what are some assignments in the giver

Assignments

Assignments are given out in communities , at the Ceremony of Twelve .

All items (24)

Assistant Director of Recreation
Birthmother
Caretaker of the Old
Collection Crew
Director of Recreation
Drone Pilot
Fish Hatchery
Fish Hatchery Attendant
Food Deliver
Genetic Scientist
Instructor of 3’s
Landscape Worker
Night-time Nurturer
Receiver of Memory
Security Guard
Street Cleaner
Swimming Instructor

PRESTO PLANS

prestO PLANS

ENGLISH TEACHER RESOURCES

Sent straight to your inbox

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS

A hand holding an English bell-ringer or homework assignment where practice English Language Arts skills like complete grammar, figurative-language, vocabulary,

10 FREE ELA RESOURCES

Teaching Students How to Annotate Poetry

8 Ways Teachers Can Celebrate Student Success

Bulletin Board Ideas for Middle & High School English

ON THE BLOG

teacher favorites

an ELA facebook community

TEACHERS' LOUNGE

join us in the

Engage your students as soon as they walk into your classroom with my best-selling, full-year bell-ringer set. Each day includes a unique and creative task. Topics include grammar, vocabulary, writing, and figurative language.

Full Year of English Bell-Ringers (Vol 3)

teacher resource

Top categories, i'm bonnie from presto plans.

I’m a curriculum writer, literacy educator, and all around book lover with a passion for helping English teachers engage their students with creative, high-quality resources. My mission? To make teaching English a whole lot easier for you, teacher friend!

Hello, Teachers!

The Giver: 8 Creative Class Activities

The Giver by Lois Lowry is a teacher’s dream novel. The complex dystopian plotline, dynamic characters, and thought-provoking themes provide so many opportunities for teachers to foster text-to-self and text-to-world connections. Critical thinking activities that allow students to empathize with the characters are a must-have in any novel unit. Below are 8 of my favorite activities for The Giver that do just that.

1. The Ceremony of 12 Simulation

This first activity is always a class favorite. It allows students to empathize with Jonas and his friends as they are assigned careers by the Chief Elder during the Ceremony of 12 .

How This Activity Works:

Welcome students to the classroom with a colorful poster for The Ceremony of Twelve. Once they are all settled, immediately transform into The Chief Elder. Address the class explaining that although they have spent the last 11 years learning to fit in and standardize their behavior, that this ceremony will celebrate their differences. Then, one-by-one present each student with their new job and a designated card that states all of the roles and responsibilities. After each student gets their assignment, have the rest of the class say in unison, “Thank you for your childhood.”

Give your students a choice of assignment. They can either fill out an application for a job switch or write a journal discussing their feelings on their new role in the community!

2. Seeing Beyond Activity

In The Giver , Jonas has the capacity to ‘see beyond.’ This means that Jonas, unlike the other members of the community, can use his senses from memory that allow him the ability to see color. This fun, seeing beyond class activity allows students to step into Jonas’ shoes to understand his ability to see beyond.

Students enter the classroom to a colorful poster welcoming them to Seeing Beyond. Ask them to circulate the room to different areas that have hidden image optical illusions. Some will be able to see the hidden pictures, while others will not.

After the activity, students work with partners to discuss how they felt when they were or were not able to see the hidden image. They will also discuss how it felt to successfully or unsuccessfully help someone else see the image and how this relates to the novel.

3. Memory Transmission Activity

Through his role as The Receiver, Jonas receives transmitted memories of the past from The Giver. This FREE memory transmission activity allows students to empathize with both Jonas and The Giver as they will both receive and transmit memories. This one has always been a real hit with my students!

Put a colorful poster on the door welcoming your class to The Giver’s Annex. Then, transform into The Giver and give each group of students descriptions of new memories that Jonas will receive.

Some of the memories involve painful memories, like homelessness, while others involve more positive memories like Neil Armstrong’s arrival on the moon! Students discuss prompting questions that will have them understand the value of keeping the world’s memories safe. After all the memories have been transmitted, they will shift into the role of The Giver. In this role, they will transmit one important historical memory to Jonas of their choosing.

4. The House of Old Activity

The elderly in The Giver are seemingly treated with the utmost respect and care in The House of Old , but the reader soon learns that things are not as positive as they appear. The elders of the community are killed (a.k.a released from society). This activity allows students to examine how the elderly are treated in different cultures/countries in the world and how this compares to how they are treated in Jonas’ community.

Students will enter the classroom to a colorful poster welcoming them to The House Of Old. They participate in small group discussions with information cards that provide details about how the elderly are treated in different cultures. When they are done, they fill in the blank card with how the elderly are treated in the novel and share with the rest of the class!

5. Dream Sharing Activity

In Jonas’ community, everyone must share any dreams they have with their family members. On the surface, dream sharing seems like a good way to keep open communication about inner feelings. In reality, however, it is another way that the government can keep control of the thoughts of their citizens and squash any independent thinking. This activity allows students to interpret their own dreams and consider what deeper meaning their dreams may have.

After reading chapter 6, a poster welcoming them to Dream Sharing greets students at the door. Break the class up into groups of 4 and tell each group to imagine they are family members. Each group receives dream prompt cards with common topics for dreams that have symbolic meanings. Each student shares a dream they remember which connects with one of the topics. If they can’t connect with any topic, they can share any dream they remember.

After everyone has shared their dreams, give each group the Dream Interpretation Cards that explain the symbolic significance of each dream topic. Students discuss and reflect on how it felt to reveal a dream and consider whether or not this would be a good practice in their everyday life.

6. A World Without Pain Activity

In Jonas’ community, members are sheltered from feeling any physical or emotional pain. While this theoretically seems like a peaceful way to live, Jonas soon learns that feeling no pain desensitizes people and doesn’t allow them to appreciate positive emotions. From pain, people are also able to learn from mistakes and avoid making those same mistakes again in the future. This activity brings this idea to the forefront by showing students a real-life example of someone who feels no pain.

Students work in groups to read information about people who feel no physical pain. You could have them research Gabby Gingras or Ashlyn Blocker, for example. As a group, students discuss whether or not they would like to live a life without physical pain and what challenges they might face if they chose yes. Then, they work with their group to brainstorm a list of advantages and disadvantages to living a life free of emotional pain.

7. The Telling of Feelings Activity

Jonas and his family participate in a nightly ritual called The Telling of Feelings where each person describes an emotion that they experienced during the day and discusses it with the others. Help students understand what this ritual would be like by forming classroom families and simulating the practice.

After reading chapter 2, put students into groups. It is preferable that groups consist of two boys and two girls, but it isn’t necessary. Tell them that the group is their new family and they are to assign roles (parents and siblings).

Each student gets a “Feelings Card” that they fill out in preparation for the ritual. Students must choose a precise word that describes a feeling they had that day. Each member of the group shares their feelings while the other members listen carefully.

After the ritual, have students discuss whether or not they could see themselves doing this with their family, if it would make a family closer, and why they think this is a required ritual in Jonas’ community.

8. Family Forming Activity

In The Giver , couples can only have 2 children as mandated by the government. While this may seem completely removed from the modern-day, this activity will teach students about China’s one-child policy and allow them to consider how it relates to the novel.

This activity works best with a bit of pre-reading discussion. Students discuss how they would react if the government limited the number of children they could have. Ask them if they think this could or would ever happen.

After some discussion, have them read an article or watch a video on China’s one-child policy. I have students record their thoughts as they read using a graphic organizer. The one I use has them consider their thoughts, what they learned, and something that surprised them. Ask students to make a connection between this policy and the events of the novel.

Grab a ready-to-use unit plan with over everything you need to teach T he Giver (340 pages/slides of eye-catching powerpoints, printable assignments, questions, vocabulary, and interactive class activities) by clicking here .

I hope you found this helpful! If you are interested in more tips and resources for developing students’ reading skills in ELA, click here.

share this post

VISIT THE BLOG

Snowball writing: collaborative writing activity, 10 ideas to make your teachers’ lounge a positive space.

Send students on an online date with a book

7 bell-ringer ideas for middle and high school english.

Search the blog for what you are teaching

PRIVACY |

CONTACT |

A teacher shows a yellow notebook that says Teachers Rule with a picture of a ruler.

I’m Bonnie, a curriculum writer, literacy educator, and all around book lover on a mission to make English teachers’ lives a whole lot easier!

resources sent to your inbox!

10 FREE ENGLISH TEACHER

@PRESTOPLANS

FIND ME ON

sent straight to your inbox!

10 days of ELA TEACHER

The Giver Unit Plan | 6 Weeks of Lesson Plans | Entire Novel Study

the giver by lois lowry complete novel study

This resource includes an Anticipation Guide for the novel The Giver by Lois Lowry.

An anticipation guide is a comprehension strategy that is used before reading to activate students’ prior knowledge and build curiosity about a new topic.

In this lesson, students will respond to several claims by indicating if they agree or disagree with that said statement.

Next, students will work collaboratively in groups to answer related discussion questions to further build anticipation about the novel before reading.

This lesson includes an after reading worksheet as well for students reassess their opinions after completing the novel.

This resource includes a PDF copy that is ready to print as well as a WORD DOCUMENT copy in case teachers would like to modify the assignment.

If you are working on a novel study for The Giver by Lois Lowry, these Vocabulary Lists, Practice Activities, and Quizzes will work perfectly for you!

There are 5 sets of vocabulary words, divided by chapters, with 12-15 words in each section, totaling 63 words.

Included in this resource:

Vocabulary Charts for Students
Powerpoint presentation with words, parts of speech, definitions, synonyms, and example sentences—for teaching purposes
Corresponding practice activities for every section
Quizzes (or additional practice) for every section
Teacher Guide and ANSWER KEYS

This resource includes both PDF files (ready to print) and Word Documents (editable) that way teachers can make modifications if needed.

While completing a novel study for The Giver by Lois Lowry, have your students answer reading comprehension questions for every chapter!

Included are 11 sets of questions (divided by every 2-3 chapters) which delve into character motives, themes, symbols, and essential plot details. The questions are a combination of literary analysis, reading comprehension, and critical thinking.

Detailed answer keys are provided for all questions. You can print this resource as one all-encompassing packet or you can provide students worksheets one section at a time.

This resource includes the following formats:

READY TO PRINT Student Copy of Questions (PDF)
EDITABLE Copy of Questions (Word Document)
ANSWER KEY TEACHER COPY of Questions with Answers (PDF)

Make sure your students are completing their independent reading for the novel The Giver by Lois Lowry with these quick Reading Checks or Chapter Quizzes ! This product works well if your students are reading independently or if you are reading as a class and you want to ensure students are paying attention.

These questions require brief responses; they are recall questions that are meant to be simple for anyone who has completed the reading.

This is a tool used simply to check that students are completing the independent reading, comprehending the basic information, and/or are engaged during class.

The reading checks are divided by the following sections:

Chapters 1-4

Chapters 5-9

Chapters 10-13

Chapters 14-18

Chapters 19-23

This product includes the following file types:

Powerpoint Presentation
Printable Worksheets (PDF)
Editable Worksheets (word document)

Teacher answer keys included!

After reading the novel The Giver by Lois Lowry , have your students take a closer look at how the fictional society functions compared to our own contemporary society.

By engaging in discussion and reflection, students will deepen their understanding of societal structures, norms, and values, while also recognizing parallels and contrasts between the two worlds.

Students will not only deepen their understanding of The Giver but also develop critical thinking skills that enable them to analyze and reflect on the complexities of their own society.

Answer key included.

File types included:

Teacher Copy (PDF)
Student Copy (PDF)
EDITABLE Student Copy (Word document)

Your students will enjoy searching for different words from the novel The Giver by Lois Lowry in this activity. This resource includes 5 different Word Search worksheets .

Each worksheet is divided by section:

The words are hidden in all directions making these the perfect challenge! The words in each puzzle are pulled directly from each chapter in the book.

ANSWER KEYS INCLUDED!

This is an awesome activity for early finishers . You could also assign these as extra credit or just something fun to enjoy in class/at home.

Use this Powerpoint Presentation to teach students all about themes in The Giver, and other essential background information that is related to themes in the novel.

The presentation includes interactive prompts to facilitate discussions that foster critical thinking and engagement. Students will make real-world connections with examples such as China’s One-Child Policy and the Holocaust.

Students will consider a world without color and a life without memory as well as the importance that pain plays in our lives.

This lesson includes a Guided Notes Theme Packet for students to fill out as they actively listen to the information presented.

Ask your students to share their understanding of the novel The Giver by Lois Lowry by imaginatively blending their written ideas with colorful images based on information from the text.

With this one-pager reading comprehension project, students will analyze literary elements from The Giver as well as share their own personal responses to the book. This activity is the perfect addition to your dystopian novel study!

Students’ final masterpieces make beautiful bulletin boards!

Included in this purchase is:

Student directions for the one pager project PDF
Rubric for the one pager project PDF
Example one pager for the novel The Giver by Lois Lowry
11 BLANK TEMPLATES (printable—optional)
Student Directions/rubric EDITABLE word document

Have your students analyze characters from Lois Lowry’s The Giver in a fun and engaging way: Character Collabs !

Your students will use several characterization methods to depict each character’s profile, demonstrate their understanding of the literature, and present their final work on a poster.

Posters will showcase your students’ body of work after completing each character’s biography.

Additionally, students will learn the importance of collaboration and effective communication.

There are 9 characters from THE GIVER included in this resource:

The Chief Elder
Jonas’s Mother
Jonas’s Father

This resource includes the following:

Teacher Guide
Student Directions
Brainstorm Character Analysis Worksheet
Blank Coloring Pages for each character
Answer Keys
Example of Final Project for the Giver
Digitally Colored Examples for every character
Editable documents: directions, rubric, brainstorm worksheet

Your students will love solving puzzles in this 360° Digital Escape Room based on the novel The Giver by Lois Lowry.

Deepen your students’ understanding of the novel while providing an unforgettable experience for them. Check out the video preview to see more!

This activity is designed to work for a laptop, tablet, or smart phone.

Students will try to “escape the cold” and enter a warm house where a Christmas celebration is taking place… just like Jonas at the end of the novel.

To open the lock, students most work together and solve a series of clues based on major plot points and themes from The Giver.

This activity is a great way to get students to work collaboratively and practice problem-solving skills.

Included in this download are: teacher instructions, student instructions, the master lock graphic organizer, answer keys, printable clues (optional), and a reflection sheet (optional).

This resource includes: The Giver Final Test with Answer Key!

This test, based on the novel The Giver by Lois Lowry , requires students to establish what they learned from the novel and their overall comprehension of the book. This assessment requires students’ knowledge about: symbolism, characterization, theme, and more.

The exam consists of 46 questions and offers students an opportunity to demonstrate knowledge, skills, and abilities in a variety of ways:

18 multiple choice questions
11 true or false questions
10 character identification questions
6 short answer questions (1-2 sentences)
1 open-ended question (4-6 sentences)

This resource includes the following file types:

READY TO PRINT Test Student Copy (PDF)
EDITABLE Test Student Copy (Word document)
READY TO PRINT Test Teacher Copy with Answers (PDF)

This Movie Guide is based on the 2014 film, The Giver , directed by Phillip Noyce, and starring Meryl Streep, Jeff Bridges, Brenton Thwaites, Alexander Skarsgård, Katie Holmes, and Taylor Swift.

Students can appreciate the film and analyze the extent to which the movie stays faithful to or departs from the original text, evaluating the choices made by the director. Answer key included.

This movie analysis packet works perfectly at the end of a novel study for The Giver by Lois Lowry.

Students will also have an opportunity to share their opinions on casting choices and adaptation decisions.

The film is 1 hour and 37 minutes in length.

This resource includes SIX Full Weeks of content for the novel The Giver by Lois Lowry.

Additionally, in this UNIT PLAN BUNDLE , you will receive a teacher guide that encompasses an example Unit Schedule/ Pacing Guide!

You can purchase each lesson individually or save money and get the Bundle!

Ask LitCharts AI: The answer to your questions

Jonas , The Giver , and Gabriel all stand out in the community because of their blue eyes. This difference shows the impossibility of the community's efforts to control nature completely, no matter how hard… read analysis of Blue Eyes

The Snow-covered Hill

The hill, for Jonas , represents a gateway to Elsewhere. Riding a red sled down the hill is his first memory and his first awareness of the color red. It signifies his realization that outside… read analysis of The Snow-covered Hill

The river forms a border of the community before continuing on to Elsewhere. As a border, the river comes to symbolize escape—crossing the river means leaving the community. Because it takes the life of the… read analysis of The River

Quizzes, saving guides, requests, plus so much more.

The Giver Lesson Plans

Lesson Plans and Ideas for Teaching The Giver

10 Lesson Plan Ideas for The Giver

Below are 10 quick lesson plan ideas for teaching The Giver by Lois Lowry. If you want detailed daily lesson plans and everything else you need to teach The Giver in one easy download, check out this amazing full unit plan. Lesson Ideas 1. Introduction to the novel: Before diving into the book, introduce students to the basic plot and themes of The Giver. This can include a brief summary of the story, discussion of the setting and characters, and identification of key themes such as individuality, conformity, and the value of memories. 2. Character analysis: Have students choose a character from The Giver to analyze in depth. This could include creating a character map, writing a character sketch, or Read More …

The Giver Questions – Chapters 9 to 12

For the full list of questions, please see my Ultimate Unit Plan for The Giver. Instructions These questions are intended to compel students to engage with The Giver in a meaningful way. They can be used in many ways, but may be most effective when first done in writing and then discussed as a class. Chapter 9 1. (a) How do Jonas’ instructions contradict the community rules? (b) What challenges do you foresee? (c) How will his life change? 2. If you were Jonas, how would you react to these instructions? Chapter 10 1. How does the Giver treat Jonas? Give specific examples from the story. 2. This is the first time that Jonas can ask any questions he wants. Read More …

The Giver Questions – Chapter 5 to 8

For the full list of questions, please see my Ultimate Unit Plan for The Giver. Instructions These questions are intended to compel students to engage with The Giver in a meaningful way. They can be used in many ways, but may be most effective when first done in writing and then discussed as a class. Chapter 5 1. Why does Jonas force himself to describe his whole dream despite his reluctance and embarrassment? 2. What is the communities attitude towards and treatment for “stirrings”? What does this say about the community? Chapter 6 1. What type of person might not “fit in” to a carefully planned and organized community like the one in The Giver? Chapter 7 1. Why do Read More …

11 Activities for The Giver

Whether you substitute teach or have your own classes, you can never have too many quick activities and assignments on hand to fill the gaps that sometimes arise. Here are 11 good ones that will fit well with The Giver, but can also be used with any novel, play, or short story. And if you really want to save time and reduce your workload, download this full unit plan for The Giver and enjoy stress-free teaching for weeks. 1. Create a Quiz Students create a quiz for the novel, short story, or play being studied. They can use an online quiz-making site like quizyourfriends.com, or do it the old-fashioned way with pen and paper. 2. Character Horoscope Students write a Read More …

New Ending Activity for The Giver

This lesson plan comes from my Ultimate Unit Plan for The Giver. It includes everything you need to teach the entire novel, so you can take a break from prep work. Click here to learn more. Instructions Start by discussing the ending of The Giver. Did you like the unresolved ending? Why do you think Lois Lowry chose to end The Giver this way? What do you think happened next? Students can then start on the assignment: writing an alternative ending for The Giver. Before students begin writing, they should consider the following: 1) Jonas and Gabriel are cold, tired and getting weaker. How does Jonas find the strength to go on? 2) What effect does the sunshine have on Read More …

Four Attributes Lesson Plan for The Giver

This lesson plan for The Giver asks students to consider the challenges of being the Receiver, and why Jonas was chosen for this role.. In The Giver, the Chief Elder explains that to have any chance of success, the Receiver must possess four essential attributes: intelligence, integrity, courage, wisdom. For each of these four attributes, students are to explain what it is, and why it is important for the Receiver. They must also provide specific examples that show each of the attributes in Jonas. Finally, they should create a symbol to represent each attribute. I like to have my students create a four quadrant chart for each attribute, with each quadrant providing answers to the questions above. My complete unit Read More …

The Giver Vocabulary Crossword

The crossword puzzle below uses vocabulary from Pages 1‐40 of The Giver. For the full vocabulary list and answer key, plus many other resources, please see my full unit plan for The Giver. Across 3. to punish or criticize severely 6. unaffected by disturbance 7. to signal or summon 9. harsh or grating voice 10. irritable Down 1. unshakable belief 2. violation of law, command, or duty 4. deeply serious or gloomy 5. deep and painful regret 8. distracted and deeply agitated

In Class Essay for The Giver

To save hours of prep time and make teaching The Giver easy, fun, and stress-free, consider downloading the full unit plan. Click here to learn more. Directions You are to write an essay about The Giver. You may choose any ONE of the four topics listed below. You are expected to write clearly, include a thesis, use examples or details from the book as appropriate, and explain your ideas fully. Your essay is due at the end of the period. You may use the following to help you write your essay: Your copy of The Giver Your notes on The Giver Questions Remember, choose ONE of the following: 1. What does The Giver reveal about how much the government should Read More …

The Giver Memory Book

This lesson plan is a great way to really draw students into The Giver as they think about the importance of their own experiences and memories. Start by making a list of emotions – love, fear, anxiety, joy, jealousy, gratitude, etc. Get students to call them out, and make a master list on the board for them to copy into their notes. Ask your students to then create a Memory Book describing their own memories associated with each emotion. They can include written descriptions, photos, and drawings. Students can begin in class by listing the memories they want to include. They can then start writing their descriptions and collecting their photos and other elements at home. When the books are Read More …

The Giver Lesson Plan Ideas

I want to share a few of lesson plan ideas with you here to help you get started teaching The Giver. If you have any good lesson plans for The Giver, please feel free to share them in the comment section. And if you want to have your entire unit for The Giver planned and ready to teach, click here to try my full unit plan. Character Diary Entry – Students write a diary entry from the perspective of a character in The Giver. They should make the voice authentic and the topics relevant to the character’s role in The Giver. Start the lesson by discussing what characterization is and how it is achieved. Letter – Students write a letter Read More …

Dystopian Literature Project

When I am teaching The Giver, I usually have my kids read and report on other examples of dystopian literature. There are so many fun books for them to choose from, many of them written in the last five years specifically for young adult readers. I have the notes and instructions all in a nice printable in my unit plan for The Giver, but you can copy and paste them from below to share with your class. Definitions Utopia = a community or society that is perfect, or nearly perfect Dystopia = a society that is undesirable or frightening Intro Dystopian literature often explores the dangers of trying to serve the greater good by repressing the needs of the individual. Read More …

The Giver Questions

For the full list of questions, please see my Ultimate Unit Plan for The Giver. Instructions These questions are intended to compel students to engage with The Giver in a meaningful way. They can be used in many ways, but may be most effective when first done in writing and then discussed as a class. Chapter 1 1. What do the following details from chapter one tell you about the community Jonas lives in? Jonas was frightened when he saw a jet fly overhead. Jonas and his sister don’t know what animals are. Boys and girls are referred to as “male” and “female.” New children don’t spend their first year with their families. It is rare to have visits from Read More …

Peace vs Freedom in The Giver

This is a great lesson plan for The Giver. It gets students to consider the what the objectives and consequences of rules are. You can then get your students to consider the rules of our own society from the perspectives of law makers and citizens. There are lots more lessons like this in my Ultimate Unit Plan for The Giver. You can download the full unit at http://englishunitplans.com/thegiver/ Instructions Context In all societies, people must determine what balance to have between rules and freedoms. In The Giver, Jonas’ society values stability, peace, and order over freedom and individuality. Strict rules govern all aspects of human behavior, all in an attempt to minimize the possibility of conflict. They have peace and Read More …

Theme Lesson Plan

Theme can be a challenging concept for students. They often confuse it with topics or morals. I find that every year, no matter which grade level I am teaching, I have to go over theme several times to make it stick. For The Giver, I use a three-part lesson plan to teach theme: notes, statements, paragraphs. Notes I start by asking student to make a list of topics from The Giver. After a few minutes, I get them to share their lists, and I write several topics on the board (freedom, individuality, memory, repression, etc.) Once we have a good list to work with, we go through each topic and discuss what the novel says about it. What does The Read More …

Introducing The Giver

Teaching The Giver can be a lot of fun, but it is essential to get your students hooked on the novel within the first class or two. Do that, and you can focus on guiding them towards the outcomes you want them to reach. Fail to get them engaged from the start and you will be battling their boredom for the entire unit. When I teach The Giver, I like to start with an Anticipation Guide, which usually leads to some vigorous discussions. If you can get your kids to argue with each other about the fundamental issues in the novel, you’ve got them. I give my students a handout with several strong statements related to themes in The Giver. Read More …

10 Reasons to Teach The Giver

After spending six years teaching my favorite class novel, The Great Gatsby, in high school, all I had to do was teach The Giver once to fall head over heels for a new favorite. I’m not exaggerating when I say that The Giver is the perfect class novel, and I’ve never seen kids more engaged with a text!

Here’s why this small but mighty classic deserves a spot in your middle school curriculum and how you can take advantage of it to create an engaging, memorable whole class novel study :

It’s the perfect introduction to dystopian literature.

If your middle school students are anything like mine, they already LOVE dystopian or they don’t know that they love it…yet. Many of them are exploring The Hunger Games for the first time and then jumping headfirst into the proliferation of YA dystopia that dominates bookshelves and even movie screens today: Scythe, Divergent, The Maze Runner, Matched and more. Others are quietly reading their beloved realistic fiction, fantasy, or sci-fi, wondering what all the dystopian hype is about, not realizing that the genre is closer to their favorites than they think. And certainly a few are sitting in class saying, dystopi-WHAT? without a clue as to what it means.

Even if your students have already dipped their toes into dystopia, what they may not realize is that the “original” YA dystopia was published 15 years before The Hunger Games set the genre on fire. And while it may seem counterintuitive to backtrack in time to teach a classic like The Giver , it’s actually the perfect introduction to the genre. Because the story is set in what’s supposed to be a utopia, the book gives the readers the opportunity to explore the difference between a utopia and dystopia. Chapter by chapter, readers get to witness Jonas peel back the layers of the deceptive “utopia” and grapple with the gradual, frightening reveal of the dark dystopia. This experience is much more powerful and truly helps students understand the slippery slope between utopia and dystopia.

It piques students’ curiosity from the start and keeps them guessing until the very end.

With its strict rules, intriguing dynamics, and seemingly utopian structure, the setting of The Giver piques students’ curiosity from the start. As Lowry immerses readers in her clever world-building, she leaves a trail of unanswered questions (and even a few breadcrumbs for the most observant readers).

To capitalize on the kind of natural curiosity The Giver cultivates, I encourage my students to ask lots of questions. I tell them that The Giver is part dystopian and part science-fiction…but also part mystery. Playing up the mystery element, I tell students that The Giver is one of those books where you have to pay attention and question things. It’s one of those stories where you shouldn’t overlook those “wait, what?” moments you have while reading. It’s one of those mysteries where there are tiny little clues along the way and lots of foreshadowing that will all make sense later. In other words, you have to be observant, inquisitive, and curious, and treat it less like a story and more like an investigation.

This kind of challenge instantly engages students and involves them in more active reading. During the first few chapters, we are constantly asking questions, drawing inferences, and making predictions. When students ask if their inferences and predictions are correct, I relish replying, “I can’t tell you that! You’ll have to read to find out, so stay tuned!” It becomes this fun (and maddening) guessing game that keeps students wanting to read the next chapter and see if their predictions come true. Because students have invested so much time in thinking about the text, it makes the reveal of colors, memories, release, etc. all the more dramatic and memorable.

It’s accessible & just the right length for a novel study.

At just around 200 pages, The Giver is one of those books that hits that sweet spot of “just right” for a whole-class novel study. With a lexile of 760, the language is accessible, but not without a healthy dose of new vocabulary words and context clues. The Giver is accessible enough that struggling readers can find success with scaffolding, and complex enough for advanced readers to dive deep in literary analysis.

Even though the text itself can be easily understood by a majority of middle schoolers, the content and themes are rich, complex, and mature. You can scale it up or down, use the text across a wide range of reading levels and grades, and adapt your novel study based on your students’ needs. In other words, it’s every English teacher’s dream!

There is so much you can TEACH with it!

Hopefully you are beginning to see just how rich, compelling, and versatile The Giver is. It’s truly one of those books where you can do anything and everything with it. You can practice every single standard, hit every literary element, and discuss every last detail. There’s almost too much you can do with it that it even feels overwhelming, right? Ah, the paradox of the perfect book.

In all seriousness, it can be challenging to chisel down your novel study to a handful of essential learning targets. But rest assured that you can do whatever you want with this powerhouse of a novel! Here are just a fraction of all of the wonderful possibilities:

Practice making inferences, generating questions, and offering predictions with Lowry’s ambiguous prose.
Examine the way Lowry structures the novel to gradually reveal the dystopia lurking beneath the utopian illusion.
Study the novel’s language and euphemisms, analyzing the relationship between power and language.
Compare and contrast the point of view of Jonas, The Giver, and the rest of the community, as well as the way Jonas’s perspective shifts throughout the story.
Explore the elements of dystopia and the warnings the story offers for readers.

There is so much you can DISCUSS with it!

In addition to all of the essential skills you can teach with this text, there are so many powerful discussions you can have with it. The Giver may have been written nearly three decades ago, but the questions it raises are just as relevant to readers today. Once again, there are so many ways you can frame your novel study, but here are a few essential questions to help you get started:

What is the difference between a utopia and a dystopia?
What are the dangers of Sameness?
How do memories shape our lives?
To what extent should a government protect its people?
How much government control is too much?
How do dystopian governments use language to maintain control?

Because The Giver raises so many complex universal questions, it’s the perfect book for a Socratic seminar. To learn more about how to facilitate seminars, head to this blog post. For student-ready resources to make your first seminar a success, check out my resource HERE.

There is so much you can DO with it!

Not only can you discuss until your teacher’s heart’s content, but you can do so many unique and engaging activities with The Giver! It’s one of those books that’s SO MUCH FUN to teach. Like I said earlier, it’s even more fun if you can capitalize on students’ curiosity and really play up the mystery, tension, and suspense in the text. If you want to do just that, here are a few of my favorite activities:

Pre-Reading Learning Stations: My goal with any novel unit is to hook my students before they even have a chance to read the first page, and these stations are no exception! In addition to building essential background information, these stations will get students debating essential questions and responding to the community’s strict rules. But my favorite station is probably #5, a fun word game that challenges students to explain words (such as love) without using specific keywords (like heart or feeling).
Mock Ceremony of 12: If you do nothing else during your novel study of The Giver, try hosting a mock Ceremony of 12! It does not have to be complicated, but it will be memorable and engaging for your students. You can find student-ready materials and instructions in my bundle for teaching The Giver HERE.
Utopia Dream vs. Dystopian Nightmare Game: To help my students explore the slippery slope between utopia and dystopia in The Giver, I created a fun speed-debating style game. There are a few different ways to structure it, but essentially, students are given a topic card (example: Sameness) and a side (utopia or dystopia) and must debate the topic from their side. It’s loads of fun and it gets students critically thinking about perspectives, propaganda, and dystopian settings.
Film Analysis: Because you tell me you hate the movie and refuse to show it to your students, hear me out and read more about this below in the following section. 🙂

To learn more about these activities and more, head to this blog post about teaching The Giver. To get your hands on these resources and more, check out my unit bundle for The Giver HERE.

There is so much you can PAIR with it!

If you’re looking to build a rich, multifaceted thematic unit, The Giver is the perfect anchor text! Here are a few ideas to get you started:

“Examination Day” short story by Henry Slesar and Twilight Zone adaptation (use this to introduce dystopia or compare/contrast with The Giver )
Why Color Blindness Will Not End Racism video (connect to colorblindness in The Giver ; lesson available in my novel study resource )
Nonfiction articles about the psychology of memory, censorship, euthanasia, conformity, identity, etc.
Common Lit’s content pairings for The Giver (even more options)
NPR Interview with Lois Lowry
The rest of The Giver quartet
Other dystopian novels…keep reading for more info on that!

It makes for a great whole-class novel before launching into dystopian literature circles/book clubs .

In fact, this is what I’m planning to do later this year! Students love The Giver so much that I want to take advantage of all of the momentum that comes with our novel study. After reading the novel as a whole class, students will be able to choose another dystopian novel to read in book club groups. Here are a few texts that I will hopefully have as options: The Hunger Games, Scythe, Unwind, Matched, The City of Ember , and The List . Let me know if you have any other suggestions in the comments!

For more information about how to set up & facilitate lit circles/book clubs, check out the following blog posts:

5 Tips for Setting Up Book Clubs or Lit Circles
10 Tips for Facilitating Book Clubs or Lit Circles

Students will love analyzing the film adaptation and you’ll love the analysis skills you can teach through it!

I know this is an unpopular opinion among ELA teachers, but I like the film adaptation of The Giver . Sure, there are some major changes, but guess what? That just means there is more to explore, question, and analyze! The more that’s different, the more you can analyze the effect of the film director’s changes. I’m looking at you, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.7.7.

I’ve always been a big fan of using film analysis to scaffold literary analysis, but it’s even easier to do this when there are substantial changes that impact the story in a more tangible way. For example, one of the first things viewers notice is the setting in the film: the isolated plateau that rises above the ring of clouds that obscure any view of Elsewhere. It’s usually nothing like my students pictured while reading, so we take the chance to analyze this. We discuss how this change impacts the story, what it emphasizes, and why the director likely made this choice. We do the same with other changes and choices throughout the film. Practicing this with the movie helps students become much more comfortable with the intimidating, elusive skill of “literary analysis.”

When it’s structured in this way, film analysis is a rich, challenging exercise that reminds students that both directors and authors make deliberate choices that impact the story and affect the audience. You can check out my film analysis worksheets for The Giver HERE or find them in the unit bundle HERE.

The Giver is about a KID questioning the norm, thinking critically, and creating change.

Need I say more? Jonas is the hero we all need!

I hope this blog post has helped you get excited about teaching The Giver! For more information on some of my favorite activities for teaching the book, head to this blog post. For engaging resources for the whole book, check out this unit bundle full of learning stations, quickwrites, graphic organizers, group work, activities, and more.

You may also enjoy:

10 activities for teaching the hunger games, why you should teach dystopia to your …, engaging activities for teaching any novel in …, why you should teach a novel in …, leave a reply cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.

Check out my most popular posts!

August 5, 2018: why i don’t review the syllabus on the first day …, december 16, 2018: 10 ideas for planning engaging novel units, december 11, 2017: comfort in the classroom with flexible seating, july 21, 2018: teaching american literature: my units & favorite lessons.

study guides
lesson plans
homework help

The Giver Lesson Plans for Teachers

Teaching The Giver

The Giver lesson plan contains a variety of teaching materials that cater to all learning styles. Inside you'll find 30 Daily Lessons, 20 Fun Activities, 180 Multiple Choice Questions, 60 Short Essay Questions, 20 Essay Questions, Quizzes/Homework Assignments, Tests, and more. The lessons and activities will help students gain an intimate understanding of the text, while the tests and quizzes will help you evaluate how well the students have grasped the material. View a free sample

Target Grade: 7th-12th (Middle School and High School)

Length of Lesson Plan: Approximately 117 pages. Page count is estimated at 300 words per page. Length will vary depending on format viewed.

Browse The Giver Lesson Plan:

Full Lesson Plan Overview

Completely customizable.

The Giver lesson plan is downloadable in PDF and Word. The Word file is viewable with any PC or Mac and can be further adjusted if you want to mix questions around and/or add your own headers for things like "Name," "Period," and "Date." The Word file offers unlimited customizing options so that you can teach in the most efficient manner possible. Once you download the file, it is yours to keep and print for your classroom. View a FREE sample

Lesson Plan Calendars

The Lesson Plan Calendars provide daily suggestions about what to teach. They include detailed descriptions of when to assign reading, homework, in-class work, fun activities, quizzes, tests and more. Use the entire The Giver calendar, or supplement it with your own curriculum ideas. Calendars cover one, two, four, and eight week units. Determine how long your The Giver unit will be, then use one of the calendars provided to plan out your entire lesson.

Chapter Abstracts

Chapter abstracts are short descriptions of events that occur in each chapter of The Giver . They highlight major plot events and detail the important relationships and characteristics of important characters. The Chapter Abstracts can be used to review what the students have read, or to prepare the students for what they will read. Hand the abstracts out in class as a study guide, or use them as a "key" for a class discussion. They are relatively brief, but can serve to be an excellent refresher of The Giver for either a student or teacher.

Character and Object Descriptions

Character and Object Descriptions provide descriptions of the significant characters as well as objects and places in The Giver . These can be printed out and used as an individual study guide for students, a "key" for leading a class discussion, a summary review prior to exams, or a refresher for an educator. The character and object descriptions are also used in some of the quizzes and tests in this lesson plan. The longest descriptions run about 200 words. They become shorter as the importance of the character or object declines.

Daily Lessons

This section of the lesson plan contains 30 Daily Lessons. Daily Lessons each have a specific objective and offer at least three (often more) ways to teach that objective. Lessons include classroom discussions, group and partner activities, in-class handouts, individual writing assignments, at least one homework assignment, class participation exercises and other ways to teach students about The Giver in a classroom setting. You can combine daily lessons or use the ideas within them to create your own unique curriculum. They vary greatly from day to day and offer an array of creative ideas that provide many options for an educator.

Fun Classroom Activities

Fun Classroom Activities differ from Daily Lessons because they make "fun" a priority. The 20 enjoyable, interactive classroom activities that are included will help students understand The Giver in fun and entertaining ways. Fun Classroom Activities include group projects, games, critical thinking activities, brainstorming sessions, writing poems, drawing or sketching, and countless other creative exercises. Many of the activities encourage students to interact with each other, be creative and think "outside of the box," and ultimately grasp key concepts from the text by "doing" rather than simply studying. Fun activities are a great way to keep students interested and engaged while still providing a deeper understanding of The Giver and its themes.

Essay Questions/Writing Assignments

These 20 Essay Questions/Writing Assignments can be used as essay questions on a test, or as stand-alone essay topics for a take-home or in-class writing assignment on The Giver . Students should have a full understanding of the unit material in order to answer these questions. They often include multiple parts of the work and ask for a thorough analysis of the overall text. They nearly always require a substantial response. Essay responses are typically expected to be one (or more) page(s) and consist of multiple paragraphs, although it is possible to write answers more briefly. These essays are designed to challenge a student's understanding of the broad points in a work, interactions among the characters, and main points and themes of the text. But, they also cover many of the other issues specific to the work and to the world today.

Short Essay Questions

The 60 Short Essay Questions listed in this section require a one to two sentence answer. They ask students to demonstrate a deeper understanding of The Giver by describing what they've read, rather than just recalling it. The short essay questions evaluate not only whether students have read the material, but also how well they understand and can apply it. They require more thought than multiple choice questions, but are shorter than the essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

The 180 Multiple Choice Questions in this lesson plan will test a student's recall and understanding of The Giver . Use these questions for quizzes, homework assignments or tests. The questions are broken out into sections, so they focus on specific chapters within The Giver . This allows you to test and review the book as you proceed through the unit. Typically, there are 5-15 questions per chapter, act or section.

Evaluation Forms

Use the Oral Reading Evaluation Form when students are reading aloud in class. Pass the forms out before you assign reading, so students will know what to expect. You can use the forms to provide general feedback on audibility, pronunciation, articulation, expression and rate of speech. You can use this form to grade students, or simply comment on their progress.

Use the Writing Evaluation Form when you're grading student essays. This will help you establish uniform criteria for grading essays even though students may be writing about different aspects of the material. By following this form you will be able to evaluate the thesis, organization, supporting arguments, paragraph transitions, grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc. of each student's essay.

Quizzes/Homework Assignments

The Quizzes/Homework Assignments are worksheets that can be used in a variety of ways. They pull questions from the multiple choice and short essay sections, the character and object descriptions, and the chapter abstracts to create worksheets that can be used for pop quizzes, in-class assignments and homework. Periodic homework assignments and quizzes are a great way to encourage students to stay on top of their assigned reading. They can also help you determine which concepts and ideas your class grasps and which they need more guidance on. By pulling from the different sections of the lesson plan, quizzes and homework assignments offer a comprehensive review of The Giver in manageable increments that are less substantial than a full blown test.

Use the Test Summary page to determine which pre-made test is most relevant to your students' learning styles. This lesson plan provides both full unit tests and mid-unit tests. You can choose from several tests that include differing combinations of multiple choice questions, short answer questions, short essay questions, full essay questions, character and object matching, etc. Some of the tests are designed to be more difficult than others. Some have essay questions, while others are limited to short-response questions, like multiple choice, matching and short answer questions. If you don't find the combination of questions that best suits your class, you can also create your own test on The Giver .

Create Your Own Quiz or Test

You have the option to Create Your Own Quiz or Test. If you want to integrate questions you've developed for your curriculum with the questions in this lesson plan, or you simply want to create a unique test or quiz from the questions this lesson plan offers, it's easy to do. Cut and paste the information from the Create Your Own Quiz or Test page into a Word document to get started. Scroll through the sections of the lesson plan that most interest you and cut and paste the exact questions you want to use into your new, personalized The Giver lesson plan.

(read more)

FOLLOW BOOKRAGS:

Black, white, and blue illustration of the outline of three heads with whispy hair

by Lois Lowry

Student Question

In The Giver , what factors does the committee consider for children's life assignments?

characters: Jonas

plot: Chapter 1

plot: Chapter 2

plot: Chapter 7

Expert Answers

Who are the experts? Our certified Educators are real professors, teachers, and scholars who use their academic expertise to tackle your toughest questions. Educators go through a rigorous application process, and every answer they submit is reviewed by our in-house editorial team.

Teacher (K-12)

Educator since 2007

3,250 answers

I have a BA in English and taught at the elementary level for several years.

The committee considers each child's interests and skills when giving them their life assignments. The process actually appears to begin with the Eights, who are assigned volunteer hours, and inevitably gravitate to those jobs which suit their own interests and skills most closely. This allows the committe to evaluate each child's performance for a few years in a practical situation before deciding on a life assignment for him or her.

An examination of the assignments given to individual characters illustrates that the committee does indeed take into consideration individual aptitudes and abilities in their choices. Father, who is quiet and patient, and was admittedly "drawn" to the children in the nursery, was given the job of Nurturer ( Chapter 2 ), and Mother, who is very intelligent, was trained for "a prominent position at the Department of Justice" ( Chapter 1 ). Father remembers a friend named Andrei who spent all his free time with his construction set and was given the "Assignment of Engineer" (Chapter 2). Among Jonas 's peers, Asher, who is active and never serious, is chosen to be "Assistant Director of Recreation", and Fiona, who is sensitive, gentle, and calm, is assigned to be a "Caretaker of the Old" ( Chapter 7 ).

Cite this page as follows:

Matsuoka, Donna. "In The Giver , what factors does the committee consider for children's life assignments?" edited by eNotes Editorial, 4 May 2008, https://www.enotes.com/topics/giver/questions/in-the-giver-what-two-things-did-the-committee-23267.

Professional Writer

B.A. from University of Washington-Seattle Campus Ph.D. from University of Iowa

Educator since 2009

2,637 answers

Teacher, freelance writer, and short story author.

What two things did the committee consider when giving children their life assignments?

The committee considers the character of the children (what would fit them best) and the community's needs.

Beatty, Greg. "In The Giver , what factors does the committee consider for children's life assignments?" edited by eNotes Editorial, 23 Mar. 2007, https://www.enotes.com/topics/giver/questions/in-the-giver-what-two-things-did-the-committee-23267.

Educator since 2012

35,349 answers

I grew up in Micronesia and went to high school in Hawaii.

What two things did the committee consider when giving children their life assignments in The Giver?

Mainly, what we are told is that the committee looks at what the kids who were about to be twelves did in their volunteer time and also in their recreational time.

For example, we are told in Chapter 2 about the assingments of some of the friends that Jonas's dad had when he was younger. The Elders watched him and saw that he spent his recreation time with a construction set. They saw that all his volunteer hours were spent at building sites. Because of that, they knew he should be an engineer.

See eNotes Ad-Free

Start your 48-hour free trial to get access to more than 30,000 additional guides and more than 350,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts.

Already a member? Log in here.

Schimmel, Isabell. "In The Giver , what factors does the committee consider for children's life assignments?" edited by eNotes Editorial, 18 Feb. 2010, https://www.enotes.com/topics/giver/questions/in-the-giver-what-two-things-did-the-committee-23267.