Group Teach 3--The Giver

Personally, I thought the activities we had the class participate in were very interactive and thought provoking. There were some definite lulls in the conversation, but I feel as though this was due to that fact that a) it was our final class and b) it was the third consecutive class that we were exploring some specific text. Other than some of the perceived lack of enthusiasm, I thought the 3- hour block went rather well (I truly appreciate your thoughts and reactions Todd!). Some of the more thorough discussions were actually topics we didn't plan in addressing in depth, such as the potential cautions in the implementation of "Crossing the Line," the connections to Communism or religious aspects of Utopian novels. These were all wonderful topics, and they really had our group thinking about other points of entry for The Giver. Furthermore, we really wanted to concentrate on the idea of a Utopian community and its juxtaposition with our society; I feel our introductory activity helped the class to get into that mode of thought and the conversations that ensued frequently came back to this idea.

We wanted to stray away from some of the more complex literary theories with this book, especially because it is a young adult novel, and stick to some reader-response based activities in order to get the class engaged with the book. We originally planned to implement several literary theories into our instruction; however, feminism and Marxism appeared to be the only ones with significant theories. That being said, I wish we would have had more time to discuss feminist criticism, but that is something that we can save for our high schoolers. At first I thought this book should be kept in the middle school grade range where it is typically presented, but after considering critical lenses coupled with Todd's recommendations, I could see this being taught in high school. Additionally, some technology projects (i.e. digital storytelling) related to specific scenes or the ambiguous ending could be included. Ultimately, we wanted a balance between writing, speaking and hands-on activities, and I think we achieved that quite well.