written by Nancy DeFrates-Densch of Northern Illinois University

The Book Report

Mr. Johnson assigned his high school senior American Government students to read two books during the semester that had "something, anything to do with government or political systems" and to write a brief report about each of their chosen books.

One student in the class, Cindy, chose to read 1984 and Animal Farm, both by George Orwell. 1984 is a book about what could happen in "the future" year of 1984 given certain political decisions earlier on. In essence, the world turns into a terrible place in which "Big Brother" monitors all of one's actions via two-way television-like screens. Infractions of minor rules are punished severely. Animal Farm is a brief novel about political systems in which the characters are portrayed as various farm animals such as pigs and dogs. Cindy enjoyed both books and finished them both before mid-term. Her reports were insightful, reflecting on the symbolism contained in the novels and the implications for present-day government.

Cindy's friend, Lucy, had put off reading her first book until the last minute. She knew Cindy enjoyed reading about government and had finished her reports. Lucy asked Cindy if she knew of a "skinny book" she could read to fulfill the assignment. Cindy gladly shared her copy of Animal Farm with her friend. Lucy accepted the book, very pleased that it was so short. However, as she began reading the book she wondered why Cindy had given her this book. It didn't seem to fit the requirements of the assignment at all.

The day before the first reports were due, Mr. Johnson overheard the girls talking.

Lucy complained to Cindy, "I don't get it. It's a story about pigs and dogs."

Cindy responded, "They aren't really supposed to be farm animals. It's a story about the promises of Communism and what happened in the Soviet Union once the Communists took over. It's a great story! Don't you see? The pigs represent the Communist regime that overthrew the czars during the Russian Revolution. They made all kinds of promises about equality for everyone. The people went along with them because they were sick and tired of the rich and powerful running everything while they starved. Once the czars had been gotten rid of, the Communists set up a new government. They didn't keep any of their promises. They just sort of took the place of the czars. They controlled everything. Remember in the book when the pigs moved into the house and started walking on two legs? That's supposed to be like when the commie leaders began acting just like the czars. They even began a secret police force - that'd be the dogs in the story. Remember how they bullied the other animals? Just like the secret police in the Soviet Union. Remember?"

"I still don't get it. How can a pig or a dog be a C ommunist or a cop? They're just animals."

Cindy looked at her friend, dumbfounded. How could she NOT understand this book? It was so obvious.

1		Using Piaget's theory, explain why Cindy understood the book.
2		Using Piaget's theory, explain why Lucy didn't understand the book.
3		What could Mr. Johnson do to help Lucy understand? (Check out "Scaffolding Reading Experiences to Promote Success".)
4		How could Mr. Johnson have presented this assignment differently, so that Lucy did not need to rush through a book? (Check out "Useful Instructional Strategies for Literature-Based Instruction".)