FLYNN CENTER PRESENTS
THE GIVER
Welcome to the 2015-2016 Student Matinee Season!
Today’s scholars and researchers say creativity is the top skill our kids will need when they
enter the work force of the future, so we salute YOU for valuing the educational and
inspirational power of live performance. By using this study guide you are taking an even
greater step toward implementing the arts as a vital and inspiring educational tool.
We hope you find this guide useful. If you have any suggestions for content or format of
this guide, please contact [email protected].
Enjoy the show!
We appreciate and value your feedback.




Click here to evaluate our study guides.
Click here for Teacher Feedback Forms for the performance.
Click here for Student Feedback Forms for the performance.
Click here for Parent Forms to help parents engage with their children around the show.
This guide was written & compiled by the Education Department at the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts with inspiration from
The American Place Theatre Literature to Life Program. Activities in this guide are sourced from the Literature to Life Resource
Guide. Permission is granted for teachers, parents, and students who are coming to Flynn shows to copy & distribute this guide
for educational purposes only.
The Performance



The Production
Things to Think About Before/During/After the show
The Company: American Place Theatre and Literature to Life
The Mind Behind The Giver


Lois Lowry
Discussion Activity
The Characters

Main Characters and Descriptions
Pre-Show Activities from Literature to Life




What is Utopia?
Objectivity
Remote Control
Debate Civil Liberties
Post-Show Activities from Literature to Life




Career Time Warp
Message in a Bottle
The Jonas Journal
Timeline of Tomorrow
Bring the Art Form to Life


Art Form: Theatre
Words Come Alive Activity: Machine
Your Visit



The Flynn Center
Etiquette for Live Performance
Why is Etiquette Important?
Common Core
Standards
The Common Core broadens the
definition of a “text,” viewing
performance as a form of text, so
your students are experiencing and
interacting with a text when they
attend a Flynn show.
Seeing live performance provides
rich opportunities to write
reflections, narratives,
arguments, and more. By writing
responses and/or using the Flynn
Study Guides, all performances
can be linked to Common Core:
CC ELA: W 1-10
You can use this performance and
study guide to address the following
Common Core Standards (additional
standards listed by specific
activities):
CC ELA: RL 1-10, , SL 1-4, L 3-5, RH14 & 7-8
C3 Hist.D2.Civ.2&6
The Flynn Center recognizes that field trip resources for schools are extremely limited, thus matinee prices for
schools are significantly lower than prices for public performances. As a non-profit organization, the Flynn is
deeply grateful to the foundations, corporations, and individuals whose generous financial support keeps
matinees affordable for schools.
A special thank you to Tanya and Bill Cimonetti for sponsoring this matinee performance.
Thank you to the Flynn Matinee 2015-2016 underwriters: Andrea’s Legacy Fund, Champlain Investment
Partners, LLC, Bari and Peter Dreissigacker, William Randolph Hearst Foundation, Forrest and Frances Lattner
Foundation, Surdna Foundation, Tracy and Richard Tarrant, TD Charitable Foundation, Vermont Concert Artists
Fund of the Vermont Community Foundation, Vermont Community Foundation, New England Foundation for
the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, and the Flynn Jazz Endowment.
Additional support from the Bruce J. Anderson Foundation, Green Mountain Fund, Walter Cerf Community
Fund, the Vermont Arts Council, the Susan Quinn Memorial Fund, and the Ronald McDonald House Charities.
The Production
Using only text directly from the novel, this 90
minute performance (including a 15 minute pre and
15 minute post-show discussions) brings Jonas and
his utopian/dystopian world to life. Uniquely, this
performance features one actor onstage who deftly
travels through Jonas’s experiences and his
community, offering takes on each character and
situation; a true acting feat! This interactive journey
brings the audience in and allows them to uncover
the truth and explore powerful themes of
individuality, personal and societal ethics, and how
we construct our social identities.
The Company
The American Place Theatre is committed to
producing high quality new work by diverse
American writers and to pursuing pluralism
and diversity in all its endeavors. They strive
to respond to the needs of our time with work
that is relevant and cuts deeply into the fabric
of American society. Literature to Life® is a
performance-based literacy program that
presents professionally staged verbatim
adaptations of significant American literary
works. The program gives students a new
form of access to literature by bringing to life
the world of the book with performances that
create an atmosphere of discovery and spark
the imagination. Literature to Life has
already provided a catalyst for learning and
self-expression for over 400,000 students
nation-wide. The Theatre, having received
over 30 Obies and 16 Audelcos, is critically
acclaimed as a birthing place for artistic
endeavors at the crossroad of literature and
live performance for now 48 years.
Before you see the show:

What’s the difference between equality and justice or
fairness? How do these terms relate? If everyone is
treated exactly the same, are there some situations
that might not be considered fair? Can you think of
situations where equal is fair and some situations
where equal is unfair?

What is the importance of memory in our lives, both
personally and as a member of a larger community? If
we were unable to have memories, how would this
impact our lives? What would our lives be like without
history?

What are some milestones we go through in our lives
(driver’s license, graduation, etc.)? How do these
create a sense of belonging and/or responsibility?
As you watch the show:
 This is a very unique show in that one person plays all
of the characters and narrates the action of the show.
How does she transform into and transition between
characters? What did you find interesting or valuable
about this form of dramatic storytelling?

How does the actor show the reality of Jonas's society
unfolding in how she portrays Jonas? What
differences do you notice in her characterization of
Jonas at the beginning, middle, and end of the
performance?
After you see the show:
 What do you think it would be like to live in Jonas’s
society? Would you want to live there? Why or why
not? If you did live there, what do you think your
assignment would be?

What is your interpretation of the ending? What do
you imagine takes place right after the curtain closes
on the performance (in the play, not for the actor)?
Write or act out the next scene from the story
independently or in small groups.
“I’ve always felt that I was fortunate to have been born the middle child of three. My older sister, Helen, was very
much like our mother: gentle, family-oriented, eager to please. Little brother Jon was the only boy and had interests
that he shared with Dad; together they were always working on electric trains and erector sets; and later, when Jon
was older, they always seemed to have their heads under the raised hood of a car. That left me in-between, and
exactly where I wanted most to be: on my own. I was a solitary child who lived in the world of books and my own
vivid imagination.
Because my father was a career military officer - an Army dentist - I lived all over the world. I was born in Hawaii,
moved from there to New York, spent the years of World War II in my mother’s hometown: Carlisle, Pennsylvania,
and from there went to Tokyo when I was eleven. High school was back in New York City, but by the time I went to
college (Brown University in Rhode Island), my family was living in Washington, D.C.
I married young. I had just turned nineteen - just finished my sophomore year in college - when I married a Naval
officer and continued the odyssey that military life requires. California. Connecticut (a daughter born there). Florida
(a son). South Carolina. Finally Cambridge, Massachusetts, when my husband left the service and entered Harvard
Law School (another daughter; another son) and then to Maine - by now with four children under the age of five in
tow.
My children grew up in Maine. So did I. I returned to college at the University of Southern Maine, got my degree,
went to graduate school, and finally began to write professionally, the thing I had dreamed of doing since those
childhood years when I had endlessly scribbled stories and poems in notebooks.
After my marriage ended in 1977, when I was forty, I settled into the life I have lived ever since. Today I am back in
Cambridge, Massachusetts, living and writing in a house dominated by a very shaggy Tibetan Terrier named Bandit.
For a change of scenery Martin and I spend time in Maine, where we have an old (it was built in 1768!) farmhouse on
top of a hill. In Maine, I garden, feed birds, entertain friends, and read.
My books have varied in content and style. Yet it seems that all of them deal, essentially, with the same general
theme: the importance of human connections. A Summer to Die, my first book, was a highly fictionalized retelling of
the early death of my sister, and of the effect of such a loss on a family. Number the Stars, set in a different culture
and era, tells the same story: that of the role that we humans play in the lives of our fellow beings. The Giver - and
Gathering Blue, and the newest in the trilogy: Messenger - take place against the background of very different
cultures and times. Though all three are broader in scope than my earlier books, they nonetheless speak to the same
concern: the vital need of people to be aware of their interdependence, not only with each other, but with the
world and its environment.
My older son was a fighter pilot in the United States Air Force. His death in the cockpit of a warplane tore away a
piece of my world. But it left me, too, with a wish to honor him by joining the many others trying to find a way to end
conflict on this very fragile earth.
I am a grandmother now. For my own grandchildren - and for all those of their generation - I try, through writing, to
convey my passionate awareness that we live intertwined on this planet and that our future depends upon our caring
more, and doing more, for one another.” -Lois Lowry
Discuss:
“The man that I named The
Giver passed along to the boy
Look closely at the last paragraph of Lois Lowry’s biography. Imagine
that you are a very old grandparent. You have a newborn grandchild.
knowledge, history, memories,
You wish to write a letter to your grandchild to be read when the child
color, pain, laughter, love, and
is much older. You must convey to your grandchild what you believe is
truth. Every time you place a
most important and most needed to make the world a better place.
book in the hands of a child,
Address some of these questions in your letter:
you do the same thing. It is
very risky. But each time a
child opens a book, he pushes
open the gate that separates
him from Elsewhere. It gives
him choices. It gives him
freedom. Those are
magnificent, wonderfully
unsafe things.”
-Lois Lowry
• What have you accomplished in your more than ninety years of life?
• What are you most proud of?
• What do you think are the biggest problems in the world today?
• How do you think we might solve some of these problems?
• What advice do you have for your grandchild about how to improve the world?
• How should people treat one another?
• What can people learn from each other?
• What have you learned from the important people in your life?
Jonas The protagonist, or main character, in the novel. Jonas is a sensitive, polite, compassionate twelve-year
-old boy. At the December Ceremony, he is selected to become the new Receiver of Memory, the most
honored position in the community. Jonas is quite complacent, or non-caring, before he begins his training as
the new Receiver, but after he gains wisdom from memories and realizes that people gave up their freedoms
for Sameness, he becomes angry and frustrated. During his training, Jonas acquires very deep emotional
feelings and learns about love. He becomes a close friend of The Giver and risks his own life to save the
citizens in his community.
Mother Jonas' mother is an intelligent, sympathetic, and understanding person. She holds a prominent
position at the Department of Justice. One of her job responsibilities is to punish people for breaking the
strictly enforced rules of the community.
Father Jonas' father is a shy, quiet, considerate, caring man. He is a Nurturer, responsible for the physical and
emotional needs of every newborn child during the first few months of life. He is also responsible for the
release — killing — of infants who are deemed worthless because something either emotional or physical, or
both, is wrong with them.
Lily Jonas' younger sister. Lily becomes an Eight during the December Ceremony that takes place toward the
beginning of the book. She is a typically impatient child with straightforward, fairly simple feelings. For
example, she is not concerned that her hair ribbons are always untied, and Lowry describes her as overly
talkative.
Gabriel (Gabe) A newchild (infant) who begins spending nights with Jonas' family unit because he needs extra
attention and care. Gabe is a sweet child but does not sleep through the night and is not gaining weight as
fast as the other newchildren. He ends up sleeping in Jonas' room and is able to receive memories from Jonas.
The Giver The Giver is the current Receiver of Memory and trains Jonas to become the next Receiver.
Because he carries the burden of the memories of the world, he suffers from the pain contained within the
memories. He is lonely because he can't share his work with citizens in the community, and he is cynical and
frustrated at times because he knows that the people gave up too much when they chose Sameness. He loves
Jonas and the people in the community.
Asher Jonas' best friend. Asher is a cheerful, friendly boy who makes a game out of everything. At the
Ceremony of Twelve, he is assigned to be Assistant Director of Recreation.
Fiona One of Jonas' good friends. Fiona is a girl who is sensitive, intelligent, quiet, and polite. She is assigned to be a
Caretaker of the Old.
Larissa An elderly woman who lives in the House of the Old. Jonas bathes her when he volunteers at the House of the
Old. While being bathed, she tells Jonas about two elderly people who have been released recently.
Chief Elder The leader of the community.
Caleb The first Caleb died when he was four years
old by falling into the river that runs near the
community. During the December Ceremony, the
couple who were given the first Caleb receive a
replacement child, also named Caleb.
Rosemary Rosemary was The Giver's daughter.
Selected ten years earlier to become the new
Receiver of Memory, she began training with The
Giver, but after only five weeks, she asked to be
released from the community.
Source: http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/g/the-giver/
character-list
The Art Form: Theater
What is theater? Webster’s dictionary says, “a dramatic performance.” Drama is any kind of performance that
presents tells a story through character, action, and dialogue. Some say that theater portrays life—either as it is or
as it might be. But one of the things that makes theater different from real life is that things can happen in theater
that cannot happen in real life—in other words, things that appear to be magical. Mythical creatures of all kinds
appear in the dramatic performances of cultures around the world.
It is believed that people have been acting out stories forever. In all cultures around the world people performed
for each other by acting out stories they knew by heart because they’d heard them or seen them acted out by
others, or because the event happened to them. It wasn’t until about 2,500 years ago (500 B.C.E.) that some Greek
playwrights wrote down the conversations they wanted others to say. These are believed to be the first written
plays and mark the beginning of the western theater as we think of it today.
READ & EXPLORE: Click here for a more in-depth description of theater history and language and terminology.
WORDS COME ALIVE: Arts Integration Activities
Providing the opportunity to actively explore the world of the show
helps students become more engaged and connected audience
members, thinking about artists’ choices and approaching the
performance with enhanced curiosity. For more information about
our arts integration activities, click here, call 652-4548, or email
[email protected].
Activity: Machine
Learning goals: Identify key parts; synthesize.
Performing goals: Invent and repeat non-locomotor
movements; create sounds.
An essential theme of The Giver is the individual vs.
community. This arts integration activity will give students an
opportunity to further explore this theme. Form a circle and
ask for demonstrations of repetitive, mechanical movements.
Examples: moving an arm from side to side, bending the knees
and straightening. Then tell the students that together they
are going to make a machine with a variety of parts. Ask for a
volunteer to go into the center of the circle and become the
first machine part; then ask for another to either make the
first machine part bigger by joining the first student in making
the exact same movements, or to create a new machine part
with her/his own movements. Continue at a fast pace until
everyone is part of the machine. Then run the machine by
saying “Stop!”, then “Start!” Vary the speed as concentration
allows.
Repeat this exercise a second time, but this time, give
students an index card with an assigned motion and sound.
Also on the index card should be the order in which they enter
the machine activity. On two or three of the cards, put a
special, but discrete mark in the corner. This will come into
play in the third iteration. These motions and sounds can
relate to the jobs assigned in The Giver (food producer,
nurturer, engineer, instructor, representative for the
Department of Justice, etc.). You could even make a slight
ceremony about these assignments, announcing them with
each student’s name and motion said out loud (similar to the
ceremony Jonas experiences). Instruct them to begin, and
give each person a prompt to enter the space and join the
community machine. Once everyone has entered, play with
starting, stopping and speeds as above.
For the third iteration, tell everyone that they are going to
repeat the community machine, but ask that the students
who have the special mark on their cards should come speak
with you before the exercise. Bring them to a corner of the
room, and share with them that they are to do the opposite of
what you say once the machine is assembled. If you say stop,
they should continue; if you say start, they should stop.
Faster, they should slow; slower, they should move fast, etc.
Tell them to do this subtly at first, but then more dramatically
with each instruction. They must not tell anyone what they’ve
been told. Repeat the above instructions, having students
enter one at a time per your instructions. Then, after a status
quo has been reached, begin instructions and witness the
chaos of tossing rebels into a very regimented system.
Reflect: How did it feel to choose your motion vs. being told
what to do? How did the machines feel different from one
another in the first two iterations? What happened in the
third? How did it feel? How did it impact your own role in the
machine? How can you relate these exercises to The Giver?
Why do you think the Elders viewed difference and innovation
as dangerous? In our society, how are difference and
innovation positive and helpful?
Pre-Show Activity: What is a Utopia?
Pre-Show Activity: Objectivity
Objective: Students will understand the meaning of a
utopia and create their own utopian societies building
on significant features in our present-day society.
Procedures:
In The Giver, Lois Lowry introduces us to a utopian
society set in the distant future. A utopia is an imaginary
place, situated in a particular time and space, that is
socially, morally, and politically ideal. The utopian writer
is someone who closely examines his or her present
society to determine its significant elements, and then
asks: what if those significant elements were fully
developed?
Next, students will brainstorm a list of “significant
elements” of our present day society. What are the
elements of our society that you would like to change in
order to make the world safer, healthier, and happier
for everyone?
Working in smaller groups, students will select the
element of our society they would like to change. Using
that element, groups will create their own special
utopia. They must decide on a name for the place, and
how they would change their chosen element so that it
is more fully developed. For instance, if the element was
healthcare, they may opt to make sure that everyone is
screened at birth for any genetic disorders and cured
while still in the womb. There may also be strict rules
about how people eat, exercise, and how many hours
they sleep each night.
Students should consider what the three most
important rules are in their utopia, what are the
consequences for breaking those rules, and who has the
power in their utopia. At the completion of the activity,
each group will present their utopia.
Discussion Questions:
Would you want to live in any of the societies
described? Why or why not?
In order for a utopia to function well, do you think there
should be someone in control of the larger group? Or
can a utopia also be a democracy?
What happens when people challenge the rules of a
utopian society?
Objective: Students will understand that concrete and
sensory language contributes to effective writing, and
will write their own poems that demonstrate these
writing strategies.
Procedures:
Distribute and have students read aloud excerpts from
The Giver in which Jonas describes snow, cold, and pain.
Discuss how Lois Lowry uses concrete and sensorybased language to have Jonas describe things he has
never before experienced, things for which Jonas does
not have a singular word label. Lois Lowry describes
familiar things in new and original ways - she uses
concrete nouns, words that describe things that tangibly
exist and can be perceived with the 5 senses. Lowry also
uses language that appeals to our 5 senses, words that
describe what Jonas sees, hears, smells, tastes, and
touches (or bodily sensations).
Object Partner Share:
Students are instructed to select an object that they
have either on their person or in their backpack. In
pairs, while concealing the object from their partner
students will share three things about the object. Focus
on using sensory language to describe your object.
Before revealing what the object is see if the partner
can guess. Place the object in their hands, without them
looking at it to see how they would describe it without
having seen the object. Finally, partners reveal their
objects.
Object Writing Exercise:
Next, students will sit down to begin writing about their
object using some of the words they compiled in their
object partner share. Write about the object using
sensory language, concrete nouns, and high action
verbs. What does the object do, what is its purpose,
how useful do you find it, what does it look like, and feel
like? Students should describe the object without
actually using the name of the object.
Advanced:
Students are assigned to bring in a photograph of
themselves together with someone they love. Then,
students must describe the photograph in writing. They
cannot use any form of the word love. They can describe
only what can physically and literally be seen in their
photograph. If it is not visible to the eye, it cannot be
written.
Follow Up:
Share these pieces as a group and ask students to
identify their own and their peers’ use of concrete
nouns, high-action verbs, and sensory language. Ask
students to evaluate these works and to assess how
these criteria impacted the clarity, originality, and
overall effectiveness of the writing
Pre-Show Activity: Remote Control
Objective: Students will design, describe, and present
a fantasy remote control device. They will personally
connect to the concepts of manipulation and
censorship, and interrogate their own ideas and
beliefs about these concepts.
Procedures:
Working in small groups of 4-5, students will design a
remote control on a piece of paper. This remote
control is a product of your imagination: it might
cause things to occur, or it might prevent things from
occurring; it might also function to reveal or conceal
information, thoughts, or ideas. It’s your remote; it
can do just about anything you want it to! However,
there are a few parameters you must consider in the
design of your remote control:
1. Your remote control must have at least 5 different
buttons. Each button performs a unique function, and
each button must be clearly labeled.
2. Your remote control can only work on one of the
following: Self, Parents, Teachers, Friends, Siblings, A
Celebrity, The President of the United States
3. Create an instruction manual for your device,
which describes the following:
a. Describe the specific function of each button
on your remote control. What does each button
do?
b. Explain why you have designed your remote
control in this manner.
c. Imagine and describe both the positive and
negative consequences that might occur when
you use your remote control.
4. Give your device a unique name.
5. Create an advertisement and/or commercial to sell
this amazing new product. What is the tagline or
motto for your product? Students script, rehearse,
and present their commercials.
Discussion Questions:
What would you change with your device?
How would you use your device? What would you do with it?
Is it ethical to use your device to control others?
How might you feel if someone used their remote to control
you?
Are there ways in which others try to control you in real life?
Are there ways in which you try to control others in real life?
Are there words, images, or ideas that you are prevented from
accessing?
Is it okay to prevent people from accessing words, images, or
ideas? Why or why not?
Pre-Show Activity: Debate Civil Liberties
Objective: Students will engage in a dramatic scenario in which
they consider the value of civil liberties and debate the role of
personal freedoms within community contexts.
Procedures:
In The Giver, the Elders make all major decisions for members
of the Community. Individual citizens do not participate in the
rule-making process and it seems impossible to change any of
the societal rules and constructs. In a democracy, however,
citizens play a critical role in their own government by electing
officials to make laws which reflect the will of the people. For
instance, in the United States citizens elect members of
Congress. A fictitious scenario is presented to students as
follows: The year is 2020, scientists have discovered Cellitis: a
new bio-digital disease transmitted through cell phones. Cellitis
strikes young people between the ages of 10 and 18. It is
transmitted from young person to young person during cell
phone conversations. Usually, Cellitis causes a low-grade fever
and fatigue, which lasts a week and then disappears. Most
young people make a full recovery from the bio-digital disease.
However, in a number of rare cases the disease can be quite
serious.
The CDC has developed a bio-tech vaccine that can prevent the
spread of the disease. Parents, teachers, and other concerned
adults have petitioned Congress to pass legislation that will
allow the government to automatically deliver the vaccine to
every young person in the country. The vaccination is delivered
through the cell phone and can be administered without the
knowledge of the cell phone user. The vaccine delivery mode
also enables the government, as well as parents and teachers,
to listen in on cell phone calls.
The teacher (in-role as a community leader and key decision
maker) will address half of the students as adults who are for
the vaccine and half of the students as adults that are against it.
The community leader has called a town hall meeting to have a
debate on the vaccine and decide whether to continue
administering it to the young people in the community.
First, each side will brainstorm a list of arguments to represent
their position on the vaccine in preparation for the debate. The
teacher will serve as the debate moderator using the following
questions to guide the debate.
Debate Questions:
• Should the needs of a few individuals (those stricken with
severe Cellitis) outweigh the needs of the many (the right to
privacy)?
• Is it fair to limit individual freedoms in order to ensure
everyone’s well-being?
• Is it okay to make choices for other people when it benefits
society as a whole?
• Should adults make the decision as to whether the Cellitis
vaccine should be delivered to all young people? Or, should
young people, as a group, be able to make that decision for
themselves?
• What seems most interesting about this career?
• What would be the best thing about this career?
Objective: Students will compare and contrast The
• What would be challenging about this career?
Giver with other works in this genre, which explore
the career goals and aspirations of young people.
• Which school subjects would be helpful to me in this career?
They will consider this analysis as they envision their
• Which afterschool activities or clubs might help prepare me
future careers.
for this career?
Procedures:
• Where could I find more information about this career?
Lois Lowry’s companion books to The Giver,
• What books, magazines, movies, or television programs
Gathering Blue, and Messenger, provide
would inform me about this career?
opportunities to extend and enhance student
learning. Building a dialogue between two pieces of • Which adults might I talk with to learn more about this
career?
literature can deepen and enrich the themes and
• Where might I do volunteer work to become more familiar
resonances of both works.
Likewise, related works of literature by other authors with this career?
After this research, each student will write a monologue as
provide opportunities to compare and contrast
their future self speaking to their younger self. Their adult self
narrative meanings and writers’ unique voices. Lois
has worked in their chosen career for several years and offers
Lowry’s The Giver was, in many respects, a
trailblazer, introducing young readers to anti-utopian their younger self “the real deal” about the triumphs and the
trials of working in this particular career.
and dystopian themes later explored in books such
as Neal Shusterman’s Downsiders, as well as Jeanne These monologues can be collaged into a classroom
DuPrau’s City of Ember and its subsequent film
performance; students can reflect upon the various aspects of
adaptation.
their goals and aspirations that were illuminated through this
Students can view the first scene or entire film of City activity.
of Ember. Like The Giver, City of Ember begins with a
ceremony in which young people are assigned
Post-Show Activity: Message in a Bottle
particular jobs within their communities. Use this
Objective: Students will become familiar with Lois Lowry’s life
context to initiate class discussion.
and work, and they will identify key information in a piece of
Questions:
autobiographical text. They will use autobiographical writing as
• What jobs are assigned in The Giver and what jobs a means to communicate their unique understanding of the
are assigned in City of Ember?
world.
• How are job assignments determined in The Giver Discussion:
versus City of Ember?
Distribute a copy of Lois Lowry’s biography to each student and
• Which approach do you think is most beneficial to ask students to take turns reading paragraphs of the biography
society?
aloud. While listening and reading along, students should circle
• How do the young people in each story feel about their job
key information and main ideas contained in the biography. Ask
assignments?
students focusing questions such as:
• How are the types of job assignments in The Giver similar or
• What sort of child was Lois Lowry?
dissimilar to those in City of Ember?
• Where did she live as a child? How do you think this affected
• What do the types of jobs discussed in these stories say about her outlook on the world?
the societies in each story?
• What sort of education did Lois Lowry receive? What are the
• How do the various jobs offered to young people reflect the
various ways that people can become educated? How might
values of the societies in which they live?
these contribute to a writer’s work?
• How does this compare or contrast to the ways we determine
• What types of loss does Lois Lowry describe?
our career paths in the real world?
How do you think these losses affected her?
• What should we take into consideration as we figure out our
• What does she mean when she says that
career paths?
people must “…be aware of their
interdependence?”
Ask students to identify their desired career or to list a few
possible careers that interest them. Then consider these
 How does Lois Lowry wish to honor her son?
questions:
Why do you think she wants to honor him in this
manner?
• What types of activities or tasks do people do in this career?
 Based on her biography, what do you think Lois
• Where do people in this career usually work?
Lowry is most proud of?
• What excites you about this career?
Post-Show Activity: Career Time Warp
Post-Show Activity: The Jonas Journal
Post-Show Activity: Timeline of Tomorrow
Objective: Students will make personal connections
with ethical dilemmas presented in The Giver by
writing from the perspective of the story’s
protagonist. They will evaluate the ramifications and
consequences of civil disobedience.
Procedures:
In The Giver, Jonas says the following:
“That night I flee. The community where my entire
life has been lived lies behind me now, sleeping. At
dawn, the life I had always known will continue again
without me, the life where nothing was ever
unexpected or incontinent or unusual–the life
without color, pain, or past. I bicycle along the road. I
think of the rules I have broken so far. If I’m caught,
I’ll be condemned. First, I left the dwelling at night.
Second, I robbed the community of food. Third, I’ve
stolen my father’s bicycle; it was necessary because it
has the child’s seat attached to the back, and I had
taken Gabriel too.”
Imagine that it is earlier that same day. Jonas has just
returned home from school. He enters his room and
removes his secret journal from underneath his bed.
He is confused and unsure what he should do about
his situation. He opens the journal and begins to
write his thoughts and feelings.
Students will place themselves in Jonas’ shoes, write
this journal entry in which you will discuss the rules
you might break, your reasons for considering these
drastic actions, and the possible consequences of
your actions. What are you thinking and feeling about
your ethical dilemma?
Objective: Students will consider crucial historical events of the
20th and early 21st centuries and apply that information to
literary critical analysis.
Procedures:
For the sake of the activity, it is determined that The Giver is set
in the year 2499. It is December 20, 2499 and we are preparing
for holiday break. We live in a one-of-a-kind, alternative society
located far outside of the Communities, in the beyond of the
Elsewhere. We are, however, quite familiar with the tightly
controlled world of the Communities.
In recognition of our upcoming New Year and Mid-Millennium
(2500) festivities, the teacher asks students to create a timeline
tracing major historic events, beginning at the start of the 20th
century (1900) through to the end of the 25th century (2499).
(Depending upon grade and functioning level, this activity may
be limited to individual state, U.S., or world history.)
Students must identify and explain key historic events that have
contributed to the type of society depicted in The Giver.
Students must determine and describe at least 3 critical events
that have occurred in each century from 1900 to the year 2500.
After a class brainstorming session about the critical events of
the 20th and early 21st centuries, students can work in small
groups of 3 to 5. Each working group will create its time line on
sheets of flip chart paper, using color markers to identify,
differentiate, and explain the key historic events in each
century leading to the present day in the year 2499. One
approach would be for each student in a group to be
responsible for a particular century or centuries. However, the
group would need to coordinate its efforts to ensure solid
cause and effect relationships between the historic events.
The critical question here is: What kinds of events (social,
political, economic, technological, cultural, etc.) might be
catalysts for the establishment of the society depicted in The
Giver?
Furthermore, students could be required to include references
and quotations from the text of The Giver. These citations
would accompany each historical event to support, defend, and
illustrate the relationships between past and future. Students
investigate how, if at all, today’s events determine tomorrow’s
outcomes.
Each working group may then present its timeline to the full
class. The teacher can facilitate collaboration amongst
classmates to incorporate each group’s timeline into one full
class timeline, which illustrates and explains the historic events
that occurred from 1900 to 2500.
Multimedia, arts, and research presentations can be
incorporated to approach this learning activity through multiple
intelligences. Digital media, video, illustrations, images,
photographs, charts/graphs, written analyses, interviews, case
studies, artifacts, music, dance, drama, food, clothing, and
other cultural artifacts could supplement the installation to
create a living timeline that classroom visitors can explore via a
gallery walk or performative event.
The Flynn Center
The Flynn has been at the center of Vermont's cultural
landscape for over 80 years—from its earliest days as a
vaudeville house through five decades as a movie theater to its
present life as the region's leading performance center and
arts education organization. Today, the Flynn Center for the
Performing Arts is recognized internationally for its significant
artistic, educational, and community outreach activities;
superb technical capacity; beautiful historic setting; and worldclass presentations. At the Flynn, we celebrate a rich legacy of
connecting our community with the arts. The Flynn is
recognized for its stellar artistic programming in theater, dance, and music; and for educational programs
that reach far into the community to advance teaching and learning. For more about the Flynn, click here.
Etiquette for Live Performances
The Essentials

Listen, experience, imagine, discover, learn!

Give your energy and attention to the performers.

At the end of the show, clap for the performers’ time and energy.

Eating, drinking, and chewing gum are not okay.

Talk only before and after the performance.

Turn off wireless devices. No photos, videos, texting, or listening to music.
Why is Etiquette Important?
A good live performance is a powerful communication
between audience and performer. The more the audience
gives to the performer, the more the performer can give
back to the audience. The performer hears the audience
laughing, senses its sympathy, and delights in the
enthusiasm of its applause. Furthermore, each audience
member affects those sitting near him or her, in addition to
the performers onstage. Technological devices (cameras,
phones, etc.) have become so prevalent in our daily lives,
but using these devices is distracting to the performers
onstage and other audience members trying to watch the
show. Even the light from checking the time, or the buzz of a phone on vibrate can pull
the people around you out of the experience. Cell phone frequencies can even interfere
with the microphones in the production, and taking photos can be unsafe for performers.
Additionally, an artist has the right to decide what photos and videos go out into the
world. Phones keep you from being present and fully engaged with the show. Thank you
for turning devices completely off!
DISCUSS BEING A
MINDFUL AUDIENCE
MEMBER:
How is going to see a live
theatre performance
different from seeing a
movie, going to a
concert, or watching TV?
In small groups, come up
with a list of positive
audience behaviors, and
behaviors that would be
disruptive to performers
and other audience
members. Come
together and create a
master list.
We can’t wait to see you at the theater!
Teachers, a few reminders:
 Fill out the Seating and Travel Survey, so we can best accommodate your group’s needs in regards to dismissal,
bussing, students with different needs, etc.
 Share your experience with us! Use the feedback links, or share your students’ artwork, writing, responses. We
love to hear how experiences at the Flynn impact our audiences.
 Explore other student matinees at the Flynn this season. We’ve still got seats in some shows and we’d love to help
you or other teachers at your school enliven learning with an engaging arts experience!
We have some new initiatives to deepen student connection and experience!
Hello from
the Flynn!
Pre or Post-Show Video Chats:
Help students build enthusiasm or process their experience with a free, 5-10 minute
video chat before or after the show! We can set up Skype/Facetime/Google
Hangouts with your class to answer questions about the content, art form, and
experience. Contact Kat, [email protected] to set up your chat!
Autism and Sensory-Friendly Accommodations:
The Flynn Center has been working diligently to break down barriers for audience
members with disabilities, with a particular focus on those with sensory-sensitivities.
Social stories, break spaces, sensory friendly materials, and more are available for all
student matinees. Feel free to let us know ahead of time if any of these would be
useful, or ask an usher at the show!
Make your field trip the most meaningful learning experience it can be with a preparatory
Companion Workshop in your classroom!
An engaging Flynn Teaching Artist can come to your school to deepen students’ understanding of both content and form with
an interactive workshop, enriching kids’ matinee experiences. Funding support is often available. To learn more, check out this
link. To book a workshop, click here. Questions? Contact Sasha: [email protected] or (802)652-4508