle school and explore complex rhetorical analysis and allegory in high school. This approach allows you to meet the needs of diverse students with various abilities and maturity levels, all with one manageable book
Teaching Animal Farm in Middle School: Building Foundations
In middle school, the goal is to transition students from viewing Animal Farm as a simple talking animal story to understanding their symbolism. The focus should be on building a strong foundation of reading comprehension and basic analysis skills. While these students are more advanced than elementary readers, whole-class reading is often the most effective approach here, as it provides consistent support and ensures everyone accesses the complex themes.
Core Instruction Focus
Literary Terms: Focus on foundational elements like characterization, plot, conflict, setting, and symbolism. Students are often familiar with personification, so this is the perfect time to help them understand the difference with anthropomorphism (literal animal characters) versus the figurative use of personification.
Persuasion Basics: Introduce Old Major’s speech as a prime example of powerful persuasion. Have students perform a close reading to identify his central claim, and note his effective use of repetition and rhetorical questions to rally the animals.
Vocabulary: Prioritize essential words from the text, such as abolish, comrade, dissent, maxim, overthrow, and rebellion.
Propaganda Introduction: Use the Seven Original Commandments as a key activity. Have students track the changes Squealer makes to the commandments, pointing out that because most animals cannot read, they are uniquely vulnerable to the pigs’ lies. This serves as a strong, tangible introduction to the core idea of propaganda.
Engaging Activities
The Power of Song: To make “Beasts of England” memorable, play recordings of simple, catchy folk songs like “Clementine” or “La Cucaracha. There are innumerable audio and video recordings of the song online, but here’s one with an actual 8th-grade class singing it with their teacher. Have students listen, sing, and then analyze the song’s persuasive message and purpose.
Movement to Predict: Use my Anticipation Activity before reading! This pre-reading strategy uses critical thinking and inquiry learning to engage your students. Download my Animal Farm Anticipation Activity today!
Teaching Animal Farm in High School: Deepening Analysis
At the high school level, instruction should intentionally build upon prior knowledge and focus students on deep critical thinking and advanced literary analysis. The goal is to move beyond comprehension and engage with the novel’s complex structure and universal themes.
To hook your students from the start, appeal to the universal theme of rebellion. Encourage them to recall times they felt compelled to break rules or defy tradition, and examine what motivated those actions.
Core Instruction Focus
Rhetorical Analysis: Focus on Rhetoric vs. Propaganda—clarifying the difference between persuasion that seeks truth and persuasion used for manipulation. Teach rhetorical appeals (ethos, logos, pathos) and the use of logical fallacies to show how the pigs control the narrative.
Allegory and Framework: Introduce allegory, satire, motif, and dystopia. Require students to research the Russian Revolution and make direct, detailed connections between the historical context and the animal characters.
Concept Vocabulary: Prioritize advanced analytical terms, including cynical, totalitarianism, socialism, exploitation, tyranny, utopia, and dystopia.
Complex Themes: Dive into abstract concepts like the moral complexities of tyranny, exploitation, privilege, and the dangers of complacency. This allows students to grapple with the novel’s deepest questions about power.
Advanced Activities
Literature Circles: Use the novella in a larger unit on Dystopian Literature. Assign groups to compare Animal Farm with texts like 1984, Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451, Station 11, or The Handmaid’s Tale (a great skill that meets CCSS requirements). If desired, add young adult and modern novels to the dystopian literature circle, such as The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner, Never Let Me Go, or Unwind.
Student-Led Discussion (Roundtable): Promote independence and ownership by facilitating student-led discussions. Improve reading comprehension and boost speaking and listening skills with this unit for whole-class reading discussion or literature circles. My “Roundtable” Discussion Tools guide students through goal setting, rehearsal, and inner/outer circles. Get my Roundtable Discussion tools here.
Strategies for All Leaners: Ensuring Success
No matter the age or ability level of your students, these techniques ensure that every student can access the novel’s content and engage with its complex themes.
Differentiation Techniques
Special Needs: Use graphic novels and audio novels to improve accessibility and comprehension. Incorporate visual aids like anchor charts for propaganda terms, and utilize graphic organizers to help analyze text excerpts.
ESL/MLL Students: Read aloud beginning chapters so students can hear the text and new vocabulary words in context. Maximize relevance by connecting the novel’s themes—such as corruption, civil war, and propaganda—to political struggles or history in their home countries.
Urban Students: Help students build empathy for the animal characters by planning a virtual field trip to a farm or petting zoo (like Farm Sanctuary in NY/CA). If possible, organize a physical field trip or bring in tactile objects like a bale of hay or farm tools.
Ready to Use Activities to Boost Enagement
All students—regardless of grade or ability—learn best when they can move! Capitalizing on a popular trend like sports makes review fun and energizing. You don’t have to sacrifice rigor for engagement; combining movement with content boosts retention. This physical activity is a perfect way to break up the routine of a reading unit while instantly assessing comprehension in a high-energy, collaborative environment. Get students out of their seats and instantly assess comprehension with my game.
Download my Animal Farm Trashketball Game today to make your review unit no-prep and fun!
