1984 Activity George Orwell China’s Social Credit System Compared to Oceania Real World Connections

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If you have finished book 1 of 1984 and are in need of some rigorous, highly engaging lessons that connect Orwell’s novel to our current world, then this set of lessons is great for your English classroom. The three included lessons cover 3-4 days of online or in person learning. The lessons focus on improving students’ writing skills and are aligned with 10th grade ELA writing standards. 

During this lesson series, students learn about the fascinating and very Orwellian Social Credit System that has been implemented by the Chinese government into cities all over China. Students learn about China’s Social Credit System by reviewing two 5-7 minute investigative journalism video clips (links included). As students closely examine these news clips, they complete three digital writing lessons in which they make connections between 1984 and China’s Social Credit System. 

ABOUT EACH LESSON: 

Lesson 1: During the first lesson, students watch one news clip and complete a pro/con activity where they recount the benefits and consequences of China’s Social Credit system as described in the news source. This step helps students gain an understanding of how the system works. Within this lesson, students also complete response questions that have students examine their pro/con chart to formulate claims regarding whether or not they feel the pros outweigh the cons. The third step in this lesson asks students to complete a reflective writing activity where they write from the perspective of someone who lives under China’s Social Credit System. This will take 1-2 one hour class periods. 

Lesson 2: For the next lesson, students watch a second video clip that describes the effects that China’s Social Credit System system has on its people. Students answer a series of comprehension questions as well as reflective questions that ask them to consider what a society under constant watch would feel like. In this activity, they also make connections to Orwell’s 1984. This will take a one hour class period to complete.

Lesson 3: For the final lesson, students practice the following key paragraph writing skills: creating strong claims, supporting their claims with evidence from the text, and proving one’s argument through analysis. Students practice these skills by completing a chart that has them focus on each skill individually. Their claims will focus on how China’s Credit System is similar to many of Orwell’s concepts. Students gather evidence to support their claims using Orwell’s 1984. Finally, they write analysis that focuses primarily on proving how the two societies compare. Within the assignment doc. includes examples to support student success. This will take a one hour class period to complete.

Why your students will love these lessons…

Students will enjoy this activity because they find China’s Credit System fascinating and they have meaningful discussion about how these type of systems exist within our own culture as well. Further, my students enjoy learning that Orwellian systems really do exist in governments in our world today. Thus, these lessons make 1984 more relevant to students lives because they put into context the novels concepts. For my 10th graders, 1984 can be a challenging novel, so they seem to enjoy these completing these type of activities since they break up the reading with video that are engaging and interesting to them.