Last month, I interviewed Sara Baquero-Garcia, our 8^th grade Social Studies teacher, about her propaganda project. For this month, I decided to interview one of Sara’s 8th grade students about the Animal Farm project and propaganda to see whether the learning actually landed with them—to understand what they really took away from the project. Many thanks to Phoebe for taking the time to answer my questions; here are her thoughtful answers.

Question: Can you describe the Animal Farm propaganda project?

Response: Phoebe described it as “an amazing way to understand how to effectively incorporate creativity and an interesting book with lots of complex themes—such as propaganda, manipulation, peer pressure, totalitarianism, and the corruption of socialist ideals—into a poster. It required examining one theme, and then finding a story and a person to help explain that idea. What was so cool was that everyone chose something different and made personal choices that really helped differentiate their poster from others.”

Question: What kind of research did you need to do for the project? What types of sources did you use, and where did you find them?

Response: “I researched different types of propaganda techniques and ensured I looked into both historical and modern examples. If I only looked at the first websites to pop up, I would have been making [biased] decisions. I used class materials such as books, articles from educational websites such as Britannica, and Gale, and examples of posters from previous years. I also thought that some advertisements, and political campaigns online, provided me with some information to help me with this project. I also compared multiple sources to make sure the information was accurate and to understand how propaganda can be used in different situations.”

Question: What do you understand now about propaganda that you didn’t before?

Response: “I understand now that propaganda is not always obvious, [and it doesn’t always appear] as a negative tone at first glance. Before this project, I mostly thought propaganda was just old war posters or political messages, but now I see that it can appear in my social media, advertisements on websites, news, and even entertainment. I also learned how propaganda often uses emotions, repetition, and persuasive techniques to influence people’s opinions or actions.”

Question: How do you think you can apply your new understanding of propaganda to our current world?

Response: “I think I can apply my understanding of propaganda by being more critical of the media and information I see every day. Instead of immediately believing something online, I can look at the source, consider the purpose behind the message, and recognize persuasive techniques being used. This can help me make better decisions and avoid being easily influenced by misleading information. Especially in a world of AI, many reels are inaccurate and make up all sorts of stuff so it is important to understand how to notice inaccurate vs. real.”

Question: Anything else you’d like to say about the project/propaganda/etc.?

Response: “Overall, I thought the project was interesting because it showed how powerful communication and persuasion can be. It also made me realize how important media literacy is today, especially because people constantly see information on a daily basis through social media and the internet. The project helped me pay more attention to how messages are designed to influence audiences.”

Closing Reflection

What I appreciate most, reading both Sara’s vision for propaganda literacy and Phoebe’s reflections on her project, is seeing how well the learning took root. Sara set out to help students become critical thinkers who understand not just propaganda as a historical curiosity, but as a living force shaping their choices, their beliefs, and their daily lives. Phoebe’s answers show that she’s internalized this—not as abstract knowledge, but as practical wisdom she’s already applying to the information she encounters. For school librarians, this is exactly why partnerships with teachers like Sara matter so much. Together, we equip students not just to consume information, but to interrogate it, to understand the forces shaping it, and ultimately, to think for themselves.

Note: I used Flint for light copy-editing, drafting the transition between the two parts, and the conclusion in part two. Everything else is human-written, and it’s all human-edited!