Oral Lit. Book Questions

The Giver Final Project

Project #1:  Write Your Own Ending to the Story

Before you begin writing your own ending, answer the following questions to review the last chapter of the book:

The ending of The Giver has been interpreted in two very different ways.  Perhaps Jonas is remembering his Christmas memory – one of the most beautiful that the Giver gave to him – as he and Gabriel are freezing to death, falling into a dreamlike coma in the snow.  Or perhaps Jonas does hear music and, with his special vision, is able to perceive the warm house where people are waiting to greet him.  In her acceptance speech for the Newbery Medal, Lois Lowry mentioned both possibilities, but would not confirm whether one or the other was correct.  You may visit http://www.loislowry.com/faq.html to read the author’s own explanations about the ending.

Requirements for the ending:

1.       Your ending should be in novel form, picture book form, or comic book form.  Comic book and picture book would need to include color illustrations.

2.       Your ending should fully explain what happened to Jonas and Gabriel.

Project # 2:  Learn about colors – There’s More than Meets the Eye…

While Jonas was throwing an apple back and forth, he suddenly noticed that it changed.  He was beginning to perceive color.  You will need to learn how color is perceived by the human eye.  You will also need to learn about the primary colors, the color spectrum, and color mixing.

You may visit the following websites or any other websites you can find to get more information:

• http://acept.la.asu.edu/PiN/mod/light/colorspectrum/pattLight3.html
• http://home.att.net/~B-P.TRUSCIO/COLOR.htm
• http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/Colormixing.shtml

1. Write 2 paragraphs in your own words reflecting what you have learned from your research in regards to how the human eye perceives color.
2. You are going to bring the utopian society from The Giver to life by adding color. Think of a favorite scene from the story or one you find most important to the movement of the story.
3.  Your task is to draw and color or paint this scene from the book in full color.  (Another option would be to do the same drawing, one in black and white, and the other in color!)

Project #3:  Memories of Your Own

Jonah was frustrated because he did not know his grandparents or anything about his true family.  You will be interviewing a family member to learn about your own family.  Please complete the following activities in order:

1. You will need to interview one family member and take notes.  Some ideas that you may want to interview them about could include, but is not limited to:  family life, childhood/play time, work life, values and culture. Most importantly, you will be looking for: what events shaped his/her life. Think about the strong memories Jonas received and how those memories encouraged him to take action.

2. Create a Memory Book.  Divide the book into two sections. 

1. The first section will detail at least two different memories which were important to Jonas. Detail each memory with an explanation of how Jonas felt about the memory and how the memory encouraged him to take action.
2. The second section will detail at least two different events from your family member interview. Detail each memory with an explanation of how it impacted the family member and how the event encouraged the person to take action or make a change in his/her life.

3. Complete each section with photographs and/or drawings and written descriptions that capture the memories you have chosen.

Project #4:  Culture

The culture in The Giver is much different than what you or I experience every day.  You will need to research one of the following cultural groups and compare it to mainstream American culture as well as the culture in The Giver.  You may select one of the following cultural groups to research:

1.       Amish

2.       The Hutterian Brethren

3.       The Hasidic Jews

4.       The Sabbath Day Lake Shakers

5.       The Quakers

Please complete the following in order:

1.       Research and take notes on the pertinent information you find with your selected cultural group.

2.       Take notes on daily life here in Iowa City.

3.       Take notes on what you know about the community in The Giver.

4.       Create a Venn Diagram using THREE circles. You will need to label each circle and fill in the diagram with your research.

5.       Include a write-up which highlights the pro’s and con’s to each community based upon your point of view.

6.       Include a few different pictures or maps to help others understand some of the differences between our community and the one you researched. 

Were there any pros to living in Jonas' community?  What is something you would have liked about living there?