Michael Pleake, Miranda Lucas, and Natalie Lake

Title: How would our society be different if we lived in

a utopian society like The Giver?
Grade: 7th Grade
Overall Goal: Within their assigned groups of 4-5, students will be creating their own Utopian
Society similar to the one that they learned about in T he Giver, as well as putting together a
presentation for the class to demonstrate their unique societies. During their presentation, they
will discuss the rules within their society as well as the living situations. Each group of students
will come up with their own unique name for their Utopian societies.

In general students are discovering a new type of society that is different from the one which
they live in. This activity gives them creative freedom and allows them to come up with new
ideas and this is why we believe that students will be highly engaged in this topic.

he Giver followed by an
To begin the lesson students will be watching a short trailer for T
in-depth discussion about what an Utopian society is. Students will then be able to grasp the
idea of a Utopian society and better understand the idea of what a perfect community looks like.
If students have questions we will allow for students to ask questions.

Over the course of the lesson students will have to work in their assigned groups to create a
Utopian society of their own. They will have to consider different approaches to a perfect world
and decide what kind of rules will be enforced within their societies.

By the end of the lesson students will be able to accurately describe a Utopian society and
present one of their own to the rest of the class. Some students might focus on the qualities of
their society while others might focus on the rules within their society.

During the final presentation each group of students will present their Utopian societies to the
class. After each presentation there will be a Q&A for each group about their societies. The
class will then vote on which 2 top Utopian societies is their favorite and more feasible for the
world in comparison to our own.

Standards Learning Objective Assessment

7.RL.2.1: Cite several Students will be able to cite Cite pieces of evidence from
pieces of textual several pieces of textual the required reading (see
evidence to support evidence to support analysis of attached rubric below).
analysis of what a text what a text says explicitly as
says explicitly as well as well as inferences drawn from
the text.
 inferences drawn from
the text.

7.RL.2.2: Analyze the Students will be able to Analyze the required reading
development of a theme analyze the development of a as a whole and be able to
or central idea over the theme or central idea over the provide detailed summaries of
course of a work of course of a work of literature; what is happening from
literature; provide a provide a detailed summary chapter to chapter.
detailed summary that that supports the analysis.
supports the analysis.

7.W.1: Write routinely Students will be able to write Write a two page (double
over a variety of time routinely over a variety of time spaced) essay based on the
frames for a range of frames for a range of tasks, reflection of the book and be
tasks, purposes, and purposes, and audiences; able to draw evidence from the
audiences; apply apply reading standards to required reading. (This will be
reading standards to support analysis, reflection, done as a homework
support analysis, and research by drawing assignment after class to help
reflection, and research evidence from literature and the students retain the
by drawing evidence nonfiction texts. information learned in the
from literature and lesson)
nonfiction texts.

7.ML.1: Critically Students will be able to Analyze the trailer and

analyze information critically analyze information required reading in a
found in electronic, print, found in electronic, print, and meaningful and impactful
and mass media used to mass media used to inform, manner (see rubric below).
inform, persuade, persuade, entertain, and
entertain, and transmit transmit culture.
culture.

Key Terms & Definitions:

Utopia: An imagined place or state in which everything is perfect.

Dystopia: An imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad.
Society: A group of people living in an ordered community.
Plot: The events in the story that start from the beginning and lead up to the end.
Theme: The central idea of the story (greed, love, coming of age, etc).
Setting: This is where the story takes place at a certain time in a certain location.

Lesson Introduction (Hook, Grabber):

The instructor begins by showing this trailer for the film The Giver. The overall concept of this
trailer is showing what a utopian society looks like in the modern world in which we live in today.
The intensity and suspense of the trailer will intrigue students about what it would be like to live
in a utopian society and will make students want to learn more details of this topic matter.

This trailer will get students attention, because:

1. This official trailer was released in 2014 by The Weinstein Company, a well known movie
production company.
2. This trailer is intense, because it shows a futuristic utopian society that is very different
the world in which we live in.
This is an effective way to introduce the topic, because this trailer plays on the emotional
intensity of ones own thoughts. It intrigues the students, as the audience, to want to know what
is going to happen throughout this utopian society.

Once we watch the trailer the instructor will ask the following discussion questions:
1. What did you think of the trailer?
2. Do you think everyone would want to live in a utopian society like this? Why or
why not?
3. If you had to plan your own utopian society, which aspects of life would you be
sure to include and/or exclude? Why?

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJNNugNe0Wo

Lesson Main:

Introduce the Central Question: After watching the trailer, the instructor will introduce the
central question: How would our society be different if we lived in a utopian society like T
he
Giver? At this point in the lesson everyone should be engaged in the topic based on the
grabber activity. This is when we will show Mirandas resource to the class.

Brief Content Lecture: After we discuss the main question, the instructor will provide a brief
overview of the content and the activity as a whole (s ee created resource below: Public
Presentation). The instructor will go through the slides, asking a few questions that will be listed
on the slides, and make sure the students have a general understanding of how the rest of the
lesson will proceed and what is expected of them. This is when we will show Michaels resource
to the class. Also, we will show Natalies resource right after Michaels to provide a better
understanding for the class as a whole.
Discussion in Groups: At this point, the instructor should break the students into groups of four
to begin discuss the material of the novel in reference to building their own utopian society.
Each student should actively participate in the discussion. The instructor will then walk around
and ask driving questions that will keep the students engaged in the topic. By this point the
students have already read the book outside of class and some in class as well and have a full
understanding of what a Utopian society is. Based on what they discuss and have read, the
students will begin to share and construct ideas of what a utopian society would like for them.
The instructor should check in with each group regularly throughout the discussion process to
make sure that students are on-task and will be ready to present when the time comes. Student
should be keeping track of central ideas and themes of the novel that will help them construct
their utopian society.

Create Presentation to Demonstrate their Utopian Society: By this time, the students should
be putting together information to form a solution or plan to address the central question that
was introduced in the beginning. They should put what they have gathered into some type of
presentation, to be presented to the class (they will complete the whole activity in class). The
utopian society that the students create and present to the class should show similarities and/or
differences from the novel and should showcase their own ideas in a well thought out manner.

Homework: Write Essay Reflection about Utopian Society Built in Class: A t home, to
summarize and make the lesson more memorable, students will write a 2 page (double spaced)
essay reflecting on the Utopian Society they created in class. This assignment will be graded
separately at a later date. While at home, the students can use the Smore Page (found in
resources) to refresh their memory of the movie and refresh their memories of the differences
between the society seen in The Giver, their own societies, and the societies they created in
class.

Lesson Ending:

Utopian Class Vote: The students will have 2-3 days to create their presentations. On the 4th
day, students will enter the classroom, there will be desks in five groups around the classroom.
Each group will have 10 minutes to present their utopia, followed by a 5 minute question and
answer period. Each group of students in the class will be required to ask at least 2 questions
over the course of the presentations.

Upon completion of the presentations, there will be a class discussion, followed by a vote on the
top 2 utopias that they would be most likely to live in. The winner of the vote will receive 10
bonus points to their grade.

Assessment Rubric:
 Great (8-10) Average (5-7) Poor (4 or lower)

Organization The students work The students work was The students work was
was on time and on time, but lacked late and poorly
well put together. organization. organized.

Neatness The students The students somewhat The students had no

presentation is fully made the presentation
legible and detail legible with very few
oriented. grammatical errors. The
student stays on a clear
path, but can still get off
topic sometimes.
comprehension of events
in which the order they
happened. The students
work is not legible or is
misleading/not clear.

Identify what a The students were The students were The students failed to
Utopian Society able to identify somewhat able to identify identify what a Utopian
is what a Utopian what a Utopian Society Society is.
Society is and is, but did not go into
provided sufficient detail.
(3-5) details.

Participation in 4-5 students 3 students actively 1-2 students actively

Group actively participated in the group participated in the group
Discussion participated in the discussion. discussion.
Group Discussion.

Delivery of The student The student presented The student did not
Group presented their their utopia, but was not participate in the
Presentation utopia with clear or did not go into presentation of their
confidence and enough detail about their utopia.
clarity (there were utopian society.
not any long
pauses, student did
not have to stop
and think about
what they were
trying to say).

Cited Sources The student The student correctly The student did not cite
(3-5 from the correctly cited 3-5 cited 1-2 sources from any sources from the
reading) sources from the the reading (or 3-5, but reading.
reading. incorrectly).

Total: points points points

 Total: _____/60
points

Resources / Artifacts:

Chatterpix Animation by Miranda Lucas:

https://youtu.be/cAh441Mp-5E

Public Presentation by Michael Pleake:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1hIlzcNq7UZus4Ja3ER5NFxbVqBAANYLm7oTR7
HXdOuc/edit?usp=sharing

Smore Page by Natalie Lake:

https://www.smore.com/m37hx-the-giver

Differentiation:

1. Differentiation for students with emotional/behavioral challenges:

For students who might not be able to handle such intense themes shown in the film and
in the book, there could be an alternate book to read, and an alternate essay to write.
2. Differentiation for students with language differences (ESL, EFL, ENL):
For students who speak different first languages (or have trouble comprehending
English), the instructor will provide a summary in simple English, or in their native
language. The instructor will also be sure to provide an interpreter for them (if possible)
and make sure they are fully comprehending the material.
3. Differentiation for students with lower ability levels:
For students of lower ability levels, the instructor will provide packets that summarize the
book/film appropriate for their ability, and also give them a separate packet to complete.
4. Differentiation for students with racial/gender differences:
For students of different racial/ethnic backgrounds and different sexual and gender
identities, the instructor will ask them to think about how they might fit into the society. In
addition, the instructor will be sensitive to the students differences and how they may
react to themes within the novel.
5. Differentiation for students with auditory impairment:
For students with auditory impairments, the instructor will put subtitles on the trailer so
that the student(s) can fully comprehend what is happening/what the actors are saying.

Anticipated Difficulties:

Some of the anticipated difficulties that could be faced is knowing what a utopian society is and
how they differ from our own society in which we live in. Some of the aspects of The Giver can
be intense for some students. For example, children being murdered and each family only being
allowed to have 2 children. Students may face some ethical difficulty with being able to relate
these ideas to their presentations. Also, students may find it difficult to relate the utopia in T
he
Giver to the society we live in now. To keep the class on topic and make sure everyone is
understanding the concept, the instructor will be actively moving throughout the room, to help
students stay on track and answer any questions they may have.