DiVincenzo
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Jenny DiVincenzo
Dr. Goldsmith
EN 393
Final: The Giver Mini-Unit
The Giver: Lesson #1
Lesson Title
Introduction to The Giver
Curriculum Area
English
Grade Levels
Eighth grade
Estimated Time Required
55 minutes
Instructional Groupings
Individual, small groups, all class discussion.
Indiana State Standards
8.RL.2.1 Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an
analysis of what a text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn
from the text.
Materials
Each student should bring their own copy of The Giver to class.
Other Info
Sticky notes
By this class, students will have not yet read any of The Giver.
Homework for next class: Read chapters 1-6.
Overview of the lesson:
In this lesson, students are asked to answer some of the essential questions that The Giver
asks before they start reading the novel. They will be asked the same questions at the end of
the unit and compare what they wrote to see if the novel changed any of their opinions. The
main idea of the lesson is for students to grasp the idea of what a utopia is. They will do this
through silent work, small group discussion, and large group discussion. Because they
haven’t begun The Giver, I will model the way in which they need to take notes for the unit.
The way that the students will take notes will help them think more critically about utopia
and how it relates to The Giver. The exit ticket allows students to infer what the novel will be
about based on the cover. They will be able to activate prior knowledge on utopias from
what was discussed in class for their answer. This exit ticket will NOT be for a grade, but
used as a summative assessment to see how the students responded to the lesson that day.
This will lead up to their homework of reading six chapters of The Giver (roughly 40 pages).
Purpose:
o Students will be able to give their own definitions of what a utopia is.
o Students will use inferences to determine what The Giver is about.
DiVincenzo
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Step-by-Step Instructions
Time
What is the teacher doing?
9:00-9:10
AM
Explain that students will take
ten minutes to answer the
following questions in their
notebooks. They should do this
SILENTLY.
What are the
students doing?
The students should
answer these
questions silently in
their notebooks.
Do you think it is ever
okay to lie?
o Does history repeat
itself? If so, when have
you seen history repeat
itself?
o Is it better to live in a safe
environment and never
feel fear rather than
living in a dangerous
environment and feeling
fear?
o Do memories play an
important part of who
you are as a person?
Ask students to turn to a partner Discuss answers with
and share what they wrote. While partners.
students are sharing, walk
around to each table to hear what
their answers are to the
questions. If the answers are
“surface level” and they aren’t
digging deeper, ask follow up
questions to think about the
questions in a different way.
o
9:10-9:15
AM
9:15-9:20
AM
Ask question to the entire class:
“How would you define utopia?”
Ask students to write their
definition of utopia on sticky
notes provided. Pass out sticky
notes to students as you ask
them the question above.
Write on sticky notes.
Purpose
This introduction
activity will get
students thinking
about some
essential
questions that
The Giver asks.
If a student was
stuck on these
questions, it will
help them to talk
them out with
another student.
A student may
have had a really
awesome answer
to a question,
which will help
bounce ideas off
of other students.
Some students
may or may not
be familiar with
the term utopia,
which is an
important word
they will need to
be familiar with
when reading The
Giver. Having
students provide
their own idea of
DiVincenzo
9:20-9:30
AM
9:30-9:45
AM
When students finish writing
their definitions, ask them to go
up to the white board and put
their sticky notes on it. Ask them
to silently read all of the different
definitions.
o
Ask students to return
back to their seats after
reading the definitions.
Ask them if they have any
questions about what a
utopia is.
o
Explain that The Giver is
about a community that
is arguably utopian.
When they do their
homework, I want them
to take notes in their
notebooks. MODEL this
so that they know what
you want the notes to
look like.
o
On the white board, clear
away some of the sticky
notes. Draw a line down
the middle of the board.
On the left side of the
board write “Signs of
Utopia” and on the right
side write “Citations.”
Explain that this is the
Read definitions.
Listen, take notes.
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what a utopia is
will give them a
better idea of
what The Giver is
about.
Being able to read
different
definitions of
utopia will allow
students to see
multiple
perspectives. If a
student wasn’t
sure of what a
utopia was, this
activity is lowstakes and will
not call them out
directly because
no one will know
who wrote what
on each sticky
note.
Modeling the
note-taking
process for The
Giver will help
students
understand
exactly what their
task is. It will
alleviate any
note-taking
questions in the
future because
they have seen
exactly what is
expected of them.
DiVincenzo
9:45-9:55
AM
exact layout students
need to have in their
notes. Write an example
of signs of utopia (e.g.
everyone gets the same
food) and write a mock
page number on the left
side titled “Citations” so
that students can see how
the process works.
Students will be asked to fill out
an exit ticket. The exit ticket will
ask students:
“Look at the front cover of The
Giver and answer the following
questions.”
o
o
o
o
Who do you think the
man is on the cover?
What does his facial
expression tell the
reader?
Why is he in black and
white?
Why is there only a sliver
of color on the page?
Fill out exit ticket and
turn it in to the
teacher at the end of
class.
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This exit ticket
will give students
the opportunity
to analyze the
front cover of The
Giver. It will give
them an
opportunity to
infer what will
happen in The
Giver before they
start reading it. It
will show me
what the students
gained out of the
lesson today and
what conclusions
they can make
about the text
from class.