Enter a futuristic world where all manner of emotions are nonexistent. Students imagine a future and how different it will be to their present. Provide writing prompts that encourage students to make strong text connections. Explain Jonas' mindset when he brought home the apple, an act that is forbidden in this society. Write a journal entry as Jonas, expressing his innermost feelings about what will happen the following day. Write and post a review of the novel online. View the events of the book from different perspectives and catalog them in a chart. Write the definitions of vocabulary words from the story. Aligned to your State Standards, additional crossword, word search, comprehension quiz and answer key are also included.
About the Novel:
The Giver is a Newbery Medal winning story about a child named Jonas who lives in a futuristic society in which everything is managed and controlled, eliminating hatred, hunger, war, love, families and personal decisions. When Jonas is assigned the task of becoming the next Receiver of Memory, the Giver transmits memories of a past world where hatred, war and love existed, revealing the truth to the young boy. Jonas soon realizes the horrors of his "perfect" society. Through the memories imparted to him from the Giver, Jonas also learns of an alternative, better world. The Giver and Jonas come to the realization that for the good of the community, these memories must be transferred to the entire community. In order to do this, Jonas and the Giver must leave — the Giver through death, and Jonas through escape.