Books are my ADVIL

Text: The Giver by Lois Lowry

 

Plot description: A dystopian novel that narrates the story of a young boy, named Jonas, who grows up in a secretive society that governs everything its people do, from the jobs they do to the people they marry. Emotions have been eradicated as they are seen harmful to society, and the only emotions given are to the most respected elder of the community:  The Giver. The story follows Jonas on his path to finding out more about emotions, colors, and feelings, and watches him grow and he learns more about life.

 

Theme description: The Giver has a number of themes, including the importance of memories, individualality, and how pain and pleasure are related. The importance of memories is shown in the lack thereof, and in Jonas' work to capture them and attempts to gain them for his community. The emotions of pain and pleasure, which have been taken away, are realized through his experiences with the Giver, and how individuality is crucial to live a fulfilling and unfettered life.

 

Reason for appropriateness: The Giver is appropriate for my class as it is a popular 6th grade classroom book, and my students are very interested in conspiracy theories so it would be an eye-opening experience for them. I chose it for gender for several reasons: 1) In order to keep boys interested through a subject that they might feel is geared toward girls, and 2) To explore the ideas of jobs in the novel and why certain jobs are reserved for certain genders. This novel will get my students thinking about much deeper topics than they are accustomed to. It also relates to the Unit Essential Question because change is a very important question in Jonas' life, as well as for all of us.