This book club and novel study will use Socratic seminars and guiding questions to have students read and analyze the classic dystopian story The Giver by Lois Lowry. Students will need to read an average of 30 pages a week and come to class prepared to discuss. I will teach students how to annotate the text and bring points of discussion. I will facilitate the discussion but allow students to take ownership and ask good questions, point our attention to important or interesting passages, analyze their text, and share their reactions.

The publisher describes the novel as follows:
"The Giver, the 1994 Newbery Medal winner, has become one of the most influential novels of our time. The haunting story centers on twelve-year-old Jonas, who lives in a seemingly ideal, if colorless, world of conformity and contentment. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory does he begin to understand the dark, complex secrets behind his fragile community."

The following is the schedule, subject to change: 
Week 1: Introduction to the book, dystopias, read first chapter, and discuss.
Week 2: Discuss Chapters 1-4; anayze setting and main characters
Week 3: Discuss Chapters 5-8; analyze conflict, setting's impact on characters
Week 4: Discuss Chapters 9-13; what issues and themes are emerging?
Week 5: Discuss Chapters 14-18; summarize plot, analyze character change
Week 6: Discuss Chapters 19-23; determine key themes