These activities for “1984” promote student engagement through debate, creative tasks, analysis, and performance. Students explore themes of totalitarianism, privacy, and dystopia while developing critical thinking skills in various formats.
This 1984 unit plan takes students from pre-reading through the final project with lesson plans addressing point of view, historical context, speculative fiction / dystopia, symbolism, theme development, propaganda, structural devices, and more. Even if you omit lessons, the plan below provides a helpful structure for teaching 1984. 1984 Unit… Read More »1984 Unit: Lesson Plans and Teaching Materials (George Orwell)
Consider using these 1984 pre-reading activities as you prepare students for Orwell’s mind-bending masterpiece. 1984 Pre-Reading Activities (overview) 1. Anticipation Guide 1984 Anticipation Guide Anticipation guides enable the discussion of the novel’s theme subjects without spoiling the story. Most students enjoy sharing their own points of view before considering those… Read More »1984 Pre-Reading Lessons / Activities
1984 Essay Prompts for High School Some of Orwell’s predictions have aged well and some have not. Write an essay explaining which issues/messages from 1984 have the most relevance in our world today. You may also discuss which speculations have lost relevance. Write an essay explaining Winston’s character arc in 1984.… Read More »1984 Essay Prompts (high school)
These 1984 project ideas extend learning and give students a variety of ways to demonstrate their skills, knowledge, and creativity. 1984 Project Ideas overview 1984 Projects 1-14 1. “Oceania the Beautiful” (lyrics / karaoke) This 1984 project combines musical fun and meaningful exploration of the novel’s literary elements and devices. Lyrics… Read More »1984 Project Ideas: 14 Creative Final Assignments
This is a set of resources for teaching and assessing comprehension of the novel “1984.” It includes comprehension questions by chapter, reading quizzes, a whole-book reading test, and discussion questions. Each resource is designed to support the understanding of the novel through various means of assessment and discussion.
1984 Introduction Lesson Even advanced students benefit from previewing an unfamiliar text. This 1984 introduction slideshow can be opened as a PDF or as a PowerPoint (PPT). Below the preview you will see links to the slideshow files, the notetaking handout, and the pre-reading discussion activity. 1984 Introduction options: Related… Read More »1984 Introduction Lesson: Preview PowerPoint and Activity
1984 Unit Test Print the 1984 Test PDF as shown, copy and paste test questions from the list, or download the test maker for all the 1984 test items, the editable format, and the answer key. Print or download the 1984 Unit Test PDF as shown, or open the test… Read More »1984 Unit Test (PDF to print or download to edit questions)