Lois Lowry’s The Giver – 6th grade English

Lesson plan

DAY TWO OF UNIT

Goal of Instruction: The long-term goal of this lesson is the refinement of students’ inference

skills related to early details in a text that may develop its setting.

Content objectives

- Students will be able to decode details like word capitalization and unique vocabulary in

the first part of the novel’s first chapter that may relate to the story’s setting.

- Students will be able to make personal connections with the text, specifically its

discussion about rituals and traditions.

- Students will be able to transfer prior knowledge about utopian and dystopian

characteristics into their analyses of the text’s setting.

Language objectives

- Beginning ELLs will be able to analyze an image from the first part of the first chapter in

The Giver through descriptions using simple nouns, adjectives and verb phrases such as

“same” or “alone.”

- Intermediate ELLs will be able to analyze the image from the first chapter through

inference about what is happening in the scene and how it could relate to the overall

setting of the novel.

- All ELLs will be able to answer reading comprehension questions based on a

listening/reading activity orally in class discussions and in print through a graphic

organizer.

- All ELLs will learn and be able to use new vocabulary from The Giver through a

listening activity and related scaffolding.

- All ELLs will seek help from their more knowledgeable classroom buddies, peers or

teacher as a means of advancing their English and text understanding.

- All ELLs will participate in oral conversations in pairs, small groups and with the whole

class as they discuss the first part of the first chapter and its implications on the novel’s

setting.

Standards addressed

- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.6.5 Analyze how a particular sentence, chapter, scene, or

stanza fits into the overall structure of a text and contributes to the development of the

theme, setting, or plot: This lesson plan introduces students to thinking about The

Giver’s setting by focusing on details from the first part of the novel’s first chapter.

- TESOL Goal 2, Standard 1 To use English to achieve academically in all content

areas, students will use English to interact in the classroom: During this class period,

ELLs will participate and interact in cooperative pairs, small groups and large groups

through written activities and discussions.

- TESOL Goal 2, Standard 3 To use English to achieve academically in all content

areas, students will use appropriate learning strategies to construct and apply

academic knowledge: ELLs, as well as their classmates, will actively connect new

information to information previously learned. They will also seek assistance

appropriately from others, especially their classroom buddies during the pre-reading

activity.

Process and procedures for teacher and students

- Preparation, time and materials needed: 30 minutes

Before this class period, I will need to modify the first half of the first chapter

for the ELLs in my class. I will also need to create slides with questions and their

translations in Spanish, Arabic and Chinese for the think-pair-share and guided

reading questions. Also, I will need to make sure all my in-class technology is

working, particularly my SmartBoard. Finally, I will need to print 24 copies of the

illustration and five copies of the graphic organizer.

- Introduction: 10-15 minutes

I will begin the class by asking for a volunteer or two to summarize what they

learned in the prior class meeting. In response, the volunteer(s) will define utopia

and/or dystopia and its associated characteristics, which were topics discussed on the

first day of the novel’s unit. I will jot down notes about their comments on the white

board as they share. Then, I will explain that today we will be starting our reading of

Lois Lowry’s The Giver, which can be considered both a utopian and dystopian novel

depending on the part of the story.

I will say that, today, we will be beginning our search of the novel’s setting.

Before defining the term, I will ask the class for a definition of setting. After the

student(s) share their knowledge of setting, I will clarify that the setting of a novel is

a combination of the time, setting, cultural background and other elements in which

the story takes place. I will refer to a previous story read in class and its setting as an

example.

At this point, I will introduce a pre-reading activity. I will hand out an image

(Appendix B) to the students and explain that it is an illustration of a scene in the first

part of chapter one in The Giver, which we will be reading in class today. On the

SmartBoard, I will show the following prompts: “What do you see? How does it

make you feel? Are there any utopian or dystopian elements depicted in the drawing?

After making your observations, what do you expect from the novel’s setting?”

Underneath each question I will have a translation in Chinese, Spanish and Arabic for

the ELLs, especially the beginning ELLs, in my class. In an effort to model the

assignment, I will say: “One thing that sticks out to me in the image are the

loudspeakers attached to each house. It reminds me of a prison. I wonder if that has

anything to do with people being controlled or oppressed like in a dystopian society.”

At this point, I will ask the students to take a few moments to brainstorm some

answers using the same thinking I just modeled in preparation for a think-pair-share

activity. I will approach the beginning ELLs and clarify that their answers need only

be one or two short words, like “same” or “alone,” that describe their first thoughts

and feelings when they look at the picture. I will also ask these ELLs, as well as the

intermediate learners, if they have any questions about the assignment. After the

students brainstorm for a couple of minutes, I will pair up each student with a partner;

I will match ELLs with their classroom buddies. I will explain that I would like each

pair to discuss their answer and be prepared to individually share to the class after

they discuss. I will stress that their contributions can be very informal and even

disjointed thoughts because we will be interpreting these characteristics later on in the

class more formally. During this time, ELLs and their buddies – as well as the other

students and their partners – will act like mini-literature response groups, as they

answer the questions about the illustration and explain their thinking to each other.

After about five minutes, I will ask the questions aloud and each student will

provide what they talked about with their partners. At the end of the activity and

discussion, all the students should be able to point out and understand the utopian and

dystopian elements in the image, particularly the speakers (representing information

control), the sameness of house style, colors, bicycles and fences (representing

uniformity), and the emptiness of the sky, streets and lack of other connections to the

“outside” world (representing isolation).

- Main activity: 15-20 minutes

I will thank the students for their comments and proceed to tell them that now

we will be listening to an audio recording (Appendix C) of the first part of the first

chapter of The Giver. I will explain that the audio recording has a visual vocabulary

element so that the ELLs can become better acquainted with the novel’s unique

words. As I pull up the audio recording on the SmartBoard, I will ask the students to

take out their iPads and open to the first page of chapter one (Appendix A). I will ask

all the students to read along as the audio recording plays and highlight words or

sentences that they think contribute to the setting of the story. I will cue them to pay

special attention to the way words are capitalized. Then, I will ask the ELLs to try to

follow along with the text, but to focus on the vocabulary words highlighted in the

video. I will provide them with an iPad-friendly modified text of the first part of the

first chapter (Appendix D) with those vocabulary words highlighted for them.

When the audio recording hits 2:09, I will stop the audio and ask the students

a guided reading question: “Why would this event frighten the community?” After a

few students answer, I will continue the recording. This and the subsequent guided

reading questions will all be displayed on the SmartBoard. Again, I will provide

translations of the questions for the ELLs. I will also stop the audio at 4:06 and ask,

“What do you think this concept of ‘release’ says about the type of community this

is?” Finally, I will stop at 8:07, at the end of the recording, and ask, “Why might

Jonas feel apprehensive? Have you ever felt this way or do you think you will feel

this way before a big family or cultural ritual?” I will clarify that a ritual is a tradition

or ceremony, like a wedding. I will say that I was especially nervous at two coming-

of-age rituals – my Confirmation, which I will say is a religious ritual, and my quince,

which I will tell them is a 15th birthday party for Hispanic girls. I will then ask

students will then share their unique experiences. If no ELL shares their perspectives,

I will ask an intermediate ELL who often actively participates (and, thus, would not

be embarrassed) to share if they have any specific ritual happening soon. At this

point, I will tell students to pay close attention to the idea of rituals in this book as

they continue reading and that we will be discussing rituals more in depth as the story

progresses.

- Closure/Summary : 20 minutes

I will conclude the class period with a post-reading activity after the listening

exercise. I will explain that, now that they have listened to and read the first part of

the first chapter of the novel, they can begin piecing together the setting of the story.

Using the words they have highlighted while reading, the students will use a graphic

organizer (Appendix E) to explain why they think those words in particular help set

the scene in The Giver. The graphic organizer will have three topics and vocabulary

words already written, one with an explanation as to why it helps explain the setting.

The organizer will have five empty slots for the students to write in their own

highlighted words, which they will then analyze for implications on setting.

I will arrange six groups of four so that two pairs of ELLs and classroom

buddies are in each group. The ELLs will use their buddy’s and groupmates’

highlighted words to fill in the graphic organizer. I will walk around providing

individualized scaffolding for each group, especially the group of ELLs and their

buddies, depending on their questions and needs. At the end of the class period, each

group will only need to turn in one graphic organizer, but I will explain that each

group member will be responsible for understanding and being able to explain two of

the words/phrases and their implications on setting for a jigsaw activity the following

class. In the next class, the jigsaw groups will be made up of one student who is an

“expert” on rows 1 and 2, 3 and 4, 5 and 6 or 7 and 8. In other words, the ELLs will

be divided from their buddies and mixed into heterogeneous jigsaw groups.

The cooperative groups will work until the end of class. In the last five

minutes, I will wrap up the class period by asking students to finish reading chapter

one of The Giver for homework. I will also collect each group’s graphic organizers as

exit tickets.

- Connection to previous and forthcoming lessons :

This lesson builds upon students’ new prior knowledge about utopian and

dystopian characteristics acquired in the previous class, the first day of the unit on

The Giver. The students connect this knowledge to details in the text that unveil the

novel’s setting. The students will further explore setting in the following class, during

which they will meet with heterogeneous jigsaw groups. In these jigsaw groups, all

students, including ELLs, will be responsible for teaching their groupmates about a

certain detail in the first chapter and how it may relate to the story’s overall setting.

Assessment

- Work collected / observed

When the class period is over, I will collect each group’s graphic organizer as

an exit ticket. Using this assignment, I will be able to formatively assess each group’s

comprehension of the story from the listening/reading exercise during class. I will be

able to further analyze students’ comprehension after the following class, during

which each student will be individually responsible for explaining details from the

first chapter and inferring their connection with the setting of the text.

- Criteria used

I will informally evaluate each group’s graphic organizer by giving each

student in the group a check plus, check or minus depending on the depth of the

group’s answers. If their understanding about utopian/dystopian characteristics and

their relation to setting in The Giver is insufficient, I will provide further scaffolding

in the next lesson.

Appendix APart one, chapter one of Lois Lowry’s The Giver1

It was almost December, and Jonas was beginning to be frightened. No. Wrong word, Jonas thought. 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. Squinting toward the sky, he had seen the sleek jet, almost a blur at its high speed, go past, and a second later heard the blast of sound that followed. Then one more time, a moment later, from the opposite direction, the same plane.

At first, he had been only fascinated. He had never seen aircraft so close, for it was against the rules for Pilots to fly over the community. Occasionally, when supplies were delivered by cargo planes to the landing field across the river, the children rode their bicycles to the riverbank and watched, intrigued, the unloading and then the takeoff directed to the west, always away from the community.

But the aircraft a year ago had been different. It was not a squat, fat-bellied cargo plane but a needle-nosed single-pilot jet. Jonas, looking around anxiously, had seen others--adults as well as children--stop what they were doing and wait, confused, for an explanation of the frightening event.

Then all of the citizens had been ordered to go into the nearest building and stay there. IMMEDIATELY, the rasping voice through the speakers had said. LEAVE YOUR BICYCLES WHERE THEY ARE.

Instantly, obediently, Jonas had dropped his bike on its side on the path behind his family's dwelling. He had run indoors and stayed there, alone. His parents were both at work, and his little sister, Lily, was at the Childcare Center where she spent her after-school hours.

Looking through the front window, he had seen no people: none of the busy afternoon crew of Street Cleaners, Landscape Workers, and Food Delivery people who usually populated the community at that time of day. He saw only the abandoned bikes here and there on their sides; an upturned wheel on one was still revolving slowly.

He had been frightened then. The sense of his own community silent, waiting, had made his stomach churn. He had trembled.

But it had been nothing. Within minutes the speakers had crackled again, and the voice, reassuring now and less urgent, had explained that a Pilot-in-Training had misread his navigational instructions and made a wrong turn. Desperately the Pilot had been trying to make his way back before his error was noticed.

NEEDLESS TO SAY, HE WILL BE RELEASED, the voice had said, followed by silence. There was an ironic tone to that final message, as if the Speaker found it amusing; and Jonas had smiled a little, though he knew what a grim statement it had been. For a contributing citizen to be released from the community was a final decision, a terrible punishment, an overwhelming statement of failure.

Even the children were scolded if they used the term lightly at play, jeering at a teammate who missed a catch or stumbled in a race. Jonas had done it once, had shouted at his best friend, "That's it, Asher! You're released!" when Asher's clumsy error had lost a match for his team. He had been taken aside for a brief and serious talk by the coach, had hung his head with guilt and embarrassment, and apologized to Asher after the game.

1 Lowry, L. (1993). The giver. New York: Bantam DoubleDay Dell Books for Young Readers.

Now, thinking about the feeling of fear as he pedaled home along the river path, he remembered that moment of palpable, stomach-sinking terror when the aircraft had streaked above. It was not what he was feeling now with December approaching. He searched for the right word to describe his own feeling.

Jonas was careful about language. Not like his friend, Asher, who talked too fast and mixed things up, scrambling words and phrases until they were barely recognizable and often very funny.

Jonas grinned, remembering the morning that Asher had dashed into the classroom, late as usual, arriving breathlessly in the middle of the chanting of the morning anthem. When the class took their seats at the conclusion of the patriotic hymn, Asher remained standing to make his public apology as was required.

"I apologize for inconveniencing my learning community." Asher ran through the standard apology phrase rapidly, still catching his breath. The Instructor and class waited patiently for his explanation. The students had all been grinning, because they had listened to Asher's explanations so many times before.

"I left home at the correct time but when I was riding along near the hatchery, the crew was separating some salmon. I guess I just got distraught, watching them.

"I apologize to my classmates," Asher concluded. He smoothed his rumpled tunic and sat down.

"We accept your apology, Asher." The class recited the standard response in unison. Many of the students were biting their lips to keep from laughing.

"I accept your apology, Asher," the Instructor said. He was smiling. "And I thank you, because once again you have provided an opportunity for a lesson in language. 'Distraught' is too strong an adjective to describe salmon-viewing." He turned and wrote "distraught" on the instructional board. Beside it he wrote "distracted."

Jonas, nearing his home now, smiled at the recollection. Thinking, still, as he wheeled his bike into its narrow port beside the door, he realized that frightened was the wrong word to describe his feelings, now that December was almost here. It was too strong an adjective.

He had waited a long time for this special December. Now that it was almost upon him, he wasn't frightened, but he was ... eager, he decided. He was eager for it to come. And he was excited, certainly. All of the Elevens were excited about the event that would be coming so soon.

But there was a little shudder of nervousness when he thought about it, about what might happen.

Apprehensive, Jonas decided. That's what I am.

Appendix BIllustration of scene in chapter one2

2 Knisley, L. (2010, April 22). Picture book report. Retrieved from http://picturebookreport.com/category/the-giver/

Appendix CScreenshot of audio recording with vocabulary feature

View the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McnpwS1X9-o.

LESSON PLAN #1 13

Appendix DModified text of part one, chapter one of The Giver for ELLs3

It was almost December, and Jonas was beginning to be frightened. No. Wrong word, Jonas thought. 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 community4 twice. He had seen it both times. Squinting toward the sky, he had seen the sleek jet, almost a blur at its high speed, go past, and a second later heard the blast of sound that followed. Then one more time, a moment later, from the opposite direction, the same plane.

At first, he had been only fascinated. He had never seen aircraft so close, for it was against the rules for Pilots to fly over the community. Occasionally, when supplies were delivered by cargo planes to the landing field across the river, the children rode their bicycles to the riverbank and watched, intrigued, the unloading and then the takeoff directed to the west, always away from the community.

But the aircraft a year ago had been different. It was not a squat, fat-bellied cargo plane but a needle-nosed single-pilot jet. Jonas, looking around anxiously, had seen others--adults as well as children--stop what they were doing and wait, confused, for an explanation of the frightening event.

Then all of the citizens had been ordered to go into the nearest building and stay there. IMMEDIATELY, the rasping voice through the speakers had said. LEAVE YOUR BICYCLES WHERE THEY ARE.

Instantly, obediently, Jonas had dropped his bike on its side on the path behind his family's dwelling. He had run indoors and stayed there, alone. His parents were both at work, and his little sister, Lily, was at the Childcare Center where she spent her after-school hours.

Looking through the front window, he had seen no people: none of the busy afternoon crew of Street Cleaners, Landscape Workers, and Food Delivery people who usually populated the community at that time of day. He saw only the abandoned bikes here and there on their sides; an upturned wheel on one was still revolving slowly.

He had been frightened then. The sense of his own community silent, waiting, had made his stomach churn. He had trembled.

But it had been nothing. Within minutes the speakers had crackled again, and the voice, reassuring now and less urgent, had explained that a Pilot-in-Training had misread his navigational instructions and made a wrong turn. Desperately the Pilot had been trying to make his way back before his error was noticed.

NEEDLESS TO SAY, HE WILL BE RELEASED, the voice had said, followed by silence. There was an ironic tone to that final message, as if the Speaker found it amusing; and Jonas had smiled a little, though he knew what a grim statement it had been. For a contributing citizen to be released from the community was a final decision, a terrible punishment, an overwhelming statement of failure.

Even the children were scolded if they used the term lightly at play, jeering at a teammate who missed a catch or stumbled in a race. Jonas had done it once, had shouted at his best friend, "That's it, Asher! You're released!" when Asher's clumsy error had lost a match for his team. He had been taken aside for a brief and serious talk by the coach, had hung his head with guilt and embarrassment, and apologized to Asher after the game.

3 Lowry, L. (1993). The giver. New York: Bantam DoubleDay Dell Books for Young Readers.4 Highlighted words are those that are featured in the audio recording/video (Appendix C).

LESSON PLAN #1 14

Now, thinking about the feeling of fear as he pedaled home along the river path, he remembered that moment of palpable, stomach-sinking terror when the aircraft had streaked above. It was not what he was feeling now with December approaching. He searched for the right word to describe his own feeling.

Jonas was careful about language. Not like his friend, Asher, who talked too fast and mixed things up, scrambling words and phrases until they were barely recognizable and often very funny.

Jonas grinned, remembering the morning that Asher had dashed into the classroom, late as usual, arriving breathlessly in the middle of the chanting of the morning anthem. When the class took their seats at the conclusion of the patriotic hymn, Asher remained standing to make his public apology as was required.

"I apologize for inconveniencing my learning community." Asher ran through the standard apology phrase rapidly, still catching his breath. The Instructor and class waited patiently for his explanation. The students had all been grinning, because they had listened to Asher's explanations so many times before.

"I left home at the correct time but when I was riding along near the hatchery, the crew was separating some salmon. I guess I just got distraught, watching them.

"I apologize to my classmates," Asher concluded. He smoothed his rumpled tunic and sat down.

"We accept your apology, Asher." The class recited the standard response in unison. Many of the students were biting their lips to keep from laughing.

"I accept your apology, Asher," the Instructor said. He was smiling. "And I thank you, because once again you have provided an opportunity for a lesson in language. 'Distraught' is too strong an adjective to describe salmon-viewing." He turned and wrote "distraught" on the instructional board. Beside it he wrote "distracted."

Jonas, nearing his home now, smiled at the recollection. Thinking, still, as he wheeled his bike into its narrow port beside the door, he realized that frightened was the wrong word to describe his feelings, now that December was almost here. It was too strong an adjective.

He had waited a long time for this special December. Now that it was almost upon him, he wasn't frightened, but he was ... eager, he decided. He was eager for it to come. And he was excited, certainly. All of the Elevens were excited about the event that would be coming so soon.

But there was a little shudder of nervousness when he thought about it, about what might happen.

Apprehensive, Jonas decided. That's what I am.

LESSON PLAN #1 15

Appendix EGraphic organizer about setting

Instructions: Fill out the empty numbered slots with the important words you have highlighted from the first part of the first chapter of The Giver. Then, analyze how they relate to the utopian/dystopian characteristics you have learned. Finally, think about how the term or concept contributes to the development of the novel’s overall setting.

Term/concept from The Giver

Does this relate to utopian/dystopiancharacteristics? How?

How do you think this contributesto the setting of the novel?

1. Supplies by the cargo plane

Supplies from an outside source showcase the isolation of the community and the overarching government control

ruling the lives of its citizens.The community is disconnected from the outside world.

2. “Release”

3.Voice coming

through the speakers, the “Speaker”

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.