Year 10 English

What we thought about Animal Farm…

• Miss Sullivan loves the book. Orwell is one of her favourite authors. She thinks that the book really opens your eyes to the power you have in a democracy and what can happen if you fail to act when politicians abuse their powers.
• It was a good book. It was different to any other novel we have studied.
• Nadine thought the novel was horrible because it was she thought it was boring.
• Shan thought it was descriptive, interesting, wondrous, adventurous and simple

What we liked about Animal Farm…

• The symbolism of the Russian Revolution
• How it ended the way it started
• The whole idea of taking a real event and making it understandable through animals
• the insight it gave into the Russian Revolution
• It was relatable and it had descriptive language so we could understand

What we thought of the characters...

• Squealer is propaganda. He is very good at manipulating others.
• Napoleon is a power-hungry pig. He is ruthless and mean.
• Snowball is idealistic. He makes lots of good plans but they can never be achieved.
• We hated them all because they were all clueless and that was annoying
• I felt sad when Boxer died. He represented the Russian people and he worked so hard but never got anything in return.
• I thought all the animals apart from the pigs were stupid.

Our favourite part of the novel was…

• The last chapter who the animals could not detect who was pig or who was human
• When the windmill broke
• When the pigs changed the 7 commandments and starting walking on two feet
• Battle of the Cowshed and when Snowball got kicked out

10B had a fun afternoon creating and performing a TV interview with the characters from Animal Farm. Students worked in groups had to think of what questions they would ask Napoleon and Snowball. They then used their knowledge from the book to come up with answers as that character. A group even got Napoleon to answer his questions truthfully but then Squealer would then translate it and change the meaning to manipulate the public (Just like propaganda).

Interviewer's Question: Why did you get rid of Snowball?
Napoleon's Answer: I hate that guy! He was going to be elected not me! I want to be in power. I must be in power.
Squealer's Translation: Snowball's leadership was going to ruin Animal Farm. I had to take control of the situation for your benefit so that you wouldn't make the wrong decision. We wouldn't want Jones to come back would we? I removed Snowball to make Animal Farm great.

Extracts from Year 10 writing folios

"The next morning morning while the sun was rising in the east and the animals were busy working on the fields. Old Major noticed through the misty window pane Mr. Jones was munching his breakfast at the farmhouse dinner table. Tears rolled out of Old Major's eyes when we saw what was in front of him. He had a glass of red wine, a freshly baked loaf of bread, two boiled eggs and a roasted pig's head. He then saw his faint reflection in the glass window and he feared he would be next." - Thaqib's prologue

"Boxer, a great European beast woke up at the crow of the rooster. It was dawn and the sun was barely visible over the horizon. He looked around for some hay to eat, but there was none. Suddenly the horrors of the world came rushing back to him as hard as a brick wall. He remembered that the farmer was probably drunk and forgot to feed him again despite his constant hard labour. He heard the stable door fling open and before he know it a shocking, burning, familiar pain rushed through his body. The farmer grumbling and yelling- here we go again." - Ali's prologue

"The animals were all taking a break resting under a massive tree which acted like an umbrella, sheltering them from the sun's powerful rays. They all had soft smiles plastered on their faces with the thought of accomplishing their final work of the day. Seeing the animals exhausted always got me mad. These grudging monsters called 'humans' force labour upon us and give us a small sharing of food- which we are always working hard and are grateful for. Shaking those horrific images off my head, I decided to approach my friends regarding the harvest being done… The animals felt my presence and raised their heads from their resting spot and welcomed me with a warm smile. But this smile only lasted a split second. This smile transformed into a frightened, pleading grimace. Their eyes were fixed on something else behind me. Confusion erupted all over my body and I turned my head to see what happened. Mr Jones, the farmer had stepped out of his old, wooden house. He had a wicked scowl plastered on his face." -Wijdan's prologue

Thanks to all Year 10 students who put in lots of effort during Semester One. Have a nice and relaxing holiday. But get ready for Term 3- Macbeth will be sure to keep you on your toes!

Elective: Debating

Humanities Department

Dear parents and students,

We have come to the conclusion of Term Two. I would like to congratulate every member of year 10 humanities team who demonstrated an extra effort during the term. Students studied many different concepts to build up their knowledge and extend their skills for further education and life after school.

After the exams our main focus will be history and would suggest that my students read and watch documentaries about the topics that we are going to be studying during Semester 2. This will help you to have background knowledge on the topics and ease your load.

During the break whether staying at home or going on a vacation; don't forget to chat about interesting occurrences. Please ensure your child gets lots of rest and also take the opportunity to read a book every day and talk and listen to what is happening in their world. Don't forget this is best time of the year where you can spend family time with your children.

I wish everyone a safe and restful break!