Book Bag Activities for
The Giver
By: Megan Smith

Lowry, Lois. (1993).The Giver. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.

Rationale:

The Giver is most appropriate for eighth graders. There are a lot of important issues discussed throughout the story, such as prejudice, death, murder, race, abuse, etc. The Giver is such a neat book and a very interesting story. I think everyone should read it.

Information About the Author:

Lois Lowry was born March 20, 1937 in Hawaii. Her father was in the Army so she has lived all over. Lowry completed school in Maine. She is divorced and has children and grandchildren. She lives in West Cambridge with her dog, Bandit, a Tibetan terrier. She has written over 20 novels. Lois Lowry loves gardening and photography (in fact, the cover of The Giver is her own work).

Questions:

• BEFORE- What is a community? What the world be like with no war, hunger, or pain?
• DURING- Do you notice any patterns in the story?
• AFTER- Is this world perfect, why/why not?

Ten Activities:

• Take a field trip around the local community. Take pictures of different buildings similar to those found in the story (auditorium, childcare center, central plaza, food distribution, etc.). Create a bulletin board in the classroom.
• Read aloud the first couple chapters to the class. Have the students title and illustrate each chapter. This could be done for the whole book.
• Put together a newspaper for the community in the book. The students can work in groups or individually to report on events that happen in the story, draw comics, write ads in the classifieds for products or jobs, etc.
• Read at least two chapters to a parent. The students should talk about the book with their parents.
• Have a class debate. Divide the class in half. One side will debate about why they want to live in this community. The other side will debate about why they would not want to live in this community.
• Each student can pretend to be the Giver or the Receiver, they will walk around the room and share memories or feelings with each other that they would want to share with Jonas.
• Give the students a Lois Lowry scavenger hunt. The students will have a list of things to find out about the author.
• When the students are finished reading the book, they can write one more chapter for the book.
• The students can create a book jacket. It should include a plot summary, a review, something about the author and a cover.
• The students can keep a journal throughout their reading of the novel. Some topics could include: issues raised in the book, identify what they are missing from their lives, things we take for granted, if you could interview Lois Lowry.

Props:

• Have each student bring an item that they think represents the book.

Assessment Plan:

• Questioning with Bloom’s Taxonomy
  • Knowledge- Who are the main characters?
  • Comprehension- How is Jonas’ job different from other tweleve’s?
  • Application- What is Jonas noticing with the apple or Fiona’s hair “changes”?
  • Analysis- Why are the Elders and New Children sometimes released (what does it mean to be released)?
  • Synthesis- Does this community have laws? Write at least 5 laws that might exist there.
  • Evaluation- Would a community like the one in The Giver actually work?