Hello, and welcome to today's lesson.

I'm Mrs. Butterworth and I'm here to guide you through today's learning, which is focused on "Animal Farm," chapter four, "The Battle of the Cow Shed." It's a very exciting, action-packed chapter, so looking forward to getting started.

Let's go.

So by the end of the lesson, you will be able to explain what happens in chapter four of "Animal Farm." So let's just look at the key words that will be useful for today's lesson.

They are: valour, propaganda, maxim, nuance, and hierarchy.

See if you can spot any of these throughout the lesson.

So here is our lesson outline today for chapter four, "Battle of the Cow Shed." We will begin by reading through chapter four and focusing on some key ideas and then we'll delve a little deeper into that chapter in the second part, where we will discuss chapter four.

So let's start with our reading.

Chapter four begins with a discussion of Animal Farm's neighbours.

Let's read that part.

"It was lucky that the owners of the two farms which adjoined Animal Farm were on permanently bad terms. One of them, which was named Foxwood, was a large, neglected, old-fashioned farm, much overgrown by woodland, with all its pastures worn out and its hedges is in a disgraceful condition.

Its owner, Mr. Pilkington, was an easygoing gentleman farmer who spent most of his time in fishing or hunting, according to the season.

The other farm, which was called Pinchfield, was smaller and better kept.

Its owner was a Mr. Frederick, a tough, shrewd man, perpetually involved in lawsuits and with a name for driving hard bargains." So just a bit of contextual information.

Mr. Pilkington represents the western powers, so Britain and the USA.

In particular here, the reference to Foxwood being large and neglected references Britain's overstretched empire at the time.

Mr. Frederick represents Germany.

The references to the farm being smaller and better kept hint at Germany's comparatively small empire and quick economic development after World War I.

So we can see how Orwell, again, is drawing on these contextual ideas in his novel.

The overriding fear of Mr. Pilkington and Mr. Frederick is that the revolution will spread to their own farms. So this alludes to the fears that the leaders of many countries had about potential communist revolutions in their own countries.

After seeing what had happened in Russia, countries were really afraid of this.

So true or false time.

Pinchfield Farm represents Germany.

Well done everyone that said true, absolutely Pinchfield does represent Germany.

Now let's justify your answer.

Well done everyone that noticed that Pinchfield Farm is described as smaller and better kept, referencing its lack of empire and strong economic growth after World War I.

Excellent work so far, let's carry on.

So we are onto our first practise task and this will be over to you to do the reading of the rest of chapter four.

So read chapter four from, "By late summer," to the end, "or the rebellion." As you are reading, pause and complete the following questions.

Number one, why were Mr. Friedrich and Mr. Pilkington concerned about the rebellion? What did Beasts of England come to symbolise? Who had prepared and planned for what would happen if humans attempted to attack? Who dashed straight for Jones, and what does the verb, dashed, suggest about the character? What does Boxer do and how does he react? Who is markedly absent from the battle, and what does this suggest? Who receives a military decoration, and what does this do to the social structure on the farm? So pause the video to make sure you've got time to do the reading and then answer the questions.

We can feedback when you are finished.

Excellent reading everyone.

It really is an action-packed chapter, so I hope you enjoyed all the excitement.

So let's share our answers to these questions.

So that first question, why were Mr. Friedrich and Mr. Pilkington concerned about the rebellion? So they were scared because they feared the spread of rebellion would come to their own farms. What did Beasts of England come to symbolise? So "Beasts of England" became synonymous with the revolution.

It was taught to animals on other farms to inspire further rebellions and alludes to the propaganda produced by communists in Russia, so that song is a really powerful tool in sending the message about the revolution out to other farms. Who had prepared and planned for what would happen if humans attempted to attack? So it was Snowball.

As we know, Snowball is incredibly intelligent and he had prepared extensively for any attack and had a detailed series of plans in the event of human attack.

Who dashed straight for Jones, and what does the verb, dashed, suggest about the character? So it was Snowball that dashes straight for Jones and this verb suggests at no hesitation and that Snowball is totally committed to the defence of Animal Farm.

It's a really purposeful movement that Orwell is describing there and shows his speed and power in defending the farm.

What does Boxer do and how does he react? So Boxer kicks a stable lad in the head, which he believes kills him.

Now Boxer feels great remorse for what he has done and this really hints at his sensitive character, but it does transpire that the boy is only stunned, but what this really reveals is Boxer's gentle nature and how he really doesn't want to see any humans killed.

Who is markedly absent from the battle, and what does this suggest? So it's Molly, and Molly is nowhere to be found during this battle.

So despite initially believing her to be stolen, it turns out she was hiding in her stall.

So it suggests that Molly is not as committed to safeguarding the revolution than others and she's unwilling to put herself in harm's way.

This is quite telling of Molly's character and we know that she's just not willing to give up any of her luxuries in order to support the revolution.

She's not really fully committed.

Who receives a military decoration, and what does this do to the social structure on the farm? So the animals create the awards, Animal Hero: First Class, and Animal Hero: Second Class.

So this immediately creates a hierarchy, with some seemingly more valued than others.

So it could be argued that this goes against the founding principle that all animals are equal, and likewise, it really emphasises Orwell's message in the inevitability of hierarchy, so Orwell continues to show that this idea of equality is very problematic.

So we have reached the second part of our lesson.

So now we have read chapter four and gathered some initial ideas, we're going to now discuss them further in this second part of the lesson.

At this point in the novella, the pigs have firmly established themselves as the leaders.

So discuss, why do you think it is that the pigs and not other animals are now in charge? So you may have thought about the fact that the pigs are presented as more intelligent from the very beginning, so they use this intelligence to put themselves in positions of power.

They create Animalism and the Seven Commandments, which are really effective at keeping the other animals under their control.

They're also particularly good at using propaganda in the form of Squealer, so they use their own intelligence and all of these tools to make sure that they are the ones in power.

And at the end of the last chapter, the pigs distil the spirit of Animalism into one maxim, four legs good, two legs bad.

So now consider this discussion question.

How might the pigs use this to develop their power even further? You may wish to pause the video so you can think and discuss your ideas.

Okay, some great discussions there.

So yes, I heard some of you talking about the way that moving away from specific rules, such as, no animal shall wear clothes, to the more general, oversimplified maxim, four legs good, two legs bad.

The pigs are deliberately setting out something that's vague.

Okay, so this means that that maxim is open to interpretation and this could potentially allow the pigs to interpret it in any way they see fit, particularly given the other animals' relative stupidity.

And this maxim really hints at Orwell's discussion and his message around the power of language.

Orwell noticed how leaders, people in charge, people in power, would take really big, complex ideas, and reduce them down into simple maxims and phrases in order to manipulate and maintain control.

So what is that maxim that the pigs use to represent the ideology of Animalism? Well done, it's four legs good, two legs bad.

So now we're going to focus further on Snowball's presentation as leader in the Battle of the Cow Shed.

So let's just remind ourselves of that description.

"As the human beings approached the farm building, Snowball launched his first attack.

All the pigeons, to the number of 35, flew to and fro over the men's heads and muted upon them from midair, and while the men were dealing with this, the geese, who had been hiding behind the hedge, rushed out and pecked viciously at the calves of their legs.

However, this was only a light skirmishing manoeuvre, intended to create a little disorder, and the men easily drove the geese off with their sticks.

Snowball now launched his second line of attack." So this is Snowball's first attack, which suggests he has thought in detail about the plans, so that initial attack seems like it hasn't really made a difference, but then we are alerted to Snowball's second attack, so this shows that he has a plan.

He has carefully thought about the defence, assigning different roles to the different animals, really emphasising his strategic nature and the way he thinks about these things.

Let's read the next part.

"Muriel, Benjamin, and all the sheep, with Snowball at the head of them, rushed forward and prodded and butted the men from every side, while Benjamin turned around and lashed at them with his small hooves.

But once again, the men, with their sticks and their hobnailed boots, were too strong for them, and suddenly, at a squeal from Snowball, which was the signal for retreat, all the animals turned and fled through the gateway into the yard." So we see Snowball here at the head of the animals, and this really shows his involvement, his bravery, and his ability to lead the animals into battle.

He isn't afraid to get his hands dirty, he's in amongst the action of the battle as well as being incredibly strategic.

And this squeal that he gives shows his tactical thinking and that he is directing the others for a surprise attack, so Orwell is really presenting Snowball as this competent leader, this tactical leader that can not only create excellent plans, but also be at the front line.

And the final part.

"The men gave a shout of triumph.

They saw, as they imagined, their enemies in flight, and they rushed after them in disorder.

This was just what Snowball had intended.

As soon as they were well inside the yard, the three horses, the three cows, and the rest of the pigs, who have been lying in ambush in the cow shed, suddenly emerged in their rear, cutting them off.

Snowball now gave the signal for the charge.

He himself dashed straight for Jones.

Jones saw him coming, raised his gun and fired.

The pellet scored bloody streaks along Snowball's back and a sheep dropped dead.

Without halting for an instant, Snowball flung his 15 stone against Jones's leg." So Snowball's plan has clearly worked and he has outsmarted the men.

So we see this here, that Snowball had intended this all along.

So again, we see him as an excellent tactician.

We get this verb as well, this, dashes straight for Jones, and it shows that he has no fear to take on the enemy, again that he's not just using his brain, he's also using his physicality to fight against Mr. Jones.

We also get this description of his significant injuries.

He's streaked with blood, the bullets go off his back, and it does not deter him from attacking the men, and it shows again his strong determination and will to achieve the victory for the animals.

Okay, now true or false time.

"He himself dashed straight for Jones," demonstrates Snowball's bravery and leadership qualities.

True or false? Well done everyone that said true.

Now let's justify your answer.

Well done, I heard a lot of you say, A, which is absolutely correct.

That verb, dashed, is really powerful in emphasising Snowball's determination and lack of fear, and again, this really shows Orwell presenting Snowball as a leader that is truly devoted to the cause.

We have reached our final practise task.

What I would like you to do is, I would like you to write a paragraph answering the following question, so think about everything that we have looked at with regards to chapter four.

The question is, how does Orwell use language to present Snowball as an effective leader during the Battle of the Cow Shed? So you may wish to write about Snowball's actions, the specific language used to describe him, and how he influenced others.

So pause the video and I look forward to seeing what you have written.

Well done, everyone.

That was a really good attempt at that question and I liked the way that you were all using all of the discussion points from the the rest of the lesson.

So here is a model answer.

So you may have approached this question something like this, or you may have something different, but just use this to check through your own answers.

You may wish to add something from this.

"During the Battle of the Cow Shed, Orwell depicts Snowball as an effective and capable leader whose valour and intelligence play a decisive role in defending Animal Farm.

Firstly, Snowball is seen to be pivotal in the defence, directing different animals at different parts of the battle and masterminding their surprise attack.

In addition, he's unafraid to get involved in the battle himself when he launches his first attack, highlighting his proactive and strategic nature.

Despite receiving bloody streaks across his back, Snowball continues his defence of the farm, redoubling his efforts to attack Jones without hesitation, showing his unwavering determination to defend the spirit of Animalism." So you can see here how this model paragraph has really effectively answered the question.

It's given those lovely, short, embedded quotes, and picked up on some key examples from that chapter.

Well done, everyone, we have reached the end of the lesson on chapter four.

So let's just remind ourselves of everything that we have looked at.

So the pigs position themselves as leaders and take advantage of the other animals' relative stupidity.

The animals seek to spread news of their revolution to other farms. Snowball shows exceptional valour in the Battle of the Cow Shed.

And the simplifying of the commandments into one maxim means the rules of Animalism now lack nuance.

So well done, everyone, wasn't that an exciting chapter? So I really hope you'll join me for another lesson in the future and I look forward to seeing you then.

Goodbye.