This document outlines a thematic text set about freedom to accompany the novel The Giver by Lois Lowry. The text set includes a nonfiction article about control in North Korea, a poem called "Sympathy" by Paul Laurence Dunbar, and Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. Activities are suggested to help students understand and analyze how the theme of freedom is developed across the texts, including writing journal entries to explore their own ideas about freedom. Standards from the South Carolina English Language Arts curriculum are also listed.

1. Meredith Wallace
FRMS 7331
Thematic Text Set
The Giver by Lois Lowry is a science fiction/dystopian fiction. The main character,
Jonas, is a 12-year-old boy that lives in a “utopia”, a world with no pain, no war, no hunger, etc.
You soon learn that it is not a “utopia” after all, but a world with no emotion, color, love,
holidays, or choice. The elders in the community have tried to take away all of the bad things in
history, but in doing so they have also taken away many of the good things. When Jonas
becomes the Receiver, and learns the truth about his community, he can’t believe what the elders
have taken away from them and what they do to create Sameness. The Giver and Jonas want to
change the way things are. They decide the best way to do this is by Jonas leaving the
community and releasing all of the memories of the past into the community. When Jonas learns
that the baby, Gabriel, that has been living with his family is going to be “released”, or killed, he
knows he has to escape before this happens.
Freedom is one of the themes found in The Giver. Jonas escapes the only home he has
ever known in hopes of having freedom. He had no idea what he would face beyond his
community, but he was willing to take the chance to save Gabriel and to be free to think, feel,
and to have choices.
The texts I chose in this set focus on the theme of freedom. After reading the article,
“Courageous Voices: Using Text Sets to Inspire Change”, I learned more about text sets and the
potential text possibilities. The teacher’s example in the article, also used theme as the guide for
her text set. I searched online for a variety of texts that would be appropriate for 7th grade
students that had a theme of freedom. The texts include a nonfiction article, a poem, and a
speech. For the first activity, I used the idea of starting with an essential question that was
discussed in “Scaffolding High School Students’ Reading of Complex Texts Using Linked Text
Sets”. The essential question activates students’ background knowledge, sparks discussions, and
relates to the students. Middle school students are at the age where they want to make their own
decisions and they are trying to figure out who they are. Answering the essential question, What
does freedom mean to me?, will allow students to think about the theme of the text set as it
relates to them.
Thematic Language Arts Text Set to be used with The Giver by Lois Lowry
“Total Control in North Korea” by Jessica McBirney
https://www.commonlit.org/en/texts/total-control-in-north-korea
Summary: This nonfiction article explains the totalitarian form of government in North
Korea. Citizens’ daily lives are controlled by the government. They do not choose their
leaders. All of their art represents communist ideals. They are cut off from the rest of the
world and are under surveillance at all times.
Connection to Novel and Theme: Jonas, in The Giver, has a lot in common with the citizens
of North Korea. His life is controlled by the Elders in the community, he is cut off from the
rest of the world outside of a few surrounding communities, and he is also watched closely.
All of the decisions in his life are made by someone else. This article also relates to the theme
of freedom. The citizens in North Korea do not have freedoms like we do in the United States,

2. and some often try to escape. If they are caught they have to work in a labor camp along with
their family, and many die of malnutrition. If Jonas would have been caught escaping his
community, he would have been killed.
“Sympathy” by Paul Laurence Dunbar
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46459/sympathy-56d22658afbc0 Poem
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/paul-laurence-dunbar Biography
Summary: Paul Laurence Dunbar was a famous African American poet born to freed slaves.
His poem “Sympathy” is about a bird that is stuck in a cage. It makes itself bleed as it beats its
wings against the cage wanting to be free. At the end of the poem, the bird says a prayer to be
free. The narrator of the poem states that they know how the bird feels to want freedom.
Connection to Novel and Theme: Jonas, in The Giver, also wants to be free like the bird in
this poem. He faces pain, like the bird, as he travels through snow with little food in search of
freedom. The poem relates to the theme of freedom. The bird wishes for freedom along with
the narrator, who represented African Americans during the time that Dunbar wrote the poem.
“I Have a Dream” by Martin Luther King Jr.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/i-have-a-dream-speech-text_n_809993 Words
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smEqnnklfYs Video
Summary: This famous speech was delivered during the Civil Rights Movement in
Washington D.C. Martin Luther King Jr. speaks out about African Americans not being free
100 years after slavery. They are not being given the rights promised by the Declaration of
Independence. He dreams of equality for all people.
Connection to Novel and Theme: Like Martin Luther King Jr., Jonas, in The Giver, wishes
for freedom. They both want their worlds to be fair and to have a voice. The speech relates to
the theme of freedom. King wants freedom for all people.
Activities:
 Before reading any of the texts, students will write in their journals answering the
essential question, what does freedom mean to me?
 When reading the texts in the set, students will write about and discuss the theme of
freedom, and compare/contrast their ideas with those of the characters, narrators, and
authors.
 After reading all of the texts, students will revisit their journal entry and create a new
entry to write about any changes in their thoughts about freedom and why their ideas
have changed by referring to the texts.
 Extension Activity- Students will find another text with freedom as the theme, connect
it to the text set, and create a project to share with the class.
South Carolina College and Career-Ready English Language Arts Standards- 7th Grade
 Standard RL6: Summarize key details and ideas to support analysis of thematic
development.
 RL6.1 Determine one or more themes and analyze the development; provide an
objective summary.
 Standard RL7: Analyze the relationship among ideas, themes, or topics in multiple
media, formats, and in visual, auditory, and kinesthetic modalities.

3.  RL7.1 Interpret how a literary text relates to diverse media with an emphasis on the
effect various media techniques have on ideas, themes, and topics.
References
Dunbar, P.L. (1899). Sympathy. Retrieved from
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46459/sympathy-56d22658afbc0
Elish-Piper, L., Wold, L.S., & Schwingendorf, K. (2014) Scaffolding high school students’
reading of complex texts using linked text sets. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy.
King, M.L. Jr. (1963). I have a dream. Retrieved from
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/i-have-a-dream-speech-text_n_809993
King, M.L. Jr. (1963). I have a dream speech. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smEqnnklfYs
Lowry, Lois. author. (1993). The giver. Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin
McBirney, J. (2016). Total control in North Korea. Retrieved from
https://www.commonlit.org/en/texts/total-control-in-north-korea
Poetry Foundation. (2019). Paul Laurence Dunbar. Retrieved from
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/paul-laurence-dunbar
Tracy, K.N., Menickelli, K., & Scales, Roya. (2016). Courageous voices: using text sets to
inspire change. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy.