Animal Farm: Old Major

This 23-slide lesson is the perfect analytical summary of Old Major’s character function in Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’.

Students are encouraged to consider Old Major’s purpose within the novella and how he links contextually to the allegory of corrupted Communism. Emphasis is placed on his rhetorical skill, foreshadowing, and structural significance.

There are many questions posed for students to answer either individually or collaboratively. At the end of the lesson is an extended essay question for students to answer (either in class or as a homework activity).

This lesson (which could easily be split into multiple lessons) is ideal for high-attaining GCSE students but could also be used to challenge KS3 pupils.

PowerPoint saved as PDF.