1) The story introduces Jonas, an 11-year-old boy in a strictly regulated community. He had a frightening experience seeing a plane as a child and is apprehensive about the upcoming Ceremony of Twelve. 2) Ceremonies are held each year to mark transitions, and at age 12 children are assigned their life's work. Jonas volunteers at the House of the Old but is unsure what role he will receive. 3) Jonas recalls an incident from his childhood where he noticed an apple changing color, though his friend did not, and took it home against rules. He wonders what made the apple different.

1. The Giver
Chapters 1 - 4

2. The Plane
● The book begins with an event that occured a year ago and Jonas
explains a time he was frightened.
● Once, when he saw a jet flying overhead, he was frightened by it.
● After the jet flew by, everyone was ordered to go inside immediately.
Jonas remembers that, at the time, his younger sister Lily was at the
Childcare Center.
● Shortly after the incident, the loudspeakers announced that the pilot
had been flying there by accident, and because he had made a
mistake, he would get "released."
● What do you guys think of this idea of being “released”? It is
mentioned a few times throughout the first four chapters of the book.

3. December is Coming
● Jonas is eleven, and this coming December is a very special December
for all the kids that are eleven. They're actually called "Elevens."
● At dinner with his family, Jonas has no choice but to share his feelings
and how he is “apprehensive” about about the “Ceremony of Twelve”
that is coming up.
● What do you guys think of the idea of having to share your feelings
with your family? Remember, it’s against the rules to not share your
feelings with your family during dinner.

4. The Ceremonies
● We learn from Jonas’ father that there are ceremonies for each age
that take place every December.
● Every year, there are exactly fifty babies. And when they turn One,
they get named.
● We learn that all these Ceremonies take place over two days in
December; that is, The Ceremony for the Ones and The Ceremony of
Twelve, etc. Every year, something happens for a kid. For example,
when he's nine, he gets his bicycle. Every child becomes a year older
together—no one has an individual birthday.

5. The Ceremonies (cont.)
● The Ceremony of Twelve is when everyone learns what his or her
profession is going to be.
● The Elders of the Community watch the young people to figure out
what job they should have.
● Jonas' Mother explains that the Ceremony of Twelve is the last
ceremony; after that, no one keeps track of how old he/she is
anymore. They stop seeing their friends, and life basically becomes
about their work after that.
● Jonas still has no idea what he might be assigned as a profession.
● What do you guys think of the idea of being assigned a profession for
life rather than being able to choose your own profession? Is 12 years
old too young to be assigned a profession?

6. Chapter 3
● At the beginning of Chapter 3, Jonas’ father brings home a newchild
named Gabriel, a sick child with funny eyes.
○ REMEMBER: Jonas’ dad job is a Nurturer and he takes care of the
newchildren until their Ceremony of One.
● We learn about the assignment as Birthmother. The rules say that
someone can be a Birthmother for the duration of three pregnancies,
but the rest of their life is hard labor.
● Why does Lily say his eyes are funny looking?
● What do you think about the idea of someone being assigned as a
Birthmother?

7. Chapter 3 (cont.)
● While Lily coos over the baby, Jonas sits at his desk and does
homework. He thinks about the loudspeakers, which always make
general announcements aimed at individuals. For example, Lily's hair
ribbons are untied, so there will likely be an announcement that says,
"This is a reminder that hair ribbons should remain tied."
● He remembers being chastised this way when he was younger.
● That incident had to do with his taking an apple home from school, so
the announcement was about not hoarding snacks.
● This idea of being publicly embarrassed when breaking the rules is
brought up during this chapter. Does our society have anything
similar to this?

8. The Apple
● Jonas remembers why he took the apple home in the first place. He
and Asher were playing catch with the apple when "it changed."
● He just knows that it changed. It stayed the same shape, the same
"nondescript shade" as his shirt, the same size—but somehow, and he
can't describe it exactly, it changed. Four times it changed, only
momentarily each time. Asher didn't notice anything unusual, though.
● So that's why Jonas took the apple home: to see what was different
about it. He couldn't find anything.
● Any ideas on what Jonas was seeing when he noticed the apple
changed? Why do you think he noticed but Asher didn’t?

9. Chapter 4
● Jonas looks for Asher so they can do their "volunteer hours" after
school. This is really the only part of the day, he notes, where he gets
to decide what he wants to do. The children start volunteer hours
when they become Eights.
● He finally finds Asher's bicycle (they all have name tags on them)
outside the House of the Old, next to Fiona's bicycle. Jonas thinks
she's a cool girl; like Asher, she's got a sense of humor.
● The woman at the front desk reports that they celebrated a release
earlier that day.

10. Chapter 4 (cont.)
● Jonas heads to the bathing room to join Asher and Fiona. On the way,
he realizes that he didn't rack up all his volunteer hours in one place.
He basically tried out all of the community jobs. This means he has no
idea what assignment he'll get at the Ceremony…
● Once in the bathing room, Jonas sets to bathing an old woman. He
knows it's against the rules for any person to see another person
naked, except for babies and the elderly. This "no being naked" rule
seems useless to him.
● What do you guys think of this “no being naked” rule?

11. Chapter 4 (cont.)
● The old woman, whose name is Larissa, tells Jonas about the release
that happened earlier that day. At these events, they always tell the
life story of the person who's getting released—just think of it as an
obituary.
● Jonas asks Larissa what it's like, the actual moment of release.
● She's not sure. All she knows is that the person in question walks
through a door to the Releasing Room. But she does report that
Roberto looked happy as he left.
● They both wonder why children aren't allowed to witness releases.
● Do you think these releases are peaceful? Should children be allowed
to see them?

12. Predictions for the Next Chapters
● What role do you think Jonas will be assigned? Asher? Fiona?
● Do you think the apple is foreshadowing anything? What about the
experience with the plane that flew over the community?
● Any other predictions?