Introduction
We have read William Golding’s famous allegorical novel, Lord of the Flies. In about a week, we will begin a new allegorical novel: Animal Farm by George Orwell.
Animal Farm is an allegory for the Russian Revolution and, subsequently, the USSR. During the latter half of the 20th century, the United States and the USSR were embroiled in the Cold War, which was essentially a war of competing ideologies (philosophies or ideas).
In this WebQuest, you will learn all about communism, capitalism, and socialism. Your understanding of these concepts is critical to appreciation of Orwell's novel.
Task
The task of this WebQuest is to research the ideologies of communism, capitalism, and socialism so that you will better understand the allegory of Animal Farm. From there, you and your partner will be required to complete the chart denoting the similarities and differences between capitalism, communism, and socialism.
Finally, you will write a 1-page, single-spaced reflection on the similarities and differences between communism, capitalism, and socialism. The writing portion will be done independently.
These ideas are still prevalent and pertinent today, as governments around the world use these ideas to organize their economies and government systems.
Process
Steps
1) Read the article “what is an economy?”
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/economy.asp
2) Read the article on communism and fill in the row labeled “communism” on your chart.
http://econfaculty.gmu.edu/bcaplan/museum/marframe.htm
3) Watch the video on capitalism and fill in the row labeled “capitalism” on your chart.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIuaW9YWqEU
4) Read the article on socialism and fill in the row labeled “socialism” on your chart.
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/socialism.asp
5) Study the differences between the ideologies
6) Write your compare/contrast reflection on a separate sheet of paper
CHART (You have this handout)
|
Ideology |
Founder |
Why it began |
Basic principles |
Economic features |
Governmental features |
Where it exists today |
|
Communism |
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Capitalism |
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Socialism |
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Evaluation
You will be evaluated based on the comparison and contrast writing rubric, available on ReadWriteThink.org:
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson275/c…
Conclusion
Congratulations! Your group has researched, analyzed, compared, and contrasted high level concepts in economics and political science. The information you've learned and synthesized will help tremendously with your understanding and appreciation of George Orwell's Animal Farm. Great work!
Credits
The information in this WebQuest came from the following sites:
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/economy.asp
http://econfaculty.gmu.edu/bcaplan/museum/marframe.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIuaW9YWqEU
Teacher Page
This WebQuest is designed for 9th grade gifted ELA students. This WebQuest addresses the following Common Core standards:
910.W.1.2
910.RI.1.2
910.RI.2.4
ELL Modifications are as follows:
ELLs will receive instruction in content and in academic language. They will read and write new words and will be responsible for communicating content-driven ideas in clear, concise ways.
Modifications
*Peer assistance/reading buddy in a cooperative learning experience
*Study guide (chart) to organize information
*Students only have to get the gist of the articles to fill in the chart (big ideas take precedence over the details of the articles)
*A video is included to break up the amount of reading
*The video will assist with listening skills