the giver final writing assignment

The Giver Lesson Plans

Lesson Plans and Ideas for Teaching The Giver

New Ending Activity for The Giver

This lesson plan comes from my Ultimate Unit Plan for The Giver .  It includes everything you need to teach the entire novel, so you can take a break from prep work.  Click here to learn more.

Instructions

Start by discussing the ending of The Giver . Did you like the unresolved ending? Why do you think Lois Lowry chose to end The Giver this way? What do you think happened next?

Students can then start on the assignment: writing an alternative ending for The Giver .

Before students begin writing, they should consider the following:

1) Jonas and Gabriel are cold, tired and getting weaker. How does Jonas find the strength to go on?

2) What effect does the sunshine have on Jonas?

3) Jonas “was aware with certainty and joy that below, ahead, they were waiting for him; and that they were waiting, too, for the baby.” Why was Jonas so certain?

The ending of The Giver can be interpreted in differing ways. Perhaps Jonas is remembering the beautiful Christmas memory, which the Giver shared with him, as he and Gabriel freeze to death.

Or perhaps Jonas does hear music and is able to perceive the warm house where people are waiting to greet him.

Make your own interpretation and be creative with your alternative ending.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Ask LitCharts AI: The answer to your questions

Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Lois Lowry's The Giver . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

The Giver: Introduction

The giver: plot summary, the giver: detailed summary & analysis, the giver: themes, the giver: quotes, the giver: characters, the giver: symbols, the giver: theme wheel, brief biography of lois lowry.

Historical Context of The Giver

Other books related to the giver.

• Full Title: The Giver
• When Written: Early 1990s
• Where Written: Maine
• When Published: April 16, 1993
• Literary Period: Contemporary
• Genre: Dystopian novel
• Setting: A managed community in a futuristic society. The community is cut off from the outside world, which is referred to as "elsewhere."
• Climax: Jonas learns that when his father "releases" newchildren, he actually kills them. Jonas decides to leave the community.
• Antagonist: Jonas's community and its system of Sameness
• Point of View: Third-person limited, through Jonas's eyes

Extra Credit for The Giver

Awards: The Giver won the 1994 Newbery Medal, considered the most prestigious award for children's literature.

Banned Book: Although The Giver tops countless school reading lists, it has also been banned by some schools, which claim that some of the material, like euthanasia and suicide, is inappropriate for children.

One of Three: Lowry has written two more books set in the world of The Giver and including some of the characters from The Giver . The three books together are often described as a "loose trilogy." The second book in the series is Gathering Blue and was published in 2000. The third, The Messenger , was published in 2004.

• Arts & Humanities

The Giver Final Assignment Now that we have reached the end of

Related documents

Add this document to collection(s)

You can add this document to your study collection(s)

Add this document to saved

You can add this document to your saved list

Suggest us how to improve StudyLib

(For complaints, use another form )

Input it if you want to receive answer

The Giver Test — The Giver Final Assessment with Answers

Description

This resource includes:  The Giver  Final Test with Answer Key!

This test, based on the novel  The Giver by Lois Lowry , requires students to establish what they learned from the novel and their overall comprehension of the book. This assessment requires students’ knowledge about: symbolism, characterization, theme, and more.

The exam consists of 46 questions and offers students an opportunity to demonstrate knowledge, skills, and abilities in a variety of ways:

• 18 multiple choice questions
• 11 true or false questions
• 10 character identification questions
• 6 short answer questions (1-2 sentences)
• 1 open-ended question (4-6 sentences)

This resource includes the following file types:

• READY TO PRINT Test Student Copy (PDF)
• EDITABLE Test Student Copy (Word document)
• READY TO PRINT Test Teacher Copy with Answers (PDF)

5 Engaging Activities to Teach The Giver

After jumping into the world of middle school ELA, I have to say that The Giver is my new Gatsby . In other words, it’s my new favorite whole-class novel. It’s even better than Gatsby (sorry, old sport), and it’s such a gem of a book that it just might keep me teaching middle school forever! The Giver is engaging, thought-provoking, and accessible! My favorite part of teaching it is watching how inquisitive, curious, and invested my students become as they read. The book definitely sparks a lot of curiosity on its own, but I deliberately teach this book to hook and engage students from the start! I love to play up the “mystery” of it all, encourage students to ask lots of questions, take note of all the interesting things they observe, and start guessing about what’s really going on in the community. 

If you’re ready to similarly engage your students, then here are 5 of my favorite activities for teaching The Giver !

1. PRE-READING LEARNING STATIONS

Learning stations are my favorite strategy for hooking my students before reading. They’re so versatile, engaging, and effective that I use them at the beginning of almost every single unit/novel! A good set of pre-reading learning stations will preview essential background information AND spark students’ curiosity before they have a chance to turn to page 1. 

For The Giver, here’s what that looks like:

• Students learn about the genre (dystopian/science-fiction).
• Students debate essential questions through an engaging anticipation guide.
• Students explore the differences between utopias and dystopias.
• Students preview and react to a few of the community’s strict rules.
• Students play a creative word challenge game designed to get them thinking about the power of language in the book!

As you can see, these activities hook and prepare students for further reading! These print/digital pre-reading learning stations are available separately HERE or bundled with other resources for The Giver HERE. For more information about creating your own learning stations, check out the following blog posts:

• 10 Reasons to Implement Learning Stations
• How to Create Engaging Learning Stations
• How to Facilitate Successful Learning Stations
• 10 Ideas for Virtual Learning Stations

2. MOCK CEREMONY OF 12

Chapter 8 of The Giver is practically begging to be acted out in front of an audience of middle schoolers, so take advantage of this and host your own mock Ceremony of 12. It’s a tiny bit of extra effort and work, but I promise you it’s worth the memorable experience. Not to mention, a mock ceremony is a great way to review the chapter, spark connections, and facilitate rich discussions! Here’s what I did to host our Ceremony of 12:

• I created Assignment cards for different jobs in the community. During the ceremony, I assigned these randomly!
• I wrote up a script so I didn’t have to totally wing it as the Chief Elder.
• I designed ceremony programs for my students, so they could follow along during the ceremony. These programs also prompted them to answer a few essential questions and reflect on the chapter/ceremony.

On the day of the ceremony, I donned a black gown (from my college graduation) and a wig (at my students’ request). I also sported a gavel just for fun, and of course, I acted as ridiculous as possible. The whole experience was so much fun for me and my students! 10/10, definitely recommend!

You can find all of these mock ceremony materials, as well as thorough teacher instructions, in this growing unit bundle for The Giver.

3. QUESTION TRAIL

A question trail is my go-to activity to mix things up and break the normal routines of any novel unit! If you’re unfamiliar with it, a question trail is a unique, kinesthetic activity that gets students up and moving on a “trail” of questions around the classroom. 

This activity consists of different multiple choice “stations” or “spots” around the room. At each station, students answer a multiple-choice question. Each answer (a, b, c, or d) will send the students to a different station. If students answer each question correctly, they will travel to each station and complete a full circuit. If students answer a question incorrectly, they will eventually find themselves at a station they’ve already completed, which tells them that they need to backtrack. This gives you clear, immediate feedback so you can see who is getting it (“on the trail”) vs. who is not (“off the trail”).

This means a question trail is a great way to review a chapter with both comprehension and analysis questions. I like to do a question trail after Chapters 16-17 of The Giver, just to make sure students are understanding the book and the standards we are practicing before the climax in Chapter 19. Of course, you can create your own question trail for any chapter/s in the book. If you’re interested in my student-ready question trail for Chapters 16-17 of The Giver, you can check it out HERE. To learn more about how to create question trails, head to this blog post.

4. ACTING OUT CHAPTER 19

When you spend so much time cultivating students’ curiosity and playing up the mystery of “release,” it only makes sense to do this dramatic chapter justice! My students read most of the book for reading homework, but I purposefully do not assign Chapter 19 as reading homework! I selfishly want to witness their reactions to learning what “release” really means. To make the most of this scene, I like to transform the chapter into a script and have students act it out in front of the class. 

Don’t feel pressured to buy props or get too fancy.  In fact, using baby dolls as props might be taking it too far! Because it was 2021, my class ended up using two identical bottles of sanitizer spray for the newchildren twins. Yep, it got that weird, but it was hilarious. If your students are anything like mine, this will make for a memorable reading experience and give you a great chance to reflect, discuss, and process the chapter after the acting!

5. THE GIVER FILM ANALYSIS

I absolutely love facilitating film analysis during/after reading novels, and The Giver is no exception! Film analysis is an engaging, accessible way to scaffold the challenging skill of literary analysis. With the right structure, guidance, and questions, watching a movie can prompt critical thinking and spark rich discussions. I know many fellow ELA teachers don’t like the film adaptation of The Giver because it changes so much from the book, but I think it offers the perfect opportunity for discussion & analysis. 

In addition to asking students to compare/contrast the text and the film, try asking them why they think the film directors made certain changes and how these changes affect the audience. These kinds of questions spark more thoughtful insight and engaging discussions. For print/digital worksheets with these types of questions, check out these The Giver Film Analysis resources. For more information on successfully facilitating film analysis for any novel, head to this blog post!

I hope these ideas help you jumpstart your unit planning for The Giver ! For more engaging activities and resources for teaching this book, check out this growing unit bundle full of learning stations, quickwrites, vocabulary resources, and more! If you have any questions about these activities or how I teach The Giver, leave them below and I’ll do my best to answer. 🙂

Share this:

• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

You may also enjoy:

Engaging activities for teaching the outsiders, how to use the “what do you …, 10 activities for teaching the hunger games, 10 activities for any dystopian novel, leave a reply cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.

Check out my most popular posts!

August 5, 2018: why i don’t review the syllabus on the first day …, december 16, 2018: 10 ideas for planning engaging novel units, december 11, 2017: comfort in the classroom with flexible seating, july 21, 2018: teaching american literature: my units & favorite lessons.

Curriculum  /  ELA  /  6th Grade  /  Unit 2: Challenging Authority: The Giver  /  Lesson 1

Challenging Authority: The Giver

Lesson 1 of 32

Readings and Materials

Target task, key questions.

• Key Understandings

Enhanced Lesson Plan

Explain the characteristics, purpose, and development of the genre of dystopian fiction and define important terms related to this topic.

Video:  “How to recognize a dystopia - Alex Gendler” by TED-Ed 

Article:  “Dystopias: Definition and Characteristics” by ReadWriteThink 

We participate in the Amazon Associate program. This means that if you use this link to make an Amazon purchase, we receive a small portion of the proceeds, which support our non-profit mission.

Unlock features to optimize your prep time, plan engaging lessons, and monitor student progress.

Tasks that represents the peak thinking of the lesson - mastery will indicate whether or not objective was achieved

Writing Prompt

What is the purpose of dystopian fiction? Is it still relevant today?

Sample Response

An example response to the Target Task at the level of detail expected of the students.

Questions about the text that will help guide the students understanding

Close Read Questions

Read through the text,  "Dystopias: Definitions and Characteristics." Describe what a dystopia is in your own words. What are the characteristics of a dystopian society? 

How did events in the real world lead to the development of the genre of dystopia? Support your answer with examples from the video.

Discussion Questions

Do you believe that American society is more like a utopia or a dystopia? Explain your thinking.

Exit Ticket

Assess student understanding and monitor progress toward this lesson's objective with an Exit Ticket.

Literary terms, text-based vocabulary, idioms and word parts to be taught with the text

an imagined place where everything is perfect, especially as related to government and society

an imagined, nightmarish society in which people are oppressed and all aspects of their lives are controlled by the government

Reading and/or task to be completed at home in preparation for the next lesson.

To ensure that students are prepared for the next lesson, have students complete the following reading for homework. Use guidance from the next lesson to identify any additional language or background support students may need while independently engaging with the text.

Book:  The Giver by Lois Lowry  — Chapters 1-2

While reading, answer the following questions.

What happened to the pilot who accidentally flew over Jonas’s community? How did the community react? 

How is Jonas feeling at the beginning of the book? Why? Use the word apprehensive in your answer. 

What does Jonas’s family do every night after dinner?

What happens every December in the community?

What is Jonas’s father’s job? Who is Gabe?

How do the elders determine what a person’s assignment will be?

Bring your most engaging lessons to life with comprehensive instructional guidance, detailed pacing, supports to meet every student's needs, and resources to strengthen your lesson planning and delivery.

Common Core Standards

Language standards.

L.6.6 — Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.

Reading Standards for Informational Text

RI.6.2 — Determine a central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.

Supporting Standards

Standards that are practiced daily but are not priority standards of the unit

L.6.4 — Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 6 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.

L.6.4.b — Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., audience, auditory, audible).

L.6.4.c — Consult reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning or its part of speech.

L.6.4.d — Verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase (e.g., by checking the inferred meaning in context or in a dictionary).

RI.6.1 — Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

RI.6.4 — Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings.

RI.6.7 — Integrate information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue.

RI.6.10 — By the end of the year, read and comprehend literary nonfiction in the grades 6—8 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.

Speaking and Listening Standards

SL.6.1 — Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 6 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.

SL.6.2 — Interpret information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how it contributes to a topic, text, or issue under study.

SL.6.3 — Delineate a speaker's argument and specific claims, distinguishing claims that are supported by reasons and evidence from claims that are not.

SL.6.6 — Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.

Writing Standards

W.6.2 — Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content

W.6.2.a — Introduce a topic; organize ideas, concepts, and information, using strategies such as definition, classification, comparison/contrast, and cause/effect; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

W.6.2.b — Develop the topic with relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples.

W.6.4 — Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

W.6.9 — Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

W.6.9.b — Apply grade 6 Reading standards to literary nonfiction (e.g., "Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, distinguishing claims that are supported by reasons and evidence from claims that are not").

W.6.10 — Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

• “How to...”
• “Dystopias”

L.6.6 RI.6.2

Explain how specific words, sentences, and passages in the first two chapters of The Giver help establish the setting.

RL.6.5 W.6.1.c

Determine the meaning of unknown words in The Giver and explain the impact of specific words and phrases on mood and tone.

L.6.4 L.6.4.a L.6.4.c L.6.4.d RL.6.4

Draw conclusions what kind of person Jonas is, based on the way he responds to specific events and his environment in Chapters 5–6 of The Giver .

Explain how specific passages from Chapters 7 and 8 of The Giver  develop the setting and fit into the overall structure of the text. 

Explain the role of specific sentences and passages from Chapters 9–10 of The Giver in developing the setting and plot.

Explain how Jonas responds and changes as he continues his visits with the Giver.

Explain how author Lois Lowry develops several central ideas in Chapter 13 of The Giver.

Identify the mood or tone of specific passages of Chapters 14 and 15 of The Giver by analyzing word choice.

Explain how specific events in the text reveal changes in Jonas’ perspective and behavior.

RL.6.3 W.6.1.c

Explain how specific words and phrases develop mood, tone, and meaning in Chapters 18 and 19 of The Giver.

Explain how Jonas has changed as a result of witnessing the release of the newchild. 

Describe the changes in Jonas’ character at the resolution of The Giver.

RL.6.3 RL.6.5

Determine overall themes for the novel The Giver and explain how the author develops those themes.

Socratic Seminar

Engage in a Socratic Seminar with peers, demonstrating a deep understanding of the text and topic by posing and responding to questions, and providing evidence to support ideas.

SL.6.1 SL.6.1.a SL.6.1.c SL.6.4

• Analytical Writing Rubric, Mid-Unit Task (G6, U2)

Unpack the prompt for a multi-paragraph essay, study an exemplar, and begin to gather evidence.

W.6.1 W.6.5 W.6.9

Draft a strong claim statement and create an outline for a multi-paragraph essay.

W.6.1 W.6.1.a W.6.1.b W.6.5

Draft and revise strong body paragraphs, incorporating feedback from peers.

Craft a strong introductory paragraph, complete with hook, context, and sub-claims.

W.6.1 W.6.1.a

Use pronouns appropriately in writing.

L.6.1 L.6.1.a L.6.1.d

Identify arguments an author makes about screen time and explain whether or not claims are supported by reasoning and evidence.

• “Less Screen...”
• “Why the Screen...”

Identify arguments and claims authors make about screen time and explain whether or not claims are supported by evidence.

Explain how specific sections of an article fit into the overall structure of the text and help to develop meaning.

Explain how specific sections of an article fit into the overall structure of the text and help to develop meaning.

Identify arguments and claims a speaker makes about screen time, and explain whether or not claims are supported by reasoning and evidence.

• “The Harmful...”
• “Don't Limit...”
• “Kids Must...”
• “3 Fears about screen time for kids—and why they're not true (transcript)”

Create a poster of pros and cons of parents limiting kids’ screen time and appropriately cite evidence.

W.6.2 W.6.8 W.6.9

Unpack an argumentative essay prompt, write a strong claim statement, and begin to outline the essay.

Draft and revise two strong body paragraphs.

W.6.1 W.6.1.a W.6.1.b W.6.1.c

Draft strong introduction and conclusion paragraphs.

W.6.1 W.6.1.a W.6.1.e

Revise essays for tone and add transitions to clarify reasoning and connections between ideas.

W.6.1 W.6.1.c W.6.1.d

Use pronouns appropriately and incorporate any edits to final drafts. 

L.6.1 L.6.1.c L.6.1.d W.6.5

Assessment  – 2 days

Create a free account to access thousands of lesson plans.

Already have an account? Sign In

Request a Demo

See all of the features of Fishtank in action and begin the conversation about adoption.

Learn more about Fishtank Learning School Adoption.

Contact Information

School information, what courses are you interested in, are you interested in onboarding professional learning for your teachers and instructional leaders, any other information you would like to provide about your school.

Effective Instruction Made Easy

Access rigorous, relevant, and adaptable ELA lesson plans for free

PRESTO PLANS

prestO PLANS

ENGLISH TEACHER RESOURCES

Sent straight to your inbox

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS

Sign up to receive 10 ready-to-use ELA resources your students will love! 

10 FREE ELA RESOURCES

Teaching Students How to Annotate Poetry

8 Ways Teachers Can Celebrate Student Success 

Bulletin Board Ideas for Middle & High School English

ON THE BLOG

teacher favorites

an ELA facebook community

TEACHERS' LOUNGE

join us in the

Engage your students as soon as they walk into your classroom with my best-selling, full-year bell-ringer set. Each day includes a unique and creative task. Topics include grammar, vocabulary, writing, and figurative language.  

Full Year of English  Bell-Ringers (Vol 3)

teacher resource

Top categories, i'm bonnie from presto plans.

I’m a curriculum writer, literacy educator, and all around book lover with a passion for helping English teachers engage their students with creative, high-quality resources. My mission? To make teaching English a whole lot easier for you, teacher friend! 

Hello, Teachers! 

The Giver: 8 Creative Class Activities

The Giver by Lois Lowry is a teacher’s dream novel. The complex dystopian plotline, dynamic characters, and thought-provoking themes provide so many opportunities for teachers to foster text-to-self and text-to-world connections. Critical thinking activities that allow students to empathize with the characters are a must-have in any novel unit. Below are 8 of my favorite activities for The Giver   that do just that.  

1. The Ceremony of 12 Simulation

This first activity is always a class favorite. It allows students to empathize with Jonas and his friends as they are assigned careers by the Chief Elder during the Ceremony of 12 .

How This Activity Works:

Welcome students to the classroom with a colorful poster for The Ceremony of Twelve. Once they are all settled, immediately transform into The Chief Elder. Address the class explaining that although they have spent the last 11 years learning to fit in and standardize their behavior, that this ceremony will celebrate their differences. Then, one-by-one present each student with their new job and a designated card that states all of the roles and responsibilities. After each student gets their assignment, have the rest of the class say in unison, “Thank you for your childhood.”

Give your students a choice of assignment. They can either fill out an application for a job switch or write a journal discussing their feelings on their new role in the community!

2. Seeing Beyond Activity

In The Giver , Jonas has the capacity to ‘see beyond.’ This means that Jonas, unlike the other members of the community, can use his senses from memory that allow him the ability to see color. This fun, seeing beyond class activity allows students to step into Jonas’ shoes to understand his ability to see beyond.

Students enter the classroom to a colorful poster welcoming them to Seeing Beyond. Ask them to circulate the room to different areas that have hidden image optical illusions. Some will be able to see the hidden pictures, while others will not.

After the activity, students work with partners to discuss how they felt when they were or were not able to see the hidden image. They will also discuss how it felt to successfully or unsuccessfully help someone else see the image and how this relates to the novel.

3. Memory Transmission Activity

Through his role as The Receiver, Jonas receives transmitted memories of the past from The Giver. This FREE memory transmission activity allows students to empathize with both Jonas and The Giver as they will both receive and transmit memories. This one has always been a real hit with my students!

Put a colorful poster on the door welcoming your class to The Giver’s Annex. Then, transform into The Giver and give each group of students descriptions of new memories that Jonas will receive.

Some of the memories involve painful memories, like homelessness, while others involve more positive memories like Neil Armstrong’s arrival on the moon! Students discuss prompting questions that will have them understand the value of keeping the world’s memories safe. After all the memories have been transmitted, they will shift into the role of The Giver. In this role, they will transmit one important historical memory to Jonas of their choosing.

4. The House of Old Activity

The elderly in The Giver are seemingly treated with the utmost respect and care in The House of Old , but the reader soon learns that things are not as positive as they appear. The elders of the community are killed (a.k.a released from society). This activity allows students to examine how the elderly are treated in different cultures/countries in the world and how this compares to how they are treated in Jonas’ community.

Students will enter the classroom to a colorful poster welcoming them to The House Of Old. They participate in small group discussions with information cards that provide details about how the elderly are treated in different cultures. When they are done, they fill in the blank card with how the elderly are treated in the novel and share with the rest of the class!

5. Dream Sharing Activity

In Jonas’ community, everyone must share any dreams they have with their family members. On the surface, dream sharing seems like a good way to keep open communication about inner feelings. In reality, however, it is another way that the government can keep control of the thoughts of their citizens and squash any independent thinking. This activity allows students to interpret their own dreams and consider what deeper meaning their dreams may have.

After reading chapter 6, a poster welcoming them to Dream Sharing greets students at the door. Break the class up into groups of 4 and tell each group to imagine they are family members. Each group receives dream prompt cards with common topics for dreams that have symbolic meanings. Each student shares a dream they remember which connects with one of the topics. If they can’t connect with any topic, they can share any dream they remember.

After everyone has shared their dreams, give each group the Dream Interpretation Cards that explain the symbolic significance of each dream topic. Students discuss and reflect on how it felt to reveal a dream and consider whether or not this would be a good practice in their everyday life.

6. A World Without Pain Activity

In Jonas’ community, members are sheltered from feeling any physical or emotional pain. While this theoretically seems like a peaceful way to live, Jonas soon learns that feeling no pain desensitizes people and doesn’t allow them to appreciate positive emotions. From pain, people are also able to learn from mistakes and avoid making those same mistakes again in the future. This activity brings this idea to the forefront by showing students a real-life example of someone who feels no pain.

Students work in groups to read information about people who feel no physical pain. You could have them research Gabby Gingras or Ashlyn Blocker, for example. As a group, students discuss whether or not they would like to live a life without physical pain and what challenges they might face if they chose yes. Then, they work with their group to brainstorm a list of advantages and disadvantages to living a life free of emotional pain.

7. The Telling of Feelings Activity

Jonas and his family participate in a nightly ritual called The Telling of Feelings  where each person describes an emotion that they experienced during the day and discusses it with the others. Help students understand what this ritual would be like by forming classroom families and simulating the practice.

After reading chapter 2, put students into groups. It is preferable that groups consist of two boys and two girls, but it isn’t necessary. Tell them that the group is their new family and they are to assign roles (parents and siblings).

Each student gets a “Feelings Card” that they fill out in preparation for the ritual. Students must choose a precise word that describes a feeling they had that day. Each member of the group shares their feelings while the other members listen carefully.

After the ritual, have students discuss whether or not they could see themselves doing this with their family, if it would make a family closer, and why they think this is a required ritual in Jonas’ community.

8. Family Forming Activity

In The Giver , couples can only have 2 children as mandated by the government. While this may seem completely removed from the modern-day, this activity will teach students about China’s one-child policy and allow them to consider how it relates to the novel.

This activity works best with a bit of pre-reading discussion. Students discuss how they would react if the government limited the number of children they could have. Ask them if they think this could or would ever happen.

After some discussion, have them read an article or watch a video on China’s one-child policy. I have students record their thoughts as they read using a graphic organizer. The one I use has them consider their thoughts, what they learned, and something that surprised them. Ask students to make a connection between this policy and the events of the novel.

Grab a ready-to-use unit plan with over everything you need to teach  T he Giver (340 pages/slides of eye-catching powerpoints, printable assignments, questions, vocabulary, and interactive class activities) by  clicking here .

I hope you found this helpful! If you are interested in more tips and resources for developing students’ reading skills in ELA, click here.

share this post

VISIT THE BLOG

Snowball writing: collaborative writing activity, 10 ideas to make your teachers’ lounge a positive space.

Send students on an online date with a book

7 bell-ringer ideas for middle and high school english.

Search the blog for what you are teaching

PRIVACY   |

CONTACT   |

© PRESTO PLANS  |

I’m Bonnie, a curriculum writer, literacy educator, and all around book lover on a mission to make English teachers’ lives a whole lot easier! 

resources sent to your inbox!

10 FREE ENGLISH TEACHER

@PRESTOPLANS

FIND ME ON 

sent straight to your inbox!

10 days of ELA TEACHER

Memories Matter: The Giver and Descriptive Writing Memoirs

• Resources & Preparation
• Instructional Plan
• Related Resources

In this lesson that tightly integrates personal writing, research, and thematic response to literature, students discuss the importance of having a recorded history of humanity. As they explore this topic, they gain a deeper understanding of the horror of Jonas's dystopian society in Lois Lowry's The Giver . This understanding generates a keen interest in and context for the descriptive writing of students' own history. Students gather ideas from several sources, including their own memories, interviews, and photographs, and then write their own descriptive memoirs.

Featured Resources

Interactive Timeline : Use this online tool to help students record a sequent of historical events.

Story Map : Use this online tool to map out the elements of students' original writing. The tool can also be used to analyze the characters, plot, and setting of a piece of literature.

From Theory to Practice

Using literature as a model text for student writing is widely regarded as a sound strategy for engaging students, both as readers and as writers. This practice is especially effective when the connection between model text and student writing is reflexive, as in the case of The Giver , in which storytelling and memories are central to understanding and appreciating the literature. Students should be led to understand, as Jeffery Wilhelm notes in You Gotta BE the Book: Teaching Engaged and Reflective Reading with Adolescents , that storytelling is "a primary way of knowing and organizing our personal knowledge of ourselves and the world. Storying defines humanity, makes us human, empowers us in being who we are, and makes it possible for us to conceive of being more than we are" (52-53). Reading stories about memories and storytelling while writing such stories themselves, students build literacy skills and gain an appreciation of the importance of narrative and history in their lives.

Further Reading

Common Core Standards

This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.

State Standards

This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.

NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts

• 3. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
• 4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
• 5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
• 6. Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.
• 7. Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and nonprint texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.
• 8. Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.
• 11. Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.
• 12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

Materials and Technology

Copies of The Giver by Lois Lowery

• Excerpt from Chapter 10 of The Giver by Lois Lowry
• Reflecting on the Importance of Memory
• Memories Matter: A Look at the American Memory Website
• Descriptive Writing Analysis
• Thinking about Varied Expressions of Memories and History
• Memories Matter: A Descriptive Memoir Project
• Descriptive Memoir Rubric
• Planning Your Descriptive Memoir
• Descriptive Memoir Peer Review Sheet
• Reflecting on The Giver and the Descriptive Memoir Project

Preparation

• Obtain copies of The Giver for student use. This lesson is designed to begin at Chapter 10 of the book and uses Chapters 10 and 11 explicitly. Connections to other parts of the book are at the teacher's discretion. Time for drafting and peer editing may be interspersed into the reading of the book or left as a culminating activity upon completion of The Giver .
• Prepare copies or transparencies of all necessary handouts.
• Familiarize yourself with the American Memory Website and directions for the related Memories Matter: A Look at the American Memory Website handout. You may wish to have a look at the "This Day in History" entry for the day you will be visiting the site to be familiar with the specific content as well as site layout and functionality.
• Obtain access to an Internet connected computer lab for Sessions 2, 5 and 6. Bookmark the American Memory Website and the ReadWriteThink Interactive Timeline and/or Story Map .
• Preview the ReadWriteThink video and lessons and the NPR podcast referenced in Session Four . Determine the best method for sharing appropriate information from these resources with your students.
• Test and familiarize yourself with the ReadWriteThink Interactive Timeline and/or Story Map and determine which is best suited to the needs of your students. Ensure that you have the Flash plug-in installed. You can download the plug-in from the technical support page.

Student Objectives

Students will

• think critically about the importance of memory and history in their own lives and in larger historical contexts.
• analyze prose passages for descriptive techniques.
• use multiple sources of information to create their own personal descriptive writing.

Session One

• Before starting Chapter 10 of The Giver , place a transparency of the Excerpt from Chapter 10 of The Giver on the overhead projector. Ask for two student volunteers to read the parts of The Giver and Jonas, as you read the narrated elements of the excerpt.
• Focusing on The Giver's comments about wisdom and shaping the future, facilitate a brief discussion of the importance of memory, history, and storytelling. Encourage students to use examples from their lives, history, and the book to support their points.
• Read Chapter 10 together and continue discussion.
• Conclude class by distributing the  Reflecting on the Importance of Memory handout for students to respond to for the next session.

Session Two

• Begin this session by discussing students' responses to the Reflecting on the Importance of Memory handout.
• Explain that during this session students will be taking a break from reading The Giver and visiting at a Web site that believes very strongly in the importance of memory as they do some research connected to today's date and their birthday (or another significant date of their choice).
• Distribute copies of the  Memories Matter: A Look at the American Memory Website handout and discuss the activity. Have students choose a date for their independent research and record it in the appropriate space on the handout.
• As a class, go to the American Memory Website and complete the column for "This Day in History" by looking through the information, following links as appropriate. Model for students the process of recording the event, summarizing some key facts, and reflecting on the event's significance.
• Give students time to research and respond to their findings for the date of their choice.
• End the session by having students share some of their reflections for their individually chosen dates. Discuss why such a website is important, especially in light of the conversation at the beginning of the session. Depending on your group, you may also wish to discuss the problems inherent in a Website that chooses just an event or a few events to feature. Who or what is represented? Who makes those decisions?

Session Three

• Review with students their work from the previous session, reminding students of the content and presentation on the American Memory Website .
• Distribute the  Thinking about Varied Expressions of Memories and History questions and ask students to choose one of the prompts to respond to briefly.
• Tell students that in this session, they will discuss responses to Option One, saving responses to Option Two for a future session.
• Discuss responses to Option One, which will likely involve comments about the factual, perhaps dry nature of the content and presentation on the Website.
• Connecting to students' responses about the personal and descriptive nature of an account they write about their own lives, distribute and discuss the Descriptive Writing Analysis handout. If necessary, quickly elicit examples of sensory details that fall into each of the five categories.
• As you read Chapter 11 of The Giver in class, complete handout together, modeling the understanding of how Lowry's descriptive choices function.
• At the end of the session, give students time to choose their own experience to render through descriptive language. Remind them that language related to the various senses should be chosen appropriately; they need not refer to all five senses and may rely more heavily on one or two than the others.
• Ask students to convert their list into a paragraph for the next session. Their paragraph should not reveal the experience explicitly.

Session Four

• To begin this session, have students share some of their completed paragraphs. Classmates should try to determine what experience the author is trying to convey, as Jonas did in The Giver.
• Collect the completed paragraphs and provide formative feedback on students' use of description to convey an experience. You may wish to use the Descriptive Memoir Rubric as a guide to potential areas of feedback, but such formal response is not necessary at this point.
• Explain to students that this paragraph is an example of the type of writing they will be doing in their upcoming memoir assignment. Distribute and discuss the Memories Matter: A Descriptive Memoir Project handout. Stress the ways that memoir differs from other personal narrative writing such as biography and autobiography. See the Resources section for support in this regard.
• Refer back to the Option Two responses from the Thinking about Varied Expressions of Memories and History questions as you go over the assignment. Students will likely have mentioned their friends' and families' memories and photographs as good sources of information about their own personal histories. These two types of sources will be the focus of future activities, but feel free to allow students to use sources such as official documents, their own past writings (formal and informal), family videos, or other valid options to complete the activity.
• See the ReadWriteThink lessons Family Memoir: Getting Acquainted with Generations Before Us and The Year I Was Born: An Autobiographical Research Project for ideas on teaching memoir and interviewing.
• Watch the ReadWriteThink video Helping a Teen Plan and Conduct an Interview and read the accompanying show notes.
• Listen to this NPR podcast in which Walter Dean Myers talks about the importance of storytelling, writing his memoirs, and using photographs as inspiration.
• See the ReadWriteThink lesson A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words: From Image to Detailed Narrative for ideas in helping students move from picture to story.
• Give students a date by which they need to have chosen an event (and related photograph and interview subject) to write about. By this date they will have the photograph in their possession and they will have interviewed the friend or family member for their memories of the chosen event.
• Note: You may wish to have an intermediate date by which students tell you what they are planning for the memoir. As necessary, guide students as they select topics at this point.
• Continue to read and discuss The Giver in the intervening sessions.

Session Five

• Ask students to get out their interview notes and photograph as you distribute the Planning Your Descriptive Memoir handout.
• Discuss with students how to use their notes and resources to brainstorm as many details, words, phrases for use in their draft.
• Distribute and discuss the Descriptive Memoir Rubric to guide students as they begin writing.
• Demonstrate for students how to use the ReadWriteThink Interactive Timeline and/or Story Map as they move to the drafting phase of the assignment.

Session Six

• Give students time to continue writing their memoir.
• Remind students of the information on the Memories Matter: A Descriptive Writing Project handout and Descriptive Memoir Rubric as they begin their work.
• Inform students that they need to have a completed draft of their descriptive memoir ready for peer review in the next session.

Session Seven

• Have students select a partner for the peer review activity.
• Distribute the Descriptive Memoir Peer Review Sheet and discuss the expectations for the review process.
• Give students time to complete the review process. As students finish, they should begin planning their revisions.
• Announce the date by which revised descriptive memoirs need to be submitted for evaluation.
• Students write one memoir in this lesson, but memoirs typically appear as a collection of narrated events. Have students choose several topics from the list on the  Memories Matter: A Descriptive Memoir Project handout and make a collection. As a final step, they should introduce and dedicate the memoirs to give readers an overview of the collection.
• Have students present their memoirs through brief speeches. Peers can provide additional feedback for continued revision and refinement.
• Pair students and help them convert their memoirs into audio interviews like the ones featured in StoryCorps . Collect the audio files and house them on a class Web page.
• The personal and reflective style of writing in memoirs is similar to what readers find on many blogs. See the ReadWriteThink lesson plan Weekly Writer's Blogs: Building a Community of Support for tips and suggestions to get your students blogging their memoirs.
• Explore the biological nature of memory in addition to the aspects of memory discussed in these activities with the ReadWriteThink lesson Discovering Memory: Li-Young Lee's Poem "Mnemonic" and the Brain .

Student Assessment / Reflections

• In Session Four , provide formative assessment feedback regarding students’ ability to incorporate sensory detail.
• Use the Descriptive Memoir Rubric to evaluate student work.
• After students have finished the memoir writing process and The Giver , ask them to complete the  Reflecting on The Giver and the Descriptive Memoir Project handout for additional confirmation of their new learning.
• Calendar Activities
• Student Interactives
• Lesson Plans

The Story Map interactive is designed to assist students in prewriting and postreading activities by focusing on the key elements of character, setting, conflict, and resolution.

Students generate descriptive timelines and can include images in the description.

Add new comment

• Print this resource

Explore Resources by Grade

• Kindergarten K

"The Giver" Final Chapter Creative Writing

• Google Docs™

Description

After reading "The Giver" novel, use this assignment to have your students practice their creative writing skills. They will write an extra chapter for "The Giver" that provides more of a conclusion for readers and responds to any unanswered questions they may have.

Questions & Answers

Teaching in the midwest.

• We're hiring
• Help & FAQ
• Privacy policy
• Student privacy
• Terms of service
• Tell us what you think

Introduction to The Giver

The Giver is a dystopian story by Lois Lowry , an American writer. It first appeared in the United States in 1993 and became an instant hit on account of the unusual story it presents. The story comprises a boy, Jonas, who experiences disenchantment with the living style of his community based on the sameness and ordinariness through the community’s own decision-making process. Recognized quite later in life, The Giver won Newbery Medal in 1994. It was later adapted into a movie in 2014.

Summary of The Giver

The story starts with a 12 year old boy living in a seemingly ‘perfect’ community with no war, hatred, hunger, poverty and crime. The community is established to spread sameness among all of its members for justice and fair play . Jonas, the boy, sees that the community elder, the Chief Elder, has assigned a specific role to every infant he is going to assume in the future after he grows up. Jonas’ father works as a Nurturer, while his mother works in the Justice Department in the community. When his Ceremony of Twelve, a ceremony to allot roles to each 12-year old person, arrives, he is rather shocked but seeks no guidance from his parents. They assure him that the Elders never commit a mistake.

On that day, all of his classmates receive orders to stand in the order of their birthday dates during the ceremony presided over by the Chief Elder. Jonas becomes surprised when he comes to know about his assigned role of getting training as the Receiver of Memory, a high official, who sits beside the Chief Elder during ceremonies. Despite his initial jubilation for having status and position in the community later, he finds himself isolated at this stage even from his childhood friends. He gets further instructions about the secrecy of his job and training with orders not to reveal details even to his close family members.

The main task of the Receiver of Memory is that they should have the collective memory of his community not only of the present but also of the past generations. Once the training starts, he becomes happy that at least he is the Receiver of Memory, having everything at his fingertips tips. The current Receiver of Memory, ‘the Giver’, trains and instructs him how to store vast data in his mind. The very first lesson in memory retention techniques is of the sliding down which surprises him that such a simple task receives such as high confidentiality merely for the sake of sameness, a plan that involves that involves uniform geography, climate and discouraging individuality including skin color. Sameness involves eliminating choice, emotions which could possibly lead to happiness or pain in turn causing war-like situations. As the time passes, he learns about colors, human nature, war, and several other such things strange and bizarre to him. Although he tries to learn about Rosemary, the former student of the Giver but does not get any information about her.

Soon his father informs about his worry about a fragile child in his custody at the Nurturing Center. He has won permission to take him home to improve his health. Eventually, Gabriel, the same boy, grows into a healthy child. His pale eyes, like that of Jonas, attract his attention toward the boy who finds him similar to himself, having the capability of retaining memories. However, it also transpires to him that if Gabriel does not become strong, he will be “released” soon to reach Elsewhere, a concept equal to death and graveyard. The Community has rules to send all such persons including the former student, Rosemary, to Elsewhere where they live in peace.

The Giver further informs Jonas about such things through a video camera in which he sees his father, the Nurturer, sending two boys to Elsewhere through a poisonous injection. This video rather shocks his morality after watching his father killing two children. Also, his friend Fiona is being trained in the fine art of ‘released’. However, the argument of the Giver to justify this action falls on deaf ears. He tries to explain that his father and people like who are being trained for this job do not know this is evil since feeling are not part of the life. He informs him that Rosemary has released herself. The ensuing polemic wins Jonas a place in the heart of the Giver who acquiesces to his argument that they must do something to change the Community and join hands in this venture. Jonas’s idea is that he can do it by leaving the community early, providing the Giver an opportunity to help the people to manage memories.

Feeling the intense need for such an operation, the Giver devises a plan, helping Jonas escape the Community, showing the Community that he has been drowned. However, Jonas comes to know that Gabriel is going to be released prematurely at which he has to amend his plan and take Gabriel with him.

During the hard journey, Jonas ponders if he has made the right choice since the bike journey becomes even more difficult and experience starvation for the first time. But later realizes that if he had stayed back he’d have starved for the feelings and most importantly Gabriel would have not been alive. He dwells upon the risk of making a ‘choice’ has consequences but concludes that ‘physical hunger is less destructive than emotional one’. He feared for the life of Gabriel than his own expressing compassion, love which was never felt by his community.

After many hardships and travelling in the snow , both of them reach near Elsewhere where he comes across the same sled riding that he sees in his first experience as the Receiver of Memory Both ride a sled and see colorful lights with a Christmas tree, hears music for the first time and while experiencing the symptoms of hypothermia.

Major Themes in The Giver

• Individual and Freedom: The Giver demonstrates the theme of individuals and their freedom through the character of Jonas as well as Gabriel, the child that his father brings home to save from the likely release. Even Jonas experiences restrictions once his ceremony of twelve is held and he later comes to know that he is going to be the new Receiver of Memory after the departure of the Giver. When both realize their role in molding the Community into sameness, they plan to release the memories to revive the community. However, coincidently, Gabriel is released too early at which Jonas has to drop his plan and move ahead with his plan earlier than the fixed time. It shows that an individual has no freedom and choice of freedom except to merge with the community.
• Threats of Stability: As the Community requires stability, it is decided by the Chief Elders of all the communities that sameness must be applied at all levels. However, this sameness has its own risks; it does not make all the people same, it robs the people of their individual qualities, and it forces them to adapt to the sameness forced upon them. It happens with Jonas despite his being unable to follow it. He feels disgusted toward his father when he releases two kids to Elsewhere. When his plan fails and he releases his memories, the attempts of the sameness cause threat to the stability rather than vice versa .
• Human Emotion: The novel highlights the theme of human emotions through the character of the Nurturer, Jonas’s father, Jonas as well as Rosemary. When Jonas is inducted into the memory retention department as the Receiver of Memory by the Giver, he feels as if he has been alienated from his close and childhood friends. Almost the same goes with his father when he sees him through a video camera, showing him releasing two innocent kids with poisonous injections. He feels the same situation of having no human emotions in the Community when he hears the tale of the death of Rosemary, the daughter of the Giver.
• Memory and Wisdom: The Giver shows the relationship between memory and wisdom through the character of Jonas and his selection for being the Receiver of Memory. That is why the position of the Giver is significant, for the Committee of Elders turns to him to have the sane advice after he reviews the whole history where such instances might have caused disruption or havoc on account of the destabilizing roles such incidents might have played. It is stated that although Jonas has no wisdom having practical value for the Community. Yet as the retainer of the memory, he would be playing a positive role as the successor of the Giver. So, memory and wisdom have been shown going together.
• Dystopia : Despite having initial signs and symbols of building a utopia , the ultimate community that comes into existence is a dystopia where the craziness for the individual sameness takes not only the lives of individuals but also robs them of the natural human emotions. Jonas is surprised at his selection as well as forced isolation that he is not permitted to meet even his childhood friends. He is also horrified to learn that his father, the Nurturer, is involved in the murder of the kids not able to live for adaptation. He also feels for Rosemary who has committed suicide after she is unable to cope with the memory retention task. These developments have made the Community a dystopia instead of a utopia.
• Isolation: The novel also shows the theme of isolation through the Giver as well as Rosemary, for each of them experiences extreme isolation and becomes the victim of its consequential impacts. For example, the Giver experiences it as his own daughter has become the victim of his obsession with memory retention after she commits suicide. She herself experiences the torture from the looming isolation and resultant alienation. This is almost the same isolation that Jonas experiences and comes to the point to spread or release memories to make the Community return to its normality.
• Death: The theme of death occurs in the meanings of release from the Community that initially Jonas does not understand but becomes familiar with it during the anecdote of Pilot-in-Training. Soon he comes to know that release is used to make the Old people, kids, and those who do not fit into the Community, leave it for Elsewhere.
• Individual and Society: The novel shows the significance of individuals and society and their interdependence through Jonas, Rosemary, and Gabriel as well as the Community in which they live. The storyline, activities of Jonas, and death of Rosemary show that individuals suffer because of the demands of the Community to transform it into utopia but their interdependence continues.
• Rules: The novel shows the reverse use of rules not to facilitate individuals and society but to create a new experimental society based on individuals already trained to live in that society. This distortion of rules has been shown through the elders, their sameness, and Elsewhere.

Major Characters in The Giver

• Jonas: Jonas is the central character and the protagonist of the story. He’s12-year-old, who has to join the professional life of the Community by becoming an intern of the Giver as the Receiver of Memory. Yet he soon becomes disenchanted after reviewing two events: first his father’s act of sending two kids to Elsewhere by injecting them poison and second the death of Rosemary, the daughter of the Giver. His work of acquiring and keeping memories expands with his intimate relations with the Giver who also joins him to plan their release into Elsewhere after spreading their memories to make the Community properly humane. However, it happens that his father brings Gabriel who is to be released earlier. After this, he prematurely leaves the Community causing the release of memories earlier than the planned time after which both Jonas and Gabriel freezes to death. However, his perceptual power , his wisdom, and his intelligence won him laurels from the readers on account of his struggle to pull the Community out of the clutches of the autocratic dystopian government.
• The Giver: Despite his being a significant character, the Giver does not stand tall before the young and little Jonas with his ancientness likening to Tiresias of the Grecian plays. His worldly wisdom seems to surpass his memory acquisition job, the reason that he tolerates the suicide of his daughter, Rosemary, and continues working as the Giver. The weight of the memories of the entire Community and his responsibility of making decisions on the behalf of all makes him crumble down before Jonas after which both of them plan to release all the memories. It could be that he gives way to Jonas’s energetic efforts to bring transformation in the Community by making people independent and humane instead of making individuals the same.
• Father: Working as a Nurturer in the Community, Jonas’s father takes care of the toddlers and dedicates his life to them, yet he does not believe in love as he states it clearly to his wife. Although when releasing two kids with poisonous injections he does not feel anything, yet his concern for Gabriel makes his family members feel the transformation in him, though, he is to live in the system and perform as per his duties. So, his character stays flat until the end of the story.
• Mother: Jonas’s mother is an ambitious and career-oriented woman who has killed all of her emotions for her progress in the justice department where she punishes the rule-breakers of the Community. The training that she imparts to Jonas and other children shows her qualities akin to Lady Macbeth in resolution , yet she joins her son to deride the sentimentality of her husband when he fondles with his daughter, Lily. She becomes a model in society who wants societal ideals to be followed at every cost.
• Gabriel: The young toddler that the Nurturer intends to save at every cost, Gabriel becomes a lively child whom Jonas loves for his excellent memory and intelligence. As soon as he becomes dependent on Jonas for his sleep, his father resolves to send him to Elsewhere by releasing him. Although this premature action of his father disrupts Jonas’s plans, Gabriel causes a stir in society by releasing memories.
• Asher: Jonas’ childhood friend, Asher realizes others his discomfiture in such a Community due to the failure of the concept of Sameness. Although he does not seem capable of winning release from the Community, yet his foibles continue flabbergasting the people around him. Finally, both of them part ways after Jonas joins internship of the Giver and stops meeting him.
• Lily: Lily is Jonas’s sister shows great love for him nurtured by her father, the Nurturer when he fondles with her. She is a chatterbox and lively and takes care of Gabriel when her father brings him home.
• Fiona: Fiona has distinct red hair, and one for whom Jonas feels love. She joins a Caretaker to train herself to become one in the future to take care of the Old. As the story progresses, her character diminishes on account of the roles both of them choose to play.
• Rosemary: Rosemary is The Giver’s daughter, the incumbent Receiver of Memory, and commits suicide after she could not tolerate the pressure of the task.
• Chief Elder: The significance of the character of the Chief Elder lies in that she directs all the operations in the Community and decides the role allotted to every twelve-year-old teenager. This is called the Ceremony of Twelve that she presides to see how it goes along.
• Larissa: Her character is significant in the novel on account of her humor and chattiness. She informs Jonas about the release of Roberto.

Writing Style of The Giver

Lois Lowry has adopted a very euphemistic style in this novel, The Giver, using usual sentences but they are sometimes interspersed with run-on and broken sentences. The diction used in these sentences is twisted to suit the new context of the futuristic type of society where the Sameness has been implemented to achieve equality . Most of the diction is formal, though, at some places Lowry has used informal language. For literary devices , Lowry has relied on alliteration , consonance , metaphors , and similes.

Analysis of the Literary Devices in The Giver

• Action: The main action of the novel comprises the story of Jonas, the new Giver, who has become the Receiver of Memory until he releases himself prematurely. The rising action occurs when he becomes an intern of the Giver. The falling action occurs when Gabriel is released prematurely, and the plan of Jonas and the Giver has to be unfolded before its time.
• Anaphora : The below examples of anaphora are given below, i. Frightened meant that deep, sickening feeling of something terrible about to happen. Frightened was the way he had felt a year ago when an unidentified aircraft had overflown the community twice. He had seen it both times. (I) ii. Though Jonas had only become a Five the year that they acquired Lily and earned her name, he remembered the excitement, the conversations at home, wondering about her: how she would look, who she would be, how she would fit into their established family unit. (2) iii. His father smiled his gentle smile. (2) iv. A silence fell over the room. They looked at each other. Finally his mother, rising from the table, said, “You’ve been greatly honored, Jonas. Greatly honored.” (9) These examples show the repetitious use of “frightened”, “she would”, “smile” and “greatly honored.
• Allusions: The novel shows the use of allusions as given in the below sentences, i. Jonas had casually picked up an apple from the basket where the snacks were kept, and had thrown it to his friend. Asher had thrown it back, and they had begun a simple game of catch. (3) ii. There had been nothing special about it; it was an activity that he had performed countless times: throw, catch; throw, catch. It was effortless for Jonas, and even boring, though Asher enjoyed it, and playing catch was a required activity for Asher because it would improve his hand-eye coordination, which was not up to standards. (3) iii. Yes, I think I will,” Lily said. She knelt beside the basket. “What did you say his name is? Gabriel? Hello, Gabriel,” she said in a singsong voice . Then she giggled. “Ooops,” she whispered. “I think he’s asleep. (3) These examples show the use of allusion such as Jonas as Johana of the Bible, the apple as the allusion of the first apple, and Gabriel, the allusion of the angel .
• Antagonist : As there is no person who could make life difficult for Jonas, society itself is the obstacle in the way of every individual. Therefore, society is the antagonist of the novel, The Giver .
• Conflict : The novel shows the internal conflict as well as external conflict . The external conflict is going on between Jonas and the Community, while the internal or mental conflict is going on in the mind of Jonas due to his obligations to his position and his moral awakening.
• Characters: The novel shows dynamic as well as static characters . Jonas, the young boy, is a dynamic character as he witnesses a considerable transformation in his behavior and actions. However, all other characters are static characters such as his father, mother, Larissa, Lily, and Gabriel.
• Climax : The climax in the novel occurs when Jonas sees that his father has killed the boys which means he has released them from the Community.
• Hyperbole : Here are two examples of hyperboles from the book, i. For a moment he froze, consumed with despair. He didn’t have it, the whatever-she-had-said. (8) ii. A silence fell over the room. They looked at each other. Finally his mother, rising from the table, said, “You’ve been greatly honored, Jonas. Greatly honored.” (9) Both of these examples exaggerate things as a person does not actually freeze and that silence never actually falls.
• Imagery : The Giver’s imagery examples are given below, i. Jonas shrugged. He followed them inside. But he had been startled by the newchild’s eyes. Mirrors were rare in the community; they weren’t forbidden, but there was no real need of them, and Jonas had simply never bothered to look at himself very often even when he found himself in a location where a mirror existed. Now , seeing the newchild and its expression, he was reminded that the light eyes were not only a rarity but gave the one who had them a certain look— what was it? Depth, he decided; as if one were looking into the clear water of the river, down to the bottom, where things might lurk which hadn’t been discovered yet. He felt self-conscious, realizing that he, too, had that look.. (3) ii. Jonas nodded. “But it wasn’t really the same. There was a tub, in the dream . But only one. And the real bathing room has rows and rows of them. But the room in the dream was warm and damp. And I had taken off my tunic, but hadn’t put on the smock, so my chest was bare. I was perspiring, because it was so warm. And Fiona was there, the way she was yesterday. (5) iii. Jonas obeyed cheerfully. He closed his eyes, waiting, and felt the hands again; then he felt the warmth again, the sunshine again, coming from the sky of this other consciousness that was so new to him. This time, as he lay basking in the wonderful warmth, he felt the passage of time. His real self was aware that it was only a minute or two; but his other, memory-receiving self felt hours pass in the sun. His skin began to sting. Restlessly he moved one arm, bending it, and felt a sharp pain in the crease of his inner arm at the elbow. (10) These examples show images of feelings, sight, movement, and color.
• Irony : The examples of irony are given in below sentences, A committee was studying the idea. When something went to a committee for study, the people always joked about it. They said that the committee members would become Elders by the time the rule change was made. (2) These sentences show the irony in the word joke that people used to cut at the committee e members.
• Metaphor : The examples of metaphors are given in the sentences below, i. Many of the comfort objects , like Lily’s, were soft, stuffed, imaginary creatures. Jonas’s had been called a bear. (2) ii. Sometimes he awoke with a feeling of fragments afloat in his sleep, but he couldn’t seem to grasp them and put them together into something worthy of telling at the ritual. (5) iii. He sank back down into his chair, puzzled. (5) iv. The old man shrugged and gave a short laugh. “No,” he told Jonas. “It’s a very distant memory. That’s why it was so exhausting—I had to tug it forward from many generations back. It was given to me when I was a new Receiver, and the previous Receiver had to pull it through a long time period, too.” (10) These examples show that several things have been compared directly in the novel such as the first shows objects as creatures, the second shows feelings as ducks, the third shows chair as a lake and the fourth shows memory compared to some trolley.
• Mood : The novel shows very light and happy mood in the beginning but turns to dispassionate, sad as well as tragic during different events in the story of Jonas.
• Motif : Most important motifs of The Giver, are overtness, vision and release or death.
• Narrator : The novel is narrated from a third person omniscient point of view .
• Paradox : The below sentences are the examples of paradox , i. Jonas thought about it. The details were murky and vague. But the feelings were clear, and flooded him again now as he thought. (5) ii. This time the hands didn’t become cold, but instead began to feel warm on his body. They moistened a little. The warmth spread, extending across his shoulders, up his neck, onto the side of his face. (10) iii. “It’s just that I don’t know your name. I thought you were The Receiver, but you say that now I’m The Receiver. So I don’t know what to call you.” The man had sat back down in the comfortable upholstered chair. He moved his shoulders around as if to ease away an aching sensation. He seemed terribly weary. “Call me The Giver,” he told Jonas. (10) These examples show paradoxes as the first one shows two contradictory ideas of vague and clear, the second shows cold and warm, while the third shows receiver and giver given side by side in these sentences.
• Personification : The below sentences are good examples of personifications, i. “It took me many years. Maybe your wisdom will come much more quickly than mine.” (12) ii. And the strongest memory that came was hunger. It came from many generations back. Centuries back. The population had gotten so big that hunger was everywhere. Excruciating hunger and starvation. It was followed by warfare. (13) These examples show as if wisdom and memory have life and emotions of their own.
• Protagonist : The young boy, Jonas, is the protagonist of the novel. The novel starts with his entry into the story and ends with his plans to release memories in the Community.
• Repetition : The examples of repetitions are given in the below sentences, i. His father smiled his gentle smile. (2) ii. Almost every citizen in the community had dark eyes. His parents did, and Lily did, and so did all of his group members and friends. (3) iii. There had been nothing special about it; it was an activity that he had performed countless times: throw, catch; throw, catch. (3) iv. The prohibition of dream-telling, he thought, would not be a real problem. He dreamed so rarely that the dream-telling did not come easily to him anyway, and he was glad to be excused from it. (9) These examples show repetitions of different things and ideas such as of “gnawing”, “enjoyment” and “over and over.”
• Rhetorical Questions : The rhetorical questions are used at several places in the book. Two examples are given below, i. “Yes, I think I will,” Lily said. She knelt beside the basket. “What did you say his name is? Gabriel? Hello, Gabriel,” she said in a singsong voice. Then she giggled. “Ooops,” she whispered. “I think he’s asleep. (3) ii. Jonas was stunned. What would happen to his friendships? His mindless hours playing ball, or riding his bike along the river? Those had been happy and vital times for him. Were they to be completely taken from him, now? (9) This example shows the use of rhetorical questions posed but different characters not to elicit answers but to stress upon the underlined idea.
• Setting : The setting of The Giver is a fictional distant society called the Community.
• Simile : The below sentences are examples of similes from the book, i. Lily considered and shook her head. “I don’t know. They acted like … like…” “ Animals ?” Jonas suggested. He laughed. (2) ii. Look how tiny he is! And he has funny eyes like yours, Jonas!” Jonas glared at her. (3) iii. Then, as the angle of incline lessened, as the mound—the hill —flattened, nearing the bottom, the sled’s forward motion slowed. (10) iv. “It’s full of electrical impulses. It’s like a computer. If you stimulate one part of the brain with an electrode, it—” He stopped talking. He could see an odd look on The Giver’s face. (13) These similes show that things have been compared directly such as the first shows their action like that of animals, the second shows a comparison of the eyes of two persons, the third one shows a comparison of the sled and the hill, and the third one shows the comparison of electrical signals with a computer.

Related posts:

Post navigation.

102 pages • 3 hours read

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-3

Chapters 4-6

Chapters 7-9

Chapters 10-12

Chapters 13-15

Chapters 16-18

Chapters 19-21

Chapters 22-23

Character Analysis

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Further Reading & Resources

Discussion Questions

What does it mean to be “released” from the community Jonas lives in? Name a few reasons people are released and explain how the act of releasing someone reflects the community’s values.

Receiver is described as a position of honor, while the Birthmother assignment is said to lack honor. Why is this the case? What might happen if the status of these roles were switched?

At several points in The Giver , Jonas expresses that having choices is dangerous. Why does he feel this way, and how does his opinion about choices change as the story unfolds?

Don't Miss Out!

Access Study Guide Now

Related Titles

By Lois Lowry

A Summer to Die

Gathering Blue

Gooney Bird Greene

Number the Stars

The Silent Boy

Featured Collections

Audio Study Guides

View Collection

Children's & Teen Books Made into Movies

Community Reads

Fantasy & Science Fiction Books...

Juvenile Literature

Newbery Medal & Honor Books