Son by Lois Lowry Reading and Discussion: Flexible Schedule
In this 6-week course, students will read and discuss Son, the fourth and final book in The Giver quartet, by Lois Lowry
Janelle Fila
Average rating:
4.6
Number of reviews:(903)
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What's included
Homework
2-4 hours per week. Students will read between six and eight chapters a week on their own time. Each Sunday, students will have access to the new video and a corresponding one page worksheet with discussion questions and places for fill-in-the blank answers. Each week, I assign a short writing assignment focused around that week's discussion questions and ask the students to share their responses in the classroom. There are also daily activities each day like vocabulary words, an I Spy game, word searches and crossword puzzles to test their comprehension from the weekly chapters.Assessment
The more questions, comments, and posts that students share in the classroom, the more I can understand their knowledge and comprehension of the topics we are discussing.Class Experience
US Grade 6 - 9
Students will read between six and eight chapters a week on their own time. Each week a new video will discuss the pages that the students have previously read. This class does not meet live. The prerecorded sessions will emphasize characters, their motivations, theme, story plausibility, and inferences about what might come next. Each Sunday, students will have access to a video that covers the important elements of the week's reading and a corresponding one page worksheet with discussion questions and places for fill-in-the blank answers. The worksheets will also address/remind the students of some of the important topics from each chapter. Each week, I assign a short writing assignment focused around that week's discussion questions and ask the students to share their responses in the classroom (so other students may view, comment, and interact as well). I also ask students to submit any vocabulary words the students didn't recognize or passages the students did not understand. The more questions the students ask, the more "discussion" we can have in the classroom after each chapter. Weekly breakdown: Sunday: Students will receive a worksheet and discussion questions for each weekly video. There is one weekly writing assignment to complete after the weekly readings. Monday: I post an I Spy challenge and ask the students to list one specific item they can "spy" from the week's reading. Students can also challenge other students (or myself!) to find other items as well. Tuesday through Fridays: I will post a vocabulary word for the students to use in a sentence that showcases their understanding of the definition. Saturday: I post a link to a crossword puzzle, word search, quiz, Kahoot! or other fun resource the students can fill out to further immerse themselves in this world. Students can share their experience (was there a crossword clue they didn't know the answer to or a word that they just could not find?) in the classroom to share their experience with their classmates.
Learning Goals
Week 1 Section I: Chapters 1-8
Week 2 Section I: Chapters 9-16
Week 3 Section II: Chapters 1-8
Week 4 Section II: Chapters 9-16
Week 5 Section III: Chapters 1-7
Week 6 Section III: Chapters 8-13
Other Details
Parental Guidance
According to Commonsensemedia.org, Son concludes the quartet that began with Lois Lowry's Newbery award-winning book The Giver and continued through Gathering Blue and Messenger. All have strong positive messages about how honorable, determined youths learn to use their personal gifts either to escape or mend their dystopian societies. This story begins when Claire is assigned to be a birth mother, otherwise called a "vessel," at age 12, and she undergoes a caesarian section a couple of years later. Later in the book, several characters confront and make trades with the Trademaster, a black-cloaked, violent personification of pure evil. One character's feet are cut off. Students surveyed recommend reading this book at age 11+ but parents say 13+
Supply List
The students will need their own copy of Son to read on their own. It can be borrowed from the library or even listened to as an audio book. The students will not need a physical copy of the story in class, although they may find it helpful to have during out discussion time.
External Resources
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
Joined June, 2019
4.6
903reviews
Star Educator
Teacher expertise and credentials
Master's Degree in Music or Theatre or Arts from Spalding University
I have a Master's Degree in Creative Writing for Children and Young Adults. I was a substitute teacher, tutor, and and currently teach full-time on Outschool. I have read The Giver series multiple times while in the classroom. It is a book that I gave my son to read as soon as I felt he was old enough to discuss the concepts. Dystopian stories can be tricky to understand, but I love the way Lowry uses a dystopian world to challenge us to think about our own world and current situations. It is a fantastic book to talk about and leads to many eye-opening discussions in the classroom. As the last book in the series, Son is even more interesting to discuss because we finally have enough details to make educated guesses about these characters and their surroundings. Reviews
Live Group Class
$10
weekly or $59 for 6 weeks6 weeks
Completed by 1 learner
No live video meetings
Ages: 11-16
