Copyright©1999--San Diego County Office of Education.

http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/1984/1984tg.html

CyberGuide originally written by Jeff Tuttle
Revised by Mary Jewell

Introduction

In this unit students will engage in a series of activities and web-based experiences which will (1) make them more familiar with the key concepts in the novel and (2) give them background information on Orwell's life, political views and the world situation in which he conceived his vision.

Students will be asked primarily to consider the power of language and image, both as tools of oppression and liberation. They will also examine and make judgments about the appropriate role of the state in public and private discourse. Students completing all of the activities will have fundamentally addressed questions such as:

• What dangers are inherent to a society which degrades its language(s)?
• What are the motivations of those who purposefully abuse language?
• Will the soon-to-be ubiquitous presence of computers and networks result in increased personal liberty, a fundamental loss of privacy or both?
• What is the proper balance between intellectual freedom and social order?

Language Arts Content Standards

During this unit, students will be able to:

• Analyze the rhetorical devices of public documents.[Reading Comprehension Standard 2.1].
• Analyze how clarity is affected by organization, hierarchical structures, repetition of key ideas, syntax and word choice.[Reading Comprehension Standard 2.2]
• Enhance meaning by employing rhetorical devices. [Writing Standard 1.4]
• Write responses to literature that analyze the use of imagery, language, universal themes, and unique aspects of the text. [Writing Applications Standard 2.2.2]
• Recognize strategies used by media to inform, persuade, entertain, and transmit culture. [Listening and Speaking Strategies Standard 1.1]
• Interpret and evaluate ways visual image-makers present events and communicate information. [Listening and Speaking Strategies Standard 1.3]

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Implementation Overview

This supplemental unit provides resources for students in 11-12th grade to focus on issues and themes related to to George Orwell's novel,1984. During these lessons, students examine the novel's themes and make connection to current issues and their lives. Students will produce a variety of written products including essays, e-mail, and analysis of modern political discourse. It is not necessary for students to have completed the entire work, but they should be familiar with the central themes of Orwell's work

Description of Materials, Activities and Websites

• Class set of 1984
• Access to e-mail and world wide web. (Please have students route e-mail inquiries through the teacher.)

Student Activity 1 Rhetorical Analysis and Rewrite

During this activity, students will read George Orwell's essay, "Politics and the English Language." After completing the worksheet they will analyze both the features and rhetorical devices of a political speech delivered by Calvin Coolidge and analyze how clarity is affected by the President's use of foreign phrases, metaphors and similes, and passive vs. active voice. They will then re-write the opening of the speech applying to it Orwell's "six rules for the recovery of the English language."

Excerpt from George Orwell's essay on "Politics and the English Language" (Your class text book may have the full text.)

URL:http://www.k-1.com/Orwell/pol.htm

Comments: This web page contains Orwell's essay on the "decadence" of modern English as well as a illustrative example of a passage of Ecclesiates translated into modern, diluted, English and Orwell's six rules to follow to reverse the language's decay. Students only need read the last four paragraphs in order to complete the worksheet.

Inaugural Address of Calvin Coolidge, March 4, 1925:

URL: http://www.cc.columbia.edu/acis/bartleby/inaugural/pres47.html

Comments: This web page contains the full text of Calvin Coolidge's inaugural address, the first two/three paragraphs of which will be rewritten by students so that they conform to Orwell's six rules.

Student Activity 2 Persuasive Essay

The Center for Democracy and Technology

URL: http://www.cdt.org/crypto/

Comments: This site, although biased, is a good place to start for students, giving them definitions for many terms and key concepts related to the debate.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation

URL: http://www.eff.org/goldkey.html

Comments: Like the CDT, this group maintains archives of information relating to government surveillance of computer users and the issue of encryption and privacy.

News.com

URL: http://www.news.com/

Wired News

URL:http://www.wired.com/news/

The Bill of Rights

URL: http://www.nara.gov/exhall/charters/billrights/billrights.html

Comments: Students may use this site to read the Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution carefully and try to decide for themselves whether or not the administration's proposals would violate this fundamental American liberty.

Write Your Representative

URL: http://www.house.gov/writerep/

Contacting the Senate

URL: http://www.senate.gov/contacting/index_by_state.cfm

Comments: The site for the House of Representatives will allow studets to search for their representatives by ZIP Code and then give them a form for contacting them. The Senate site lists Senators by State and contains links for generating e-mail as well as the address of their office in Washington, D.C.

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Performance Standards