HEC-TV Live! Presents
The Giver: Issues and Themes
Date: November 16, 2010
Times: 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. CT and 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. CT
Grade Levels: 6-10
Cost: NO CHARGE
Abstract:
Have your students explore important issues and themes raised in Lois Lowry’s Newberry Medal
winning young adult novel, “The Giver” as they interact in a student-to-student discussion of the
book facilitated by educators and the director of a new production of the play based on the book.
Program Description:
Lois Lowry’s Newberry Medal winning novel “The Giver” continues to be read and loved by
thousands of young people each year. In this second of a series of four HEC-TV Live! programs
focusing on the novel, students will have the unique opportunity to participate in a national
videoconference book club discussion of issues and themes raised in the story.
The book enables the reader to explore important questions that permeate the fabric of student’s
everyday lives. Questions like: What is a perfect society and what would you be willing to give
up to live in one? What makes a group of people into a ‘community’ and what are the
responsibilities of people within that community to each other? What are the risks and rewards of
freedom? What does it mean to grow up and accept responsibility for one’s actions? What is the
importance of individual and collective memory? What are the challenges of a diverse society
and are those challenges worth it? Why does it mean to take a risk and why is it valuable to take
one? Can experiencing pain actually be beneficial? Have your students explore these questions
and additional ones of their own as they interact in a student-to-student discussion facilitated by
educators who have taught the novel and the director of a new production of the play.
Have your students read the book this year? Are you interested in students expressing their
interpretation of the novel and how it speaks to them? If so, then we hope you can join us for
this program. Cost for the program is FREE.
This series of programs is being produced in conjunction with Washington University in St.
Louis and Metro Theater Company of St. Louis as they prepare and present a stage adaptation of
the novel to be presented at Edison Theatre on the campus of Washington University in January.
Other programs in the series include:
October 7—A Conversation with Lois Lowry (This program is now archived and available for
on-demand viewing on our HEC-TV website at http://www.hectv.org/programs/ser/hectvlive/
and also on the Higher Education Channel HEC-TV Live! page on iTunes U.)
December 9—Performing the Play: Bringing Characters to Life
January 5—Producing the Play: Bringing the Story to the Stage
The December and January programs will also be available for enrollment through CILC.
Program Objectives:
1. The participant will explore the concept of “theme” in a novel and offer their ideas on how
the author’s use of different themes influences their reaction as a reader.
2. The participant will engage in a discussion about “theme” with educators, fellow students,
and theatrical professionals.
3. The participant will explore how the themes of the novel resonate in their life today and
develop a point of view toward how those themes might need to be addressed today.
Program Format:
The videoconference program will consist of the following segments.
1. Welcome and Introduction—Student groups and experts will be introduced and welcomed to
the program.
2. Student-to-Student Discussion—The thematic discussion of the novel and its application to
life today will be lead by a combination of students and educators. Participating schools will
receive, as part of the program’s preparatory materials, the list of thematic ideas to be discussed,
the order in which they will be discussed, and leading or focus questions for each of those ideas
that will be used to guide the discussion. Worksheets will also be included in the preparatory
materials for students to use as they prepare their ideas for the discussion. The worksheet will
provide space for student notes referencing specific events, quotes, characters, etc. of the novel
and space for students to express their ideas in writing so they have that with them during the
discussion. Space will also be included for students to jot down additional thoughts, revisions,
etc. as they participate in the discussion.
3. Action Segment—Students will share ideas on how actions they feel have been taken to
address the thematic issues of the novel since its publication and actions they feel still need to be
taken today. These ideas may be developed by students as they prepare for the program and also
may emerge for them as the student-to-student discussion proceeds.
4. Closing Segment--Including summary of topics discussed and final questions from students.
Featured National Standards:
English/Language Arts
Standards Developed by International Reading Association and National Council of
Teachers of English
2. Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an
understanding of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, and aesthetic) of human
experience.
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,
and graphics).
8. Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases,
computer networks, and 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).
Featured State Standards (Missouri):
Schools from across the country are invited to join in the program. Missouri state standards are
provided for Missouri schools since partial funding for this program comes from various
Missouri organizations.
Communication Arts Grade Level Expectations
1H: Apply post-reading skills to comprehend and interpret text
• question to clarify
• reflect
• analyze
• draw conclusions
• summarize
• paraphrase
1I Compare, contrast, analyze and evaluate connections between
• information and relationships in various fiction and non-fiction works
• text ideas and own experiences
• text ideas and the world by analyzing the relationship between literature and its historical
period and culture
2C Use details from text to analyze character, plot, setting, point of view and development of
theme
Participant Preparation:
1. Participants should come to the program with an interest in and familiarity with the story of
“The Giver.” Students should either have read the novel in advance of the program or be in the
process of reading it.
2. Participants should utilize preparatory materials provided for the program and other resources
of their own to better understand the context of the program’s subject and to think in advance of
questions they wish to ask the experts. Any questions determined in advance, can be e-mailed to
us prior to the program at live@hectv.org.
3. Participants should have pencil and paper ready to use during the program to jot down ideas
and additional questions as they come to mind.
Pre-Program Activity Suggestions:
1. Students should read and discuss “The Giver” by Lois Lowry. Students may do this as a class
project or could choose to do it individually to participate in the program. The following web
resources include information about the author and novel as well as curriculum ideas and lesson
plans for discussion of the book.
http://www.loislowry.com/
The author’s website with biographical information as well as information about her novels.
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/giver
http://www.randomhouse.com/teachers/guides/give.html
http://theliterarylink.com/giver_lessons.html
http://www.neiu.edu/~barindfl/thegiverlessonplanspage.html
http://ethemes.missouri.edu/themes/1672
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/lessonplan.jsp?id=1010
2. Utilize the Discussion Prompts handout that will be sent to you once you enroll for the
program to prepare students for the videoconference. Follow instructions to send to us in
advance of the program, selected student questions and comments that your group wishes to
incorporate into the discussion. These student questions and comments will help us finalize the
agenda order for the program that we will then send back to you. These advance questions and
comments should be e-mailed to us at live@hectv.org
3. Have students select one of the following concepts: community, diversity, utopia, freedom,
memory, or autonomy. After making their selection, have students contemplate how their chosen
concept is addressed in the novel and also how plays out in their lives today. How is the issue
seen in the news today and/or in the student’s life today? Is there an insight from the book that
deals with their concept that they think would be good for all people to hear today? If so, what
would it be and how would they choose to get that insight to others?
4. View the archived version of our previous program, “A Conversation with Lois Lowry,” to
give students a chance to hear from the author herself as she discusses writing the novel and
answers student questions about the setting, characters, plot and themes of the book. The archive
can be found on our HEC-TV website at http://www.hectv.org/programs/ser/hectvlive/ and also
on the Higher Education Channel HEC-TV Live! page on iTunes U.
Post-Program Activity Suggestions:
1. Have each student journal about how their experience in the videoconference has influenced
their ideas about the themes of the novel. What new things have they learned? What new
questions do they have? What new insights into the novel have they developed?
2. Have students develop a public service poster, power point presentation, or short video that
illustrates their chosen concept from the pre-program activity and how they’d like people to
address that issue to make it better in today’s world.
3. If they have not yet completed reading the novel, have students complete reading the novel
and notice when information and insights they have learned through the videoconference
influence their understanding and/or appreciation of the novel. Have them record these insights
in a student journal, and/or share them with peers or with the class as a whole.
4. If you did not have the opportunity to do so prior to the program, have students view the
archived version of our previous program, “A Conversation with Lois Lowry,” to give students a
chance to hear from the author herself as she discusses writing the novel and answers student
questions about the setting, characters, plot and themes of the book. The archive can be found on
our HEC-TV website at http://www.hectv.org/programs/ser/hectvlive/ and also on the Higher
Education Channel HEC-TV Live page on iTunes U.
Vocabulary:
Theme—a broad idea in a story or literary work or a message or lesson conveyed by a written
text. This message is usually about life, society or human nature. Themes often explore timeless
and universal ideas. Most themes are implied rather than explicitly stated. The theme is different
from the superficial outlay of the text; it is normally the meaning of the text on a deeper, more
abstract level.
Program Keywords:
theme, language, literature, language arts, Lois Lowry, writing, The Giver, novel, fiction
Cancellation Policy:
Since there may well be a waiting list for interactive participation, we ask that you let us know of
your need to cancel as soon as you know.
Technology Specifications:
Once we have received your enrollment, we will contact you requesting the IP address of the VC
unit you'll be using to connect to the program and also to arrange a test call between you and our
bridge organization MOREnet. Both these steps must be completed to finalize your participation
in the program.