Week One Chapters 1-5: Students will be introduced to Jonas, his world, and his family unit. The prerecorded videos will discuss how dystopian worlds are different than ours and what the author might be trying to show us by using this model for her storytelling. Students will also learn about Gabriel and his potential importance to the overall story. They will also talk about the Releasing Room. What do students think happens when a member is released? Where do they go? How might this question be important to the overall story?

Week Two Chapters 6-10: What did the students think about the Ceremony? Were they surprised when Jonas got skipped? Are they as nervous as he is about his new assignment? What do they think the Receiver of Memory does? 

Week Three Chapters 11-16: Students will meet the Giver and see Jonas' first day as the Receiver. What do they think about Jonas' sunburn? How would they feel if they had to experience pain for the very first time? What is the significance of Jonas seeing the color red? Will this change make Jonas' world better or complicate things for him? Why is the Giver teaching Jonas about pain? Do the students think Jonas was right to share a calming memory with Gabriel? What do students think about his parents' reaction when Jonas asks about love? Do they love him? Does Jonas love Gabriel? How might this relationship be important to the overall story? 

Week Four Chapters 17-23: Students will learn the truth about release. Are they surprised or do they feel Lowry hinted at this throughout the text? Students will have a chance to discuss what Jonas should do with his new knowledge. How do students feel about the ending? Was Jonas right to run away? What parts of the story from the beginning make more sense now that students have read the ending? What questions do students still have about the book? 

I have a Master's Degree in Creative Writing for Children and Young Adults. I was a substitute teacher for three years and love seeing The Giver used in the middle school classroom. I have read Lois Lowry's The Giver multiple times! It is a book that I gave to my son to read as soon as I felt he was old enough to understand the concepts. I love that it uses a dystopian world to challenge us to think about our own world and current situation. 

Homework Offered
Students will read approximately 5 chapters a week on their own time. Each week, students will have access to the five videos and a corresponding one page worksheet with discussion questions and places for fill-in-the blank answers for each day. Each week, I assign a 1-2 page writing assignment focused around that week's discussion questions and encourage the students to share their responses in the classroom. They will also write sentences for 12 vocabulary words. 
1 - 2 hours per week outside of class
Assessments Offered
The more assignments that students complete and the more questions that they share in posts helps me to understand their knowledge and comprehension of the topics we are discussing.
Grades Offered