Summer Reading. English, Incoming Grade 7 Teacher: Jill Zehner Book required: THE GIVER by Lois Lowry ISBN: 0-440-23768-8 About the Novel: The Giver is a science fiction story about a 12-year-old boy who must choose between a world of sameness or one filled with both the intense joys and pains of life. Jonas lives in a "perfect" world, devoid of strife or conflict. When Jonas begins training for his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory, he meets his teacher, a man called The Giver. As The Giver transfers to Jonas the memories of the world, Jonas begins to realize that his seemingly perfect world has many flaws. When the life of a baby, whom Jonas has become attached to, is threatened, Jonas must decide where his loyalties lie. READING/THINKING Before starting the novel, read the questions below. After you finish reading, ask yourself the same questions. Be prepared to share your answers. *Do you think you need to know about the past to be wise? Do you think knowing about the past is critical to shaping the future? * What is your idea of a perfect community? What would be added or lost in your quest for Utopia? *Lois Lowry, the author, believes that fiction “in order to say anything has to startle or upset you at some point.” At what point in the book were you “startled” or “upset?” Why? What led to this point in the story? Was everything resolved at the end? *How did you react to the story’s conclusion? Were you satisfied, disappointed, surprised, confused? What do you believe happened to Jonas? (OVER)

WRITING *Create a new title for each chapter. Based on your reading, provide a vivid new title for each chapter, one that instantly grabs the reader’s interest and gives a “snapshot” of what is to follow. *Create a summary for each chapter. Summarize each chapter. Include the main point- leave out the less important details. Your summary for each chapter should be no more than 4 sentences in length. Please type or handwrite, following the format below. Chapter #_________ New title;_________________________ Summary for the Chapter:_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ILLUSTRATING (EXTRA CREDIT/EXTRA JOY) Choose a chapter that affected you in some way and create a drawing that could be used to illustrate the plot. Be sure to write the chapter number on the back of your artwork. HAPPY SUMMER AND HAPPY READING!