Animal Farm Anticipation Guide | Agree/Disagree Discussion Activity | Grades 6–8
A 12-statement anticipation guide for George Orwell’s Animal Farm, with a teacher section covering implementation strategies and research context.
Statements are designed to surface beliefs students will revisit as they read.
The goal is not to preview allegory or historical parallels, but to create positions students may later defend, refine, or abandon based on evidence from the text.
For a novel where language, repetition, and gradual shifts in power reshape reality, this structure has a specific payoff: students don’t just witness corruption—they can trace how ordinary choices and accepted narratives make it possible.
What’s Included
✔ 12 statements with Agree / Disagree / Unsure response format
✔ 8 named teaching strategies with story-specific examples, organized by when to use them: Before, During, and After Reading
✔ Two research citations (Duffelmeyer, 1994; Ortlieb, 2013) with plain-language summaries
✔ Common Core ELA alignment, Grades 6–8
✔ PDF + editable Google Doc
Sample Statements
“Tradition can be dangerous.”
“Belonging to a group requires giving up moral independence.”
“People are more likely to question rules that hurt them than rules that hurt others.”
“Silence is the same as agreement.”
Example Teaching Strategies
Four Corners
Belief Spectrum
Think-Pair-Share
Small Group Discussion
Each strategy includes a brief example specific to Animal Farm, showing how it connects to the guide’s statements, with references to Napoleon, Snowball, Boxer, Squealer, and the rewriting of the Seven Commandments.
Research Basis
Duffelmeyer (1994) found anticipation guides most effective when statements target existing beliefs that the text will directly challenge. Ortlieb (2013) found students using anticipatory guides outperformed control groups on comprehension measures. Both are cited in full with plain-language summaries in the teacher section.
Grades & Use
Grades 6–8. Suitable for a single class period or distributed across a full unit. With modification to language and conceptual complexity, it is likely usable through 10th grade. Works for think-pair-share, Socratic seminar, small group, or whole-class discussion.