Wednesday, 4 December 2013

The Giver Project Options

Choose one of the following Performance Tasks:

1.     Create a poster on paper or digitally that compares your family with Jonas’s.  How are they the same?   How are they different?  Describe why you think your family is easier or more difficult to be a part of.  

2.     Watch this video about musical instruments and then discuss The Giver’s “Hearing Beyond”.   Create a podcast that describes how life without music would be.    http://www.upworthy.com/watch-the-first-54-seconds-that-s-all-i-ask-you-ll-be-hooked-after-that-i-swear?g=4

3.     Underneath the calm of Jonas’s society lies a very orderly and inexorable system of euthanasia, practiced on the very young who do not conform, the elderly, and those whose errors threaten the stability of the community.  Create a poster on paper or digitally that would answer the following questions: 

a.     Define euthanasia. 
b.     What are the disadvantages and benefits to a community that accepts such a vision of euthanasia? 
c.      Give examples through history about the topic. 
d.     What is your opinion of it? 
e.     Is it ever okay to euthanize a person?  When or why not? 
f.       Why should this topic be discussed and debated?

4.     Who would you choose to play the characters of the book and why?  Create a blog post that includes pictures and descriptions of each of the actors that you choose.  Now compare your list with the actual list of actors that have been hired for the movie.  Do you think they’ve made good choices?  Why or why not?

5.     Vocabulary and “Precision of Language” is very important in this novel.  In fact, the community is built upon language that is not precise, but that deliberately clouds meaning.  Consider what Jonas’s community really means by words such as: released, feelings, animals, nurturer, stirrings, replacement child and Elsewhere.  Define each of these words according to the meaning they have in The Giver  and present the meaning in a digital format. 

6.     Look up the word euphemism and write out the definition.  Examine the ways that Jonas’s community uses euphemism to distance itself from the reality of what is called “release”.  How does our own society use euphemism to distance the realities of death, bodily functions, aging, and political activities?  What benefits and disadvantages are there to such a use of language?  Explain why you think the community in The Giver uses euphemism.  Create a poster or digital display that explains this concept. 

7.     Create a book/movie trailer for the book.  It must be at least one minute in length and use at least three different scenes.  Watch this one to give you an idea of what is expected.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lo47H_G3YLk

8.     What questions would you ask Lois Lowry if you could?  Create a podcast or video of the interview that you would like to have with her.  

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