This document provides teaching materials for guiding students through reading and discussing the dystopian novel "The Giver" by Lois Lowry. It includes discussion questions, writing prompts, and activities for students to complete as they progress through the book. Key themes covered include utopias vs. dystopias, individualism vs. community, memory, emotion, and color. Students are prompted to consider how the community in the book works and to evaluate whether it seems beneficial or harmful.

1. The Giver
by Lois Lowry
Reading 7

2. Bell Work
• What is a Utopia?
• What is a Dystopia?
• Pay careful attention to the underlined
words on the following slide. On a piece
of notebook paper, write down what you
think each word means. Note what it is
from the passage that makes you think
this.
Introduction

3. • Massive dehumanization, totalitarian
government, rampant disease, post-apocalyptic
terrains, cyber-genetic technologies, societal
chaos and widespread urban violence are some
of the common themes in dystopian films which
bravely examine the ominous shadow cast by
the future.
• Maybe, people speculated, if any society were
completely reorganized, it could be regenerated
and, ultimately, perfected. Utopia was sought in
America through the creation of model
communities within the greater society.

4. Lois Lowry speaks…
About growing up
About the importance of education
about “The Giver”
Introduction

5. Novel Journals
• As you read the novel, you will be asked
to record your thoughts.
• You will set up a Novel Journal.
• The front page should have your name,
the title of the book you are reading, and
your class period.
• You will add to this journal each day, so
bring it to class! Better yet, leave it in the
room!
• Label each page with the title from that
day’s slide.
Introduction

6. Anticipation Guide
• You will complete an anticipation guide
over The Giver.
• This will start you thinking about some of
the big questions the novel addresses.
• Likert scale
• Explanation of opinion
Introduction

7. Essential Questions
• We will consider the following questions
during our study of The Giver.
– What are the characteristics of a community?
– How do members of the community affect one
another?
– Is belonging to a community a good thing?
– Should the government restrict personal
freedoms for the good of the community?
• Record these in the first page of your
journal.
Introduction

8. Theme/Motiffs
(note where these come up in the book)
• Individual vs. Society
• Freedom vs. Choice
• Feeling and Emotions
• Coming of Age
• Memory

9. Rules
• As you listen to Chapters 1 and 2, write
down at least 3 rules from the community
in your novel journal.
Pre-reading Chapters 1-2

10. Bell Work (discuss)
• In your journal, write a few sentences
answering the following question. Support
your opinion with inferences (at least 2)
you have made from the text.
• Is Jonas’s community a utopia or a
dystopia?
Pre-reading Chapters 3-4

11. Euphemism
• a word or phrase used in place of a term
that might be considered too direct, harsh,
unpleasant, or offensive
• examples:
– pass away (die)
– break wind (fart)
– be sick (vomit)
– pink slip (get fired)
• other examples??
Pre-reading Chapters 3-4

12. Journals: Assignments
1. List at least three assignments that have
been mentioned in the book so far.
2. What can you infer about this community
based on these assignments?
Chapters 3-4

13. Journals: Ceremony
• What types of ceremonies have you
attended in your life? What stands out to
you as important about each of the
ceremonies?
• Ceremony is defined as: a formal event to
celebrate or honor something; a rite or
ritual.
• How close was your definition?
Chapter 6

14. Bell Work
Journals: Assigned vs. Selected
• Read the following passage from the
novel. Pay careful attention to the
underlined words.
• “Jonas has not been assigned. Jonas has
been selected…The selection must be
sound. It must be a unanimous choice of
the Committee” (48).
• What does assigned mean?
• What does selected mean?
Pre-reading Chapters 7-8

15. Ceremony of 12
Dear Student,
Today you will go through the Ceremony
of Twelve and be assigned a job from
the world of The Giver. You will be given
the opportunity to write about your
feelings after being given this
Assignment. Finally, we will have a
sharing of feelings as a class.
Thank you for your childhood!
MR. Reed
Chapters 7-8

16. Learning Activity: Assignment
As you write your response to your Assignment, use the
following questions to guide your thinking.
• Introduce me to your Assignment. What job have you been
assigned? What activities will you be expected to perform for
this job?
• Tell me about your views of this job. Do you think you will
enjoy this job? Do you think this will be a job you will be able
to do successfully?
• Tell me whether or not you think this job fits your personality.
Do you think your personality fits with what you will be
required to do?
• Imagine if you were assigned this job in “real” life, then tell me
about what you think would be the best thing about having this
job and what would be the worst thing about having this job.
• Your written response should be a minimum of 8 sentences
(that’s two sentences for each bullet point!).
Chapters 7-8

17. Bell Work
• Free write for about five minutes on the
topic of:
• Some questions to spur your thinking: are
memories always good? how do our
memories affect our lives? our future?
Should bad memories be erased?
Chapters 9-10

18. Learning Activity: Town
Historian
• You are a town historian. You are tasked
with recording the memories of older
people in your community so the city’s
past is not forgotten.
• You will conduct an interview with a local
resident who has resided here for most of
their life.
• You will write a narrative account based
on your interview.
Chapters 9-10

19. Journals: Memories
• Write down at least 3 of the phrases
from Chapter 11 that help you create
a mental picture.
• Tell me which of the five senses you
used to create the image of this
scene.
The memories Jonas receives are very
detailed. These details give the reader a
mental picture of what is happening. These
pictures are created using imagery.
Chapter 11

20. Learning Activity: Jonas’s
Characteristics
• In pairs, discuss the context of the words
used to describe Jonas. Then write down
what you think each of the words means
based on this and the synonyms we
discussed.
Chapter 12

21. Bell Work
• What is your favorite color?
• Why do you love this color so much?
• What do you think your favorite color says
about you?
Pre-reading Chapter 13

22. Journals: Color
Jonas now understands that he can see COLOR.
The Giver explains that one time everything had a
quality called color, but that when they went to
Sameness the colors went away.
• What do you think about their decision to
lose color?
• If they lost color, what do you think they
gained?
Chapter 13

23. Learning Activity: True Colors
• You will complete a survey that seeks to
define your personality based on colors.
• Complete the survey
• Meet up with your classmates who are the
same color as you
• Discuss: do you think your personality
really fits the description for the color you
wound up with? why or why not?
Chapter 13

24. Learning Activity: Color Jonas’s
World
1. Pick your favorite scene from the book so
far.
2. Draw the scene the way everyone in the
community sees it (black and white,
shades of gray).
3. Draw it again the way Jonas and The
Giver see it (in full color).
4. Write a paragraph explaining what you
think is good and bad about having color
in our lives today.
Chapter 13

25. Bell Work
• In your journal, write about a time you felt
lonely. Were you able to make yourself feel
better? How?
• Read chapters 14 & 15.
• Return to your journal. How is Jonas’s
loneliness different from yours? Are there
similarities? What are they?
Pre-reading Chapters 14 and 15

26. Journal: Choices
• Go back to your journal from chapter 5 and
look at the choices you are able to make
each day.
• How would your choices be different in this
community? What sorts of things would be
completely out of your hands?
Chapters 14 and 15

27. Journal: Choices
• Now that we know a little more about the
choices that were made for the community,
let’s stop and think about them. You will
answer four questions about the following
parts of the community.
– Climate Control
– Sameness
– Assignments
– Matching of Spouses
– Family Units
Chapters 14 and 15

28. 1. What caused the community to choose to
implement these changes? Make an inference for
each.
2. What effect does each change have on the
members of the community? Give examples from
the text and/or make inferences.
3. Which of the choices listed do you think is the
most beneficial for the community? Why? Support
your answer with at least two reasons. You have
to pick one!
4. Which of the choices listed do you think is the
least beneficial, or even harmful, for the
community? Why? Support your answer with at
least two reasons.

29. Chapters 16 and 17
Journal: Memories – The Good and
The Bad
• Now that we have seen that not all the
memories are good, does that change
your views on the need for one person to
“hold” all the memories for the
community?
• Why do you think Jonas’ first lie to his
parents was important?
• What do you think Jonas means when he
tells Gabe that things could change?

30. Chapter 18
Journal: Rosemary
• How does Rosemary’s training impact
Jonas’s training?
• Why do you think The Giver tells Jonas
about Rosemary’s failure?
• The Giver says “…I suppose I could help
the whole community the way I’ve helped
you” (106). Infer what he might be thinking
here.

31. Pre-reading Chapters 19 and 20
Bell Work: Release
• Now that we’ve progressed further into the
novel, what do you think it means to be
released? Support your opinion with
inferences from the text. Write your
answer in your journal.

32. Journal: Climax
• Why is Chapter 19 a turning point in the
book?
• What do you think will be the outcome of
Jonas’s new realization?
• What would you do if you were Jonas?
• Make a prediction about what Jonas will
do and then read chapter 20 to find out.
Chapter 19

33. Journal: Escape
• What do you think about Jonas’s plan?
How does it match up with your
prediction?
• What problems do you foresee for Jonas
as he attempts his escape?
• Answer these questions in your journal
first. Next, you will share with a partner.
Chapter 20

34. Journal: Rules Revisited
• Remember the list of broken rules you
made at the start of the novel?
• We are going to revisit those rules now
that we know what release is.
Chapters 19 and 20

35. Learning Activity: Release
• Complete the assignment about Release
on your own.
Chapters 19 and 20

36. Pre-reading Chapters 21 and 22
Journal: Predictions
• Make some predictions about Jonas’s
escape. What problems might he
encounter?

37. Chapters 21 and 22
Journal: Predictions
• Look back at your predictions for chapters
21 and 22. Do you need to revise them? If
so, do that now.
• In your teams, share your predictions and
the revisions you had to make.

38. Pre-reading Chapter 23
Bell Work: Final chapter!
• Write what you think will happen to Jonas
and Gabe in the last chapter. Include at
least five sentences.

39. Journal: The End
• How will Jonas’s leaving change his
community?
• Given what you know now about utopias
and dystopias, how would you classify
Jonas’ community? Give me at least two
reasons for your choice.
• How does this book affect your views of a
perfect world?
• Why do you think this book has been
challenged by so many people?
Chapter 23

40. Learning Activity: Letter to
Elders
• You have been chosen by the Council of
Elders to create a new experimental form
of government on an island upriver from
the community.
• This new community will be subject to the
community rules except for changes you
will implement.
• The elders are interested in seeing how
community members would handle going
back to some of the old ways of life.
Chapter 23

41. Learning Activity: Letter to
Elders
• You will address the following issues in
your experimental community:
– marriage
– family planning
– euthanasia
– career & educational choices
– gov’t monitoring of individual behavior
– elimination of feelings & memories
– book censorship
– necessity for a Receiver
Chapter 23

42. Learning Activity: Letter to
Elders
• Choose three (3) of the most important
issues and state how and why you would
change them.
• You must justify your reasons in a
proposal to the Council of Elders.
• Must be in business letter format.
Chapter 23