1984 Unit Plan: Brainwashing and Propaganda

This resource is a full unit plan for the study of 1984 by George Orwell, with a focus on

brainwashing techniques, their psychological roots, and their historical and modern realities. Then, students apply their learning by trying to brainwash each other in competing propaganda campaigns!

Because this PDF resource is written for students, teachers skip the planning stage and can directly print, project, or post this document however you post assignments (Canvas, Google Classroom, etc.) Easel makes it easy for students to complete digitally!

Included sections of this resource: 

Project Overview

• Essential Question
• Research Paper Directions
• Research Paper Rubric
• Propaganda Campaign Directions

Lesson 1: "Common Enemies"

Lesson 2: Topic Proposal

Lesson 3: Annotated Bibliography

Lesson 4: Organizing and Outlining

Lesson 5: Propaganda Campaign

Lessons include standards and formative to summative assessments.

This project is a win-win for everyone!

• Students get to apply their learning without test anxiety
• Teachers do not have to worry about controlling testing conditions
• Teachers avoid the monotony of grading test after test or reading similar essays dozens or hundreds of times
• Teachers don't have to worry about cheating, plagiarism, or inauthentic work 
• Leverage diversity of focus and competition to create dynamic group discussions and collaborative work
• Infinitely more fun to grade than summative assessments like tests or essays! 

Literary / Research Skills Assessed:

• Exploring dystopian elements of setting
• Exploring historical context
• Analyzing characterization
• Research using historical / primary source documents
• Research modern sources while actively monitoring for bias and reliability

Skills Students will Practice: 

Writing:

• Narrowing focus, research questions, gathering sources, annotating, planning, writing, revising. 

Interpersonal: 

• Collaboration, communication, problem-solving with group members, division of labor, holding each other accountable.
• Creativity, building ideas more complex and interesting than one could do alone.
• Planning, executing, revising, presenting.

Media Literacy: 

• Identify "brainwashing techniques" in different sources of media and imitate them satirically.

Materials: 

Required: 

• For their essays, students will need digital writing apps like Google Documents, Word, or others. 
• For their propaganda campaigns, students may need cardboard, paper, glue, markers, or other crafting supplies; or digital apps like Canva or Google Drawings. 

Preferred: 

• Teachers may want a projector to display campaigns for the class. 

Teachers could expect to plan 3-4 weeks for this project from start to finish.

After students finish all this hard work, have them play with their learning with the "Traitor to the Party" game!