HEC-TV Live! Presents The Giver: Issues and Themes Date: November 16, 2010 Times: 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. CT and 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. CT Grade Levels: 6-10 Cost: NO CHARGE Abstract: Have your students explore important issues and themes raised in Lois Lowry s Newberry Medal winning young adult novel, The Giver as they interact in a student-to-student discussion of the book facilitated by educators and the director of a new production of the play based on the book. Program Description: Lois Lowry s Newberry Medal winning novel The Giver continues to be read and loved by thousands of young people each year. In this second of a series of four HEC-TV Live! programs focusing on the novel, students will have the unique opportunity to participate in a national videoconference book club discussion of issues and themes raised in the story. The book enables the reader to explore important questions that permeate the fabric of student s everyday lives. Questions like: What is a perfect society and what would you be willing to give up to live in one? What makes a group of people into a community and what are the responsibilities of people within that community to each other? What are the risks and rewards of freedom? What does it mean to grow up and accept responsibility for one s actions? What is the importance of individual and collective memory? What are the challenges of a diverse society and are those challenges worth it? Why does it mean to take a risk and why is it valuable to take one? Can experiencing pain actually be beneficial? Have your students explore these questions and additional ones of their own as they interact in a student-to-student discussion facilitated by educators who have taught the novel and the director of a new production of the play. Have your students read the book this year? Are you interested in students expressing their interpretation of the novel and how it speaks to them? If so, then we hope you can join us for this program. Cost for the program is FREE. This series of programs is being produced in conjunction with Washington University in St. Louis and Metro Theater Company of St. Louis as they prepare and present a stage adaptation of the novel to be presented at Edison Theatre on the campus of Washington University in January.
Other programs in the series include: October 7 A Conversation with Lois Lowry (This program is now archived and available for on-demand viewing on our HEC-TV website at http://www.hectv.org/programs/ser/hectvlive/ and also on the Higher Education Channel HEC-TV Live! page on itunes U.) December 9 Performing the Play: Bringing Characters to Life January 5 Producing the Play: Bringing the Story to the Stage The December and January programs will also be available for enrollment through CILC. Program Objectives: 1. The participant will explore the concept of theme in a novel and offer their ideas on how the author s use of different themes influences their reaction as a reader. 2. The participant will engage in a discussion about theme with educators, fellow students, and theatrical professionals. 3. The participant will explore how the themes of the novel resonate in their life today and develop a point of view toward how those themes might need to be addressed today. Program Format: The videoconference program will consist of the following segments. 1. Welcome and Introduction Student groups and experts will be introduced and welcomed to the program. 2. Student-to-Student Discussion The thematic discussion of the novel and its application to life today will be lead by a combination of students and educators. Participating schools will receive, as part of the program s preparatory materials, the list of thematic ideas to be discussed, the order in which they will be discussed, and leading or focus questions for each of those ideas that will be used to guide the discussion. Worksheets will also be included in the preparatory materials for students to use as they prepare their ideas for the discussion. The worksheet will provide space for student notes referencing specific events, quotes, characters, etc. of the novel and space for students to express their ideas in writing so they have that with them during the discussion. Space will also be included for students to jot down additional thoughts, revisions, etc. as they participate in the discussion. 3. Action Segment Students will share ideas on how actions they feel have been taken to address the thematic issues of the novel since its publication and actions they feel still need to be taken today. These ideas may be developed by students as they prepare for the program and also may emerge for them as the student-to-student discussion proceeds. 4. Closing Segment--Including summary of topics discussed and final questions from students. Featured National Standards: English/Language Arts Standards Developed by International Reading Association and National Council of Teachers of English
2. Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, and aesthetic) of human experience. 3. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, and graphics). 8. Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, and video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge. 11. Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities. 12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information). Featured State Standards (Missouri): Schools from across the country are invited to join in the program. Missouri state standards are provided for Missouri schools since partial funding for this program comes from various Missouri organizations. Communication Arts Grade Level Expectations 1H: Apply post-reading skills to comprehend and interpret text question to clarify reflect analyze draw conclusions summarize paraphrase 1I Compare, contrast, analyze and evaluate connections between information and relationships in various fiction and non-fiction works text ideas and own experiences text ideas and the world by analyzing the relationship between literature and its historical period and culture 2C Use details from text to analyze character, plot, setting, point of view and development of theme Participant Preparation: 1. Participants should come to the program with an interest in and familiarity with the story of The Giver. Students should either have read the novel in advance of the program or be in the process of reading it. 2. Participants should utilize preparatory materials provided for the program and other resources of their own to better understand the context of the program s subject and to think in advance of
questions they wish to ask the experts. Any questions determined in advance, can be e-mailed to us prior to the program at live@hectv.org. 3. Participants should have pencil and paper ready to use during the program to jot down ideas and additional questions as they come to mind. Pre-Program Activity Suggestions: 1. Students should read and discuss The Giver by Lois Lowry. Students may do this as a class project or could choose to do it individually to participate in the program. The following web resources include information about the author and novel as well as curriculum ideas and lesson plans for discussion of the book. http://www.loislowry.com/ The author s website with biographical information as well as information about her novels. http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/giver http://www.randomhouse.com/teachers/guides/give.html http://theliterarylink.com/giver_lessons.html http://www.neiu.edu/~barindfl/thegiverlessonplanspage.html http://ethemes.missouri.edu/themes/1672 http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/lessonplan.jsp?id=1010 2. Utilize the Discussion Prompts handout that will be sent to you once you enroll for the program to prepare students for the videoconference. Follow instructions to send to us in advance of the program, selected student questions and comments that your group wishes to incorporate into the discussion. These student questions and comments will help us finalize the agenda order for the program that we will then send back to you. These advance questions and comments should be e-mailed to us at live@hectv.org 3. Have students select one of the following concepts: community, diversity, utopia, freedom, memory, or autonomy. After making their selection, have students contemplate how their chosen concept is addressed in the novel and also how plays out in their lives today. How is the issue seen in the news today and/or in the student s life today? Is there an insight from the book that deals with their concept that they think would be good for all people to hear today? If so, what would it be and how would they choose to get that insight to others? 4. View the archived version of our previous program, A Conversation with Lois Lowry, to give students a chance to hear from the author herself as she discusses writing the novel and answers student questions about the setting, characters, plot and themes of the book. The archive
can be found on our HEC-TV website at http://www.hectv.org/programs/ser/hectvlive/ and also on the Higher Education Channel HEC-TV Live! page on itunes U. Post-Program Activity Suggestions: 1. Have each student journal about how their experience in the videoconference has influenced their ideas about the themes of the novel. What new things have they learned? What new questions do they have? What new insights into the novel have they developed? 2. Have students develop a public service poster, power point presentation, or short video that illustrates their chosen concept from the pre-program activity and how they d like people to address that issue to make it better in today s world. 3. If they have not yet completed reading the novel, have students complete reading the novel and notice when information and insights they have learned through the videoconference influence their understanding and/or appreciation of the novel. Have them record these insights in a student journal, and/or share them with peers or with the class as a whole. 4. If you did not have the opportunity to do so prior to the program, have students view the archived version of our previous program, A Conversation with Lois Lowry, to give students a chance to hear from the author herself as she discusses writing the novel and answers student questions about the setting, characters, plot and themes of the book. The archive can be found on our HEC-TV website at http://www.hectv.org/programs/ser/hectvlive/ and also on the Higher Education Channel HEC-TV Live page on itunes U. Vocabulary: Theme a broad idea in a story or literary work or a message or lesson conveyed by a written text. This message is usually about life, society or human nature. Themes often explore timeless and universal ideas. Most themes are implied rather than explicitly stated. The theme is different from the superficial outlay of the text; it is normally the meaning of the text on a deeper, more abstract level. Program Keywords: theme, language, literature, language arts, Lois Lowry, writing, The Giver, novel, fiction Cancellation Policy: Since there may well be a waiting list for interactive participation, we ask that you let us know of your need to cancel as soon as you know. Technology Specifications: Once we have received your enrollment, we will contact you requesting the IP address of the VC unit you'll be using to connect to the program and also to arrange a test call between you and our
bridge organization MOREnet. Both these steps must be completed to finalize your participation in the program.