Duration: 3 class periods of 45-55 Minutes
Printable: The Giver Lesson Plan (PDF)

The Giver by Lois Lowry Intellimetric Prompt:

After experiencing the feeling of love from the Giver and his memories, Jonas thought about the way life must have been when there was love and realized it was probably a “dangerous way to live.” Think about what Jonas meant. What was “dangerous” about that kind of life, and what was a “safe” life like? What were the advantages and disadvantages of each choice?

Write an essay in which you either support or criticize Jonas’s decision to escape the community in light of the choice he made between a safe life and a dangerous one. As you write, remember your essay will be scored based on how well you:

•    Develop a multi-paragraph response to the assigned topic that clearly communicates your thesis to the audience.
•    Support your thesis with meaningful examples and references from the text, carefully citing any direct quotes.
•    Organize your essay in a clear and logical manner, including an introduction, body, and conclusion.
•    Use well-structured sentences and language that are appropriate for your audience.
•    Edit your work to conform to the conventions of standard American English.

Teacher Background: Students should have read or should be in the final stages of reading The Giver by Lois Lowry before this lesson is administered. It is also highly recommended that they have completed The Giver Discussion Questions by MY Access! prior to beginning this lesson.

Day 1: Love and Sacrifice (offline)

1)    Students use their writers’ journals to describe one of their greatest memories as well as one of their more painful memories. The student should describe what makes the first memory such a fond one, and what makes the second memory one that they would just as soon forget. Students then respond to this prompt: Would you give up your fondest memory if it meant you also would be able to forget your most painful memory? Why or why not?  (12 minutes)
2)    In small groups of 3-4, students collaboratively complete two concept map organizers for the concepts of love and pain. Students should fill in the map with words or examples that capture the essence of these terms. Each student in the group should complete concept maps for each term. (8 minutes)
(3)    Regroup students so that their new group has a representative from each of the original groups. An easy way to do this is to have each original group count off one to four and then have all of the ones form a new group, all of the twos another new group, and so on. In their new groups, each member shares his/her original group’s concept maps. Next, students in their new groups discuss this question: Would you be willing to give up love as part of your life if it meant that you would never have to experience pain or hate? Why or why not?  Finally, the teacher asks students to share and leads a whole class discussion on the topic. Here are some sample questions you may use:

a.    Is love a more powerful feeling than pain/hate? Why or why not?
b.    How closely linked are love and pain/hate? Can we have one without the other?
c.    Think about the society that Jonas lived in. Would you describe it as better or worse than our own society? Why?
d.    Would you have made the same decision as Jonas did in The Giver? Why or why not? (18 minutes)

4)    Students return to their seats and revisit their writers’ journals. Students individually contemplate the class discussion and evaluate in writing whether they think Jonas made a wise choice at the end and why they feel as they do. Students should also explain what they would have done if they were Jonas and why.  (7 minutes)

Day 2: Connections to Vonnegut (offline)

1)    Student take a few minutes to review their journal entries and concept maps from the previous class. (3 minutes)
2)    Students read the short story . (Alternately, the teacher could have assigned the story for homework the night prior or the teacher may read the story aloud to the class.) While reading, students complete the Elements of Literature worksheet to quickly process and understand this story. (15 minutes)
3)    Students respond to the following prompts in their journal:

a.    Use a Venn Diagram to compare the society described in “Harrison Bergeron” with the one described in The Giver. Students can use the Two Topic Venn Diagram in the resources section of MY Access! or they can draw their own.
b.    Which society do you think is better and why?
c.    Is either of these preferable to our own society? Why or why not?
d.    Why do you think both Jonas and Harrison Bergeron take the risks they do at the end of each story? Which character do you think took the biggest risk and why?
e.    Is risk-taking a noble trait or is it a dangerous one? Why? (15 minutes)

4)    The teacher plays one or more of the online audio files available at Author Series: Interview with Lois Lowry. Students should pay particular attention to the final clip entitled, “The Giver, Love, and Sacrifice.” (12 minutes)

Day 3: Attacking the Prompt (online)

1)    Teacher introduces the writing prompt, and using their prewriting activities, students begin to outline their essays. Each student outline should contain: a thesis statement, three topic sentences, three examples for each topic sentence. As students write, the teacher should circulate throughout the classroom, observing student progress. (15 minutes)
2)    Teacher should call on a few students to share their thesis statements, topic sentences, and examples. By highlighting student work, the teacher should refresh students’ memories about each vital part of a literary essay. Students who seem to be having trouble writing a thesis, can be grouped together and directed to the Thesis Builder. The teacher can conduct a mini-lesson with this group while the others begin writing. (5 minutes)
3)    Students begin to write on the MY Access! work page. After the first 20 minutes, students may choose to “Submit” and get feedback to help direct them. Throughout the writing process, the teacher should be mobile, circulating throughout the classroom and directing students, who are each moving through the writing process at their own pace. (25 minutes)
4)    Students should complete the first draft of their essay for homework or during the next class period.

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