The Giver

We just had a book club shindig and my place.  Its been long overdue since our last meeting was almost 3 months ago.  Life gets busy with girls in school, some doing the mom thing, or working to support a husband in school, but we finally did it!

We read The Giver by Lois Lowry.

image source

I hosted this time and was in charge of the evenings events.  The following are some things that we did and resources that are available as you plan your own.

1.  Guests were assigned a number upon arrival in the same manner that children were assigned numbers in order of birth.

2.  We usually try to plan food that goes along with the book, but since there was no mention of what was actually eaten we settled on recipes that contained apples, which was the only edible thing talked about.  (It was the first thing that Jonas realized "changed")  Some girls played on the idea of color too which was also a great idea!
   

• I decided on apple "salsa" with cinnamon chips.  This is the recipe I referenced with only a few alterations. I didn't have apple jam so I used some homemade apricot pineapple, which I did not bother melting.  Also, I just sprayed the tortillas with a little cooking spray and then sprinkled them with cinnamon and sugar.

 image source

3.  We took a little comprehension quiz, but really it was just an excuse to give a prize to the person who got the most questions right.  Most questions were found here.  The winner chose from either "Relief of Pain Medication" or "Anti-Stirring Pills"  

4.  As part of receiving a number, we proceeded with the Ceremony of Twelve where each number received an assignment.  I had a jar with assignments tags in it and pulled one out starting with number 1 and so on.  I found a few items at the Dollar Tree to go along with some of the assignments.  

• Birthmother received a home pregnancy test
• Doctor received bandaids
• Caretaker of the Elderly received a puzzle
• Director of Recreation received a kite
• Speaker received a blow horn
• Fish Hatchery Attendant received Swedish Fish Candy
• Anyone else received a pack of Extra gum to remind them that they are extra lucky to be able to make choices and not be controlled.  

5.  We had a group discussion


           Here are a couple group discussion resources-

• http://www.bookbrowse.com/reading_guides/detail/index.cfm/book_number/1789/the-giver
• http://www.shmoop.com/the-giver/questions.html
• http://www.randomhouse.com/teachers/guides/give.html

6.  To finish off the night we had a Color Appreciation game.  I wanted to show that sometimes all it takes is a bit of color to recognize what an object is.  I found images online of common things and cropped them to be close up.  I made one copy in black and white and another in color.  I numbered each black and white picture 1- 6 and made sure the corrisponding number was also on the color copy. Each person was given time to look at the black and white pictures and write down what they thought it was. They were then shown the exact same pictures but in color.  Most were much more recognizable in color even though they were still cropped close.  

The following are links to a google doc where you can print the same cropped images I used.  Just print one in color and then change your printer settings and print one in black and white.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iAa6A411L70W3yc-f73MYk0NuY-fr8QS_ebP4PI-6b8/edit


https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wFgNV75_PMPY6RIdMDkpeOYlYGk3D-FmKJeI1HocZUY/edit


https://docs.google.com/document/d/1usstUJ65IbhuoE7DNODRfu6YdwsMDZOveHQjQ1ay0Xw/edit


https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZrblGg4kxfGaDUzos7RJF3wxveb-FzePgNffw9fE86U/edit


https://docs.google.com/document/d/1krLtKM0W2P_0n91gACA4bHGZpXQ5PgZzxUVyJD6JsrI/edit


https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jjPVuaDgUvgSI-kKNGF3lUi-jfWRHffj3tfql2fwcM4/edit


Additional Resources:
Q&A with Author Lois Lowry-  http://www.cityofwhittier.org/civicax/filebank/blobdload.aspx?blobid=3037
Lois Lowry's Official Website- http://www.loislowry.com/
Online Quiz on which Assignment you would receive- http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=what-assignment-from-giver-is-best-you#
1994 Newbery Acceptance Speech- http://www.loislowry.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=81&Itemid=200


Do you have more activity or food ideas?  Please feel free to share your suggestions.