LIVING IN THE SHADOW OF BIG BROTHER

Introduction

WELCOME TO OCEANIA! 

Here, you are never truly alone!

Cameras watch you!

Words betray you!

Thoughts can imprison you!

But what if you could speak from inside the system?

What if you could rewrite your identity while revealing THE TRUTH?

  • In this WebQuest, you will explore the world of George Orwell's 1984 and compare it with your own digital world. 
  • You will walk in Winston's shoes, reflect on themes of SURVEILLANCE, MANIPULATION, and TRUTH, and question how far we have come (or fallen!).
  • This is not just a literary task, this is a journey to think, to critique, to reflect, and to create!

 

Task

Dear students, you will COLLABORATIVELY create a Fakebook profile for a character from 1984, reflecting emotions, thoughts, fears, and resistance. 

Through this profile, you will respond to events in the story and real-life digital phenomena using creative writing, reflective posts, and multimedia elements.

Your profile will include:

  1. Fakebook posts based on selected literary events
  2. Propaganda posts and private messages
  3. A reaction to contemporary surveillance tools
  4. A final oral presentation explaining the character's evolution and ethical conflicts

You will work in GROUPS OF 4.

Your roles will be: WRITER, EDITOR, DESIGNER, and PRESENTER

COLLABORATION AND RESPONSIBLE DIGITAL BEHAVIOUR ARE A MUST! 

Process

You will complete this WebQuest over 7 sessions, following these steps:

Session 1. Welcome to Oceania, a world of watchers

  • Watch a short video summarising 1984
  • Create a mind map about life in Oceania
  • Discuss initial impressions 
  • Receive the WebQuest i
  • Exit ticket: first impressions

Session 2. The face that watches you

  • Read a literary passage about telescreens
  • Identify and analyse Winston’s emotions
  • An emotion chart to express feelings
  • Write a Fakebook status as Winston
  • Share and discuss posts 

Session 3. The truth factory

  • The word “truth”
  • Read a passage about Winston’s job falsifying news
  • Practise past tenses 
  • Write a propaganda-style Fakebook post
  • Discuss truth and manipulation 

Session 4. Think wrong, go to jail

  • Brainstorm dangerous thoughts
  • Read and discuss about thoughtcrime
  • Learn modal verbs 
  • Write a “secret message”
  • Perform messages

Session 5. Screens, likes, and control

  • Compare surveillance through images
  • Participate in a gallery walk
  • Write a Fakebook reaction post
  • Share and respond to peer posts 

Session 6. Fakebook lives

  • Finalise and edit your Fakebook profiles 
  • Integrate all previous posts with coherence and creativity
  • Use checklists and peer feedback 
  • Practise the oral presentation

Session 7. Our world through Orwell’s eyes

  • Present your Fakebook profile to the class
  • Explain your choices, themes, and connections with real life
  • Reflect in a learning journal
  • Participate in a final discussion to close the WebQuest
Evaluation

Your work will be assessed using rubrics that consider:

  • Reading Comprehension & Critical Thinking (20%)

    Interpretation of Orwellian ideas and real-world connections.
  • Writing Quality & Grammar Use (20%)

    Use of past tenses, modals, and comparative structures in context.
  • Creativity & Voice (20%)

    Originality, character consistency, and emotional tone.
  • Collaboration & Process Engagement (20%)

    Active participation, group role fulfilment, and peer feedback.
  • Final Oral Presentation & Reflection (20%)

    Clarity, coherence, insight, and critical reflection.

Peer- and self-assessments will complement the teacher’s evaluation.

Conclusion

By completing this WebQuest, you have done more than getting to know a novel.

You have questioned truth, explored control, and created literature through inquiry.

You have stepped into the shoes of a character living under surveillance and responded to that reality with thought, emotion, and action.

Most importantly, you have practiced CRITICAL THINKING, something Big Brother fears most.

Now ask yourself: Who controls your truth?

Credits

This WebQuest was created as part of the Master’s Dissertation Narratives that Click: Exploring the Impact of Literature, Critical Thinking and Inquiry-Based Learning to Promote Reading Comprehension among 3rd-Year CSE Students using WebQuests by Soledad Marín Pelegrín, under the supervision of Dr. Svetlana Stefanova Radoulska, Universidad Internacional de La Rioja.

Adapted materials from George Orwell’s 1984 were used for educational purposes.

Teacher Page

Target Group:

3rd-year CSE (ages 14–15), bilingual programme, CEFR levels A2–B1.

Curricular Links:

Aligned with LOMLOE (RD 217/2022) and the Region of Murcia's educational priorities: key competences (CCL, CD, CPSAA, CE), and Stage Objectives g), h), i), and l).

Pedagogical Approaches:

  • Inquiry-Based Learning (guided inquiry model)
  • Skills integration
  • Cross-curricular integration: literature, ethics, digital citizenship

Resources Required:

Whiteboard, classroom computer access or tablets, printed and digital Fakebook templates, Orwell's text extracts, grammar scaffolds, peer feedback forms, and assessment rubrics

Differentiation & Support:

Scaffolded writing frames, role delegation in mixed-ability groups, visual and lexical aids, and multimodal inputs (video, images, audio),

Learning Goals:

  • To foster critical interpretation of literature.
  • To engage students in reflective digital writing.
  • To link fictional concepts to real-world civic issues.
  • To promote cooperative learning and self-regulation.