The Common Module Texts and Human Experiences: 1984

This comprehensive 42 page booklet uses George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty Four (1984) to teach The Common Module: Texts and Human Experiences. The booklet is intended for an Advanced class as it encourages a more philosophical approach to the text by focusing on how texts represent human experiences and the role of storytelling throughout time. This guide to Orwell’s prophetic novel encourages students to consider the varied ways texts and human experiences are sometimes seamlessly related. Given that 1984 is a very popular text for this Module taking a more philosophical approach is intended to broaden students’ scope of textual analysis beyond a more stereotypical interpretation. In essence, the booklet encourages a philosophical approach by teaching students to engage with the text not merely as a story or a critique of totalitarianism, but rather as a rich exploration of fundamental human questions regarding existence, reality, truth, and meaning. As such the booklet finds its foundations in the Module’s rubric through an explicit exploration of the ways in which 1984 reflects and represents individual and collective experiences in relation to the anomalies, paradoxes and inconsistencies of the human experience. As well the booklet offers insight into how these observations invite us to see the world differently, challenge our assumptions and ignite new ideas. We break down the rubric into bite size chunks by identifying key verbs which will assist students in not simply regurgitating information, but rather focussing on HOW the verb is actually inviting them to respond. The booklet also breaks down the rubric into different colours which denote the VERBS that will be used in the questions as well as the types of analysis they will need to complete, the types of human behaviours they will be asked to discuss and look for in the text and most importantly the EFFECT these behaviours have on our understanding of human behaviour. The booklet also offers diagrams as to the process of addressing a question which is often valuable to the visual learner. In addition to this there are opportunities to explore Existentialism, Nihilism, Modernism and Dystopianism as lenses through which to reconsider the text. The booklet is congested with example questions, thesis statement builders, suggested links to You Tube clips, contextual information as well as additional links for research, a worked table explaining the The Tripartite Structure of the text, key themes, ideas about key human experiences, extensive notes and suggestions on anomalies, paradoxes and inconsistencies in the text, language as an example of anomalies and inconsistencies, detailed explanations of WHAT these terms mean and HOW they’re represented in the novel, an examination of storytelling as a form of subversion and control, FIVE practice thesis statements, practice questions, a suggested response to ONE of the practice questions and suggested tips for students in their approach to planning for the HSC, TRIAL and School Assessment.