The Giver by Lois Lowry

Chapters 1-5

A. Vocabulary (You may do the vocabulary before reading the story.) Look up each word in a DICTIONARY or THESAURUS. Write synonyms for each. Then use the vocabulary word in a sentence.
adherence, aptitude, enhance, palpable, wheedle, chastisement, petulantly, tabulated, remorse, bewildered.

B. Questions (You must read the chapters before doing the questions)
1. Why might the arrival of a jet be a terrifying experience for the entire community?
2. What do you think might happen to someone who is released from the community?
3. Name one thing you learned about the community from the discussion during the ritual telling of feelings.
4. What is different about the way children are born and infants are cared for in the community?
5. Why was it so difficult to get rules changed in the community?
6. Why were Gabe’s eyes of such interest to Jonas?
7. How did Lily react to the new word “hippo”? Why did she react this way?
8. Why did Jonas risk the humiliation of public chastisement (being disciplined in front of people) for taking an apple from the recreation area?
9. What effect did the pills have on Jonas and the other people who took them?
10. Why do you think all adults were required to take them?
11. Why do you think Birthmothers, or biological mothers, held such a low status in the community?
12. Do you think the lives of the elderly were better or worse than they are in our society today? Give a good reason for your opinion.
13. What two things did the committee consider when giving children their life assignments?

C. Literary Devices
1. Hook — How does the hook in The Giver draw you into the novel?
2. Cliffhanger — What is the cliffhanger in Chapter Two?
3. Allusion - The name Jonas is a variation of the name Jonah. In the Bible, the prophet Jonah was commissioned by the Lord to proclaim judgment upon a sinful city. Why might Lois Lowry have chosen Jonas as the name of her main character?
In the Bible the angel Gabriel is a divine messenger. What does the choice of this name for the newchild suggest about Gabe’s importance in the novel?

D. Summaries - Make sure you have made summaries for each of the chapters in your novel. Use paragraph form, indent, and either handwrite or type. The summary should tell what happened, the setting and the characters involved in each chapter.