The Giver Unit Plan - Lois Lowry Novel Study Reading Unit

The Giver Unit Plan includes everything you need to teach The Giver by Lois Lowry. This comprehensive novel unit features over 340 pages and slides of engaging, ready-to-use materials designed to save time and capture your students’ interest from the very first chapter. The Giver novel study includes presentation slides, print-ready assignments, comprehension questions, vocabulary activities, quizzes, video journals, and interactive projects that deepen understanding of the text. The Giver novel study guides students through each section of the book while developing reading, writing, and discussion skills, encouraging them to analyze important themes such as conformity, individuality, memory, and the meaning of freedom, while making meaningful personal connections to the characters and conflicts in the novel.

What Teachers Are Saying About The Giver Unit Plan:

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Included in The Giver Unit Plan:

➡️ The Giver Introductory Presentation: Begin your unit with this interactive PowerPoint presentation featuring pre-reading discussion questions, a hands-on class activity, a biography of Lois Lowry, a fun review quiz, novel context and reception, and essential background information to prepare students for reading.

➡️ The Giver Novel Genre Presentation: Help students understand how The Giver incorporates elements of utopia, dystopia, and science fiction. Students will learn the defining characteristics of each genre and explore how Lois Lowry skillfully weaves them together in the novel. With links to film trailers that highlight these genres, your students will be instantly hooked.

➡️ The Giver Chapter Summary Cards: These 23 printable chapter summary cards are a helpful classroom reference for both teachers and students. Each card outlines the most important plot moments from the novel, making them perfect for struggling readers, quick reviews, or locating text evidence during essay writing. Simply print, cut, and use them throughout your study.

➡️ The Giver Quizzes: These short, easy-to-administer quizzes provide quick comprehension checks for each section of the novel. Each quiz covers 2–3 chapters and includes short-answer quote response questions and detailed answer keys for easy grading and review. You can be confident your students are keeping up with the text as they read.

➡️ The Giver Vocabulary Booklet and Slides: Strengthen students’ vocabulary skills while reading The Giver with this ready-to-use resource. Students will use context clues to determine the meaning of new words, then check their inferences against dictionary definitions. The vocabulary booklet is organized by chapter sets and includes presentation slides for easy class review or grading.

➡️ The Giver Questions and Answers: Strengthen students’ vocabulary skills while reading The Giver with this ready-to-use resource. Students will use context clues to determine the meaning of new words, then check their inferences against dictionary definitions. The vocabulary booklet is organized by chapter sets and includes presentation slides for easy class review or grading.

➡️ The Giver Analysis Notes: Deepen understanding with a 37-slide PowerPoint presentation that examines key literary elements such as setting, language, characterization, symbolism, historical context, and theme. These notes can be used for discussion, class lectures, or as a student note-taking guide to ensure a thorough understanding of the novel.

Chapters 1-2

➡️ The Giver Telling of Feelings Activity: Begin your unit by immersing students in one of the community’s daily rituals — the Telling of Feelings. In this interactive classroom simulation, students are assigned “families” within the class and take turns sharing emotions they’ve experienced, just as Jonas does in the novel. This engaging activity allows students to step into Jonas’s world and reflect on the importance of expressing and understanding emotions.

Chapters 3-4

➡️ The Giver The House of the Old Activity: In this activity, students explore how different cultures treat their elderly and connect those perspectives to the world of The Giver. After learning about how elders are respected, cared for, and valued in places such as South Korea, Japan, North America, France, and Mediterranean and Latin countries, students compare these practices to the treatment of the elderly in Jonas’s community.

Chapters 5-6

➡️ The Giver Dream Sharing Activity: This activity allows students to empathize with Jonas from The Giver. In the novel, the members of Jonas' community must share their dreams in a daily dream sharing family ritual. This activity allows students to simulate this ritual in the classroom by forming a family group and sharing one dream they have felt lately based on prompting cards with common dream elements. Then, they will have the chance to interpret their dreams.

Chapters 7-9

➡️ The Giver Ceremony of Twelve Activity: This is a student favorite from The Giver unit plan! This interactive classroom simulation allows students to experience one of the most memorable moments in The Giver. In the novel, each child is assigned a role during the Ceremony of Twelve. In this activity, students take on the role of Chief Elder and assign community roles to their classmates. Everything you need to run a mock ceremony is included, making this a fun and unforgettable experience that helps students better understand the significance of Jonas’s assignment.

Chapters 12-13

➡️ The Giver Seeing Beyond Activity: This activity helps students explore Jonas’s ability to “see beyond” and understand how perception shapes experience. In the novel, Jonas begins to see color while others cannot. Using optical illusions and guided discussion, students will consider what it means to perceive the world differently and reflect on how this moment represents change and awareness in Jonas’s journey.

Chapters 14-16

➡️ The Giver Memory Transmission Activity: This simulation helps students understand the power of memory and its role in shaping identity. In The Giver, Jonas receives both joyful and painful memories that open his eyes to the truth about his community. In this activity, students will receive four symbolic memories and decide whether they should be preserved. Finally, they will take on the role of the Giver and choose one real-world memory from history they believe is essential to keep.

Chapters 17-18

➡️ The Giver A World Without Pain Activity: In this reflective activity, students explore the consequences of living in a world without pain, as the community does in The Giver. They will read an article and watch a video about a real condition where people cannot feel pain, then discuss how this connects to the novel. This activity encourages students to think critically about why pain, though difficult, is vital to the human experience.

Chapters 19-20

➡️ The Giver Family Structure One-Child Policy Activity: This activity helps students make real-world connections to The Giver by exploring China’s former One-Child Policy. In the novel, the Committee of Elders assigns partners and limits families to two children. Students will read an article about the policy and discuss similarities to Jonas’s society. This assignment sparks thoughtful conversations about government control, individuality, and family structure.

Chapters 21-23 (Post-Reading)

➡️ The Giver Speech: Students take on the role of the Giver and write a speech to deliver to the community after Jonas escapes. The speech should offer comfort and prepare the citizens to face the emotions and memories that will soon return.

➡️ The Giver Soundtrack: Students create a soundtrack for The Giver by selecting three songs that connect to key moments in the story. They will analyze the lyrics and explain how each song reflects an important plot event or theme.

➡️ Jonas' Journal: Students imagine they are Jonas during the year between his assignment as Receiver and his escape with Gabriel. They will write a series of diary entries that reveal his emotions, challenges, and growth during this time.

➡️ Lois Lowry's Acceptance Speech: Students read Lois Lowry’s Newbery Medal acceptance speech for The Giver and respond to a reflection question connecting her message to the novel’s themes.

➡️ The Giver Plot Diagram: Students complete a detailed plot diagram to outline the major events and turning points in the novel.

➡️ The Giver Essay Topics: Wrap up The Giver unit plan with these essay prompts that allow students to demonstrate their understanding of the novel’s key themes. Students will select one topic and write a five-paragraph literary analysis essay.

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➡️ The Giver Escape Room Activity

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