The Giver Lesson 23

Lesson 23: Discussing key ideas across texts

We determined the themes of
“Imagine,” by John Lennon
and “The Human Abstract” by
William Blake and connected
these texts to The Giver.

Today we will:

● Engage in a philosophical
chairs debate to discuss
key ideas across these
texts.

You will need:

● Your TP-CASTT handout
from the previous lesson

● The Giver

● Conversation stems

● Notebook paper

● Notes from The Giver
(optional)

On notebook paper, write a short
response (3-4 sentences) to the
following questions:

What do you think are the
benefits of Jonas’
community?

What do you think are the
risks of Jonas’ community?

Is experiencing colors, joy, and love worth also
experiencing pain, war, and hate? Why or why
not?

Open Ended

Is experiencing colors, joy, and love worth also experiencing pain, war, and hate? Why or why not?

“Imagine” and The Giver both depict a world in
which equality and peace is valued more than
choice and loyalty. Which values are more
important for a community?

Are the costs of reaching perfection (as
presented in The Giver) worth living a perfect
life? Is that kind of life “perfect”?

●
Read your response from earlier in
the lesson.

●
On the same piece of notebook paper,
respond to the following questions:

○
How did today’s discussion
refine or change your
understanding of the benefits
and risks of Jonas’
community?

○
Cite specific points made or
evidence used in the
discussion that influenced
your perspective.

How did today’s discussion refine or change your
understanding of the benefits and risks of Jonas’ community?

Success Criteria:
Does your answer
-State rather your understanding changed (yes or no)
-Explain if you better understand the benefits and risks of Jonas' community
-Provide examples about what you understand.

In this lesson, you connected ideas across the
texts of our unit.

You engaged in a scholarly debate by using text
evidence and accountable talk.