1984 by George Orwell, Unit Plan, Novel Study, Bundle Discussion Questions Theme

Want to bring more FUN and ENGAGEMENT to your novel study for George Orwell's 1984? This 1984 Unit Plan bundle is for teachers looking to bring more engagement into their classrooms while also increasing student investment in the novel throughout the ENTIRE reading of the novel. I created this 1984 unit plan because my students were quickly losing interest in reading 1984 and I needed activities that would actually inspire my students to keep reading and continue making meaningful connections to their own lives. This 1984 Unit Plan includes a culmination of all of the lessons that my students love: the lessons that actually held their attention and made them want to keep reading. This 1984 Unit Plan does not include your typical chapter reading questions and reading quizzes. Instead, each activity was intentionally designed to teach standards-based literary analysis and reading skills + oral participation skills, but in an exciting and relatable way for our students.

Included in this 1984 Bundle are exciting and collaborative anticipatory activities to hook student attention, fun student-centered creative projects, 1984 activities that have students compare fascinating Orwellian real-world events to the events in 1984, structured paragraph writing assignments with outlines to provide rigorous opportunities for your student to think critically and strengthen paragraph writing skills, and creative writing activities as well. All writing prompts included will inspire your students to connect with the characters and concepts in 1984 while making meaningful connections to their own lives. Your students will appreciate the variety of activities that this 1984 bundle provides them.

All lessons were thoughtfully & intentionally designed for High School English classrooms. Most activities are meant to be completed digitally and some are printable activities. All activities are compatible with Google Classroom.

What is included in this bundle:

• Four Corners Anticipatory Activity
• Concepts & Characters Note-Taking Guide + Evidence Tracker
• Creative Propaganda Digital or Physical Poster Project
• Close Reading & Paragraph Writing - Dating in North Korea
• Comparison Activity China's Social Credit System & Oceania
• Close Reading & Literary Analysis Writing
• Character Journal Writing Activity
• Close Reading & Paragraph Writing (Stockholm Syndrome)
• Winston & Julia Paragraph Writing and Evidence Tracker Assessment

Description of what is Included in this 1984 Novel Study:

1984 by George Orwell: Introductory Activity: Four Corners

Your students begin developing their beliefs about important themes and concepts from 1984 by participating in a discussion-based anticipatory activity. This activity makes Orwell's concepts relatable to students and they genuinely enjoy sharing their beliefs with their peers. :) This 1984 activity includes an engaging slideshow with detailed instruction and discussion-based sentence starters that guide students to respectfully engage in classroom discussions. As well, students are provided with sentence starters to support them with using textual evidence to support their arguments. Within the slideshow, there are 14 thought-provoking discussion prompts for your students to discuss in both small-group and whole-class settings. Students move to each corner of the classroom: "Strongly Agree", "Agree", "Strongly Disagree", or "Disagree" and then share their reasoning for their beliefs. This 1984 anticipatory activity will add value to your classroom because students begin building their beliefs about important themes that will come up in the novel.

1984 by George Orwell: Creative Propaganda Project: 

You will love the creativity that this project brings out of your students! Students complete this 1984 project after reading through BOOK 1, CHAPTER 6 of 1984. For this project, students learn about the purpose of propaganda in our world and the world of 1984. The included slideshow teaches students about propaganda techniques that world leaders use to spread their ideology to their people. Once students have an understanding of the history and purpose of propaganda, students then create their own piece of propaganda that one would expect to find in 1984's Oceania. This project provides students the support they need and is step-by-step. Students complete a planning document to organize their ideas. Students craft their own propaganda message for Oceania, identify their target audience, and add textual evidence from 1984 to support their claims. Once they have completed their planning document, students then choose a platform to create their project. Platforms and instructions are included in the assignment document. If your students do not have access to a computer or prefer to work by hand, they can create their propaganda by hand using markers, colored pencils, paint, collage, etc.

I love this project because students always surprise me with the amount of effort and attention to detail that they each put into their projects. In the past, I have had students create painted canvases, a painted t-shirt, poster boards, and thoughtfully designed digital posters. Once projects are finished, we have a gallery walk and display all of the digital and handmade projects so that students share their work and see the work of their peers. This is always a really fun day for us in class. :) This project Includes a grading rubric that is streamlined to make the grading process easy for you.

1984 by George Orwell: Concepts & Characters Note-Taking Guide + Evidence Tracker:

This anticipatory activity for Orwell's 1984 is a note-taking guide and evidence tracker, created to help students keep track of important concepts and characters from book 1. In the past, my students would struggle with keeping up with all of Orwell's concepts (thought police, unperson, vaporized, proles, etc.) so I made this guide to support their comprehension of the novel. The anticipation guide features 20 concepts from chapters 1-6 of Book 1 of 1984. Students fill in the guide using direct evidence from the text as well as by explaining the concepts in their own words. While completing this assignment, students practice close reading skills as they gather textual evidence. This assignment improves reading comprehension as they work to explain Orwell's concepts in a way that makes sense to them. This 1984 activity guides students through the first six chapters of the novel and ensures that students come to class prepared to discuss the novel.

A four-page teacher key is included with 20 quotes as well as detailed explanations of each of Orwell's concepts. The key is great for teachers newer to teaching this novel since Orwell has a language of his own when it comes to his concepts. This activity can be done both digitally or printed as a hard copy. It was created on a Google Document compatible with Google Classroom.

1984 by George Orwell: Close Reading & Paragraph Writing - Dating in North Korea:

Engage your students by having them connect 1984 to our world today.  During this 3 day activity, your students will read an article about the dating practices of people in North Korea. They then make connections to 1984 and craft a structured comparison paragraph where they compare the events in the article to Orwell’s 1984. Your students will be fascinated by the dating practices that people in North Korea are currently subjected to by their government’s dictatorship. My students find it very interesting to learn about the lives of young adults in North Korea since this is a world they know so little about. They also find it interesting (and alarming!) to review an article that illustrates that the issues in Orwell’s 1984 still exist in our world today. 

On the first day, students read and annotate an article about what it is like for young people to date in North Korea. As they read, students annotate the text by finding parallels to the struggles that Winston and Julia face. The included 30-page slideshow supports students with each step of the annotation process so that students learn the skills of closely reviewing a text.  On the second day, students complete a graphic organizer activity where they make a claim about how events from the article relate to concepts from George Orwell’s 1984. Once students have established each of their claims, they then practice gathering textual evidence from both 1984 and the article to support their claims. On the third day of this lesson, students craft a structured paragraph using a detailed paragraph outline template. Students are asked to compare the events from the article to Orwell’s society using their annotations, notes, and evidence gathered from the previous two lessons. The slideshow includes step-by-step writing instructions and provides numerous supports and examples to help students through each step of the writing process. The slides teach the paragraph writing process such as how to make a claim, embed quotes, write thoughtful commentary and so much more! This set of lessons includes detailed answer keys with a sample paragraph writing and grading rubrics for each activity. The final paragraph writing is a great formative assessment option for your grade book. Teach this lesson anytime after reading through Book 1, chapter 6 of 1984.

1984 by George Orwell: Comparison Activity China's Social Credit System

Make Orwell’s concepts more relevant to your students’ lives with this 4-day 1984 activity. Students learn about the fascinating and very Orwellian Social Credit System that has been implemented by the Chinese government in cities all over China. Students learn about China’s Social Credit System by reviewing two 5-7 minute investigative journalism video clips (links included). As students closely examine these news clips, they complete three digital writing lessons in which they are asked to make connections between 1984 and China’s Social Credit System. Each of the included lessons focuses on improving students' writing skills and is aligned with 10th-grade ELA writing standards.  These 1984 activities can be taught at any point while reading 1984.

Lesson 1: During the first lesson, students watch one news clip and complete a pro/con activity where they list the benefits and consequences of China’s Social Credit System as described in the news source. This activity helps students gain an understanding of how the credit system works. Within this lesson, students also complete response questions that have students examine their pro/con chart to formulate claims regarding whether or not they feel the pros outweigh the cons. The final step in this lesson asks students to complete a reflective writing activity where they write from the perspective of someone who lives under China’s Social Credit System by using their notes to infer what that experience would be like. This lesson will take 1.5-2 hours to complete.

Lesson 2: For the next lesson, students watch a second video clip that describes the negative impact that China’s Social Credit System system has on its people . Students learn about the emotional burden that this credit system creates for the people living under it. Students answer a series of comprehension and reflective questions that ask them to consider what a society under constant surveillance would feel like. During this activity, students make connections to the characters and events from Orwell’s 1984. This lesson will take 1 hour to complete.

Lesson 3: For the final lesson of this 1984 activity, students practice key paragraph writing skills such as creating strong claims, supporting their claims with evidence, and proving one’s argument by writing strong analysis. Students practice these skills by completing a graphic organizer activity that has them focus on each skill individually. Their claims will focus on how China’s Credit System is similar to many of Orwell’s concepts. Students gather evidence to support their claims using Orwell’s 1984. Finally, they write analysis that focuses primarily on proving how the two societies compare. The intention of this activity is to provide students the opportunity to practice the skill of paragraph writing in an informal yet impactful way. This activity will take 1-1.5 hours to complete. Each lessons includes a grading rubric.

1984 by George Orwell: Close Reading & Literary Analysis Writing:

Strengthen your students' paragraph writing skills with this 1984 close reading & paragraph writing activity that should be completed after reading book 1, chapter 8 of George Orwell's 1984. The purpose of this assignment is to provide students the opportunity to practice close reading and annotating skills as well as literary analysis paragraph writing skills. This assignment is a three-step assignment with each step building off of the previous one in order to prepare students for the final paragraph writing activity. The assignment is ready to print or can be completed digitally. It was created on Google Docs. and is compatible with Google Classroom. 

The steps for this assignment include reviewing the two literary devices, imagery and foreshadowing, so that studnets can practice identifying these devices within the included 1984 close reading passage. There are detailed instructions within the document that teach students how to annotate a passage. Students focus their annotations on finding the two literary devices within the passage & explaining their intended effect. After students have annotated the text, they will then move to the final writing assignment. Students use their annotations to support them with writing their literary analysis paragraph. There is a structured paragraph writing outline with built in supports to guide students through the writing process. A rubric is provided for this 1984 activity.

1984 by George Orwell: Character Journal Writing Activity:

Students explore character analysis and creativity during this creative writing activity for 1984. Students complete two engaging digital journal entry assignments where they write from the perspective of one of Orwell’s main characters. This activity should be completed after finishing Book 2 of 1984, once Julia and Winston are caught by the Thought Police. 

I loved having students work on these journal entries because they get really invested in trying to think and write from the perspective of Orwell's characters. My students silently typed for an entire twenty minutes without experiencing any writer's block! This assignment provides a break for students from the more structured, analytical writing and 1984 reading questions we do in class and serves as a good reminder of why we should incorporate more creative writing pieces into our ELA classrooms. :) Make sure to ask students to share their journals afterward. You will be surprised at how many students are eager and excited to share their pieces! Digital and printable versions of this assignment are included.

1984 by George Orwell: Winston & Julia Paragraph Writing and Evidence Tracker Assessment

Teach paragraph writing with this engaging digital 1984 activity for George Orwell's novel. This activity should be completed after having read through Chapter 5, book 2 of 1984. Students have a lot of fun determining their views regarding whether or not they think Winston and Julia’s relationship is one worth fighting for. Whether or not our two main characters are a good match is the main focus of this writing assignment. Students love this 1984 paragraph writing prompt assignment because it is relevant to their lives and provides them with the opportunity to analyze Winston and Julia’s relationship in a fun and engaging way. It is a very tangible lesson for students and provides exciting classroom discussions. This is my go-to lesson when I want to re-engage my students back into reading 1984. 

This 1984 activity is ideal for teachers who want their students to practice the skills of making a claim, gathering relevant textual evidence that supports their claim, and proving their claim through analysis writing. During this 1984 writing prompt assignment, students first determine their beliefs about Winston and Julian’s relationship by filling out a brainstorm where they create a list of reasons that the couple is a good fit for each other as well as a list of reasons that the couple is not a good fit for each other. Once students have reasons for both sides, they then choose the side they most agree with and craft their claim (topic sentence) for their paragraph. Next, students practice gathering evidence to support their claims. Students are provided with notes on their writing prompt assignment document that give them scene descriptions with page numbers. This feature of the lesson helps students find relevant pieces of evidence to support their claims (no random quotes!). These notes are especially supportive to students with diverse learning needs who might need a bit more guidance. Students use these chapter notes and the included digital 1984 book link to find 5 pieces of evidence. Once students find their evidence, they put it into their evidence tracker chart and then analyze their evidence by writing an analysis about their quote in order to prove their claim. This evidence tracker activity is meant to provide students the opportunity to practice analyzing evidence so that they are prepared for paragraph writing. Students gather and analyze five pieces of evidence, but they will only use two quotes in their paragraph assignment.

On the second day, students begin writing their paragraphs in the provided writing template graphic organizer. Within their writing template is each component of a paragraph (writing prompt, topic sentence, context, evidence, analysis, concluding sentence, etc.) Each component of the paragraph includes a digital link that teaches students HOW to write that portion of the paragraph. Your students will love this feature of this writing activity because students get to move at their own pace while getting the support they need when they need it. Within each of the included hyperlink lessons are instructions for how to create that component of the paragraph and an example relating to 1984. Students are also provided with sentence starters if they need this additional support. This 1984 paragraph writing was designed to ensure that all students are successful during the writing process. 

Once students have completed their paragraph writing template, they then format it into MLA format using the template provided. Next, students complete the editing and formatting checklist which ensures they revise their paragraphs and make any necessary changes. Lastly, students complete a  self-evaluation of their paragraph using the rubric provided. This step serves as final revision and editing step for their writing, and it makes grading this activity easier on you! This 1984 activity serves as a great formative assessment to put into the gradebook. 

1984 by George Orwell: Close Reading & Paragraph Writing (Stockholm Syndrome):

I created this lesson because the ending torture scenes in 1984 always leave my students confused and asking a lot of questions. As Winston is tortured by O’Brien, he exclaims that “he had never loved [O’Brien] so deeply as in this moment”(252). Try explaining that scene to tenth graders! :)This lesson asks students to analyze the ending scene from a psychological lens by exploring the concept of Stockholm Syndrome. This interesting concept will help your students better understand what happens to Winston at the end of the novel. Plus, your students will be engaged during this lesson, since they will find Stockholm Syndrome very interesting to learn about. During class discussions, my students have so many thoughts to share and they are actually excited about the topic. This is why I love teaching this set of lessons.

This is a 2-3 hour close reading & writing activity that should be completed after reading book 3, chapter 2 of 1984. There are 3 lessons included in this purchase. The included slideshow walks students through each of the activities, making it easy to implement into any high school ELA classroom.

Students learn about the psychological phenomenon of Stockholm Syndrome by taking brief notes on a four-minute video clip that explains the syndrome. Next, students read short excerpts that further explain the Stockholm Syndrome to further their understanding. Afterward, students examine excerpts from 1984 and answer close reading questions where they are asked to make connections between the torture scenes in 1984 and Stockholm Syndrome. The close reading and questions prepare students for the third lesson which is a literary analysis paragraph. This writing assignment is structured to improve students’ skills of embedding quotes and writing strong commentary. This is a great activity for your classroom if you want your students to make real-world connections to 1984.

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