Title: The Giver                                         Lexile Level: 760L
Author: Lois Lowry                                Grade Level Equivalent: 6.5
Genre: Science Fiction                             Interest Level: 5-8                    
Number of Pages: 179                                

Summary
    Jonah lives in a perfect society. There are no choices, no enemies, and everyone receives everything they need in life from Council. Everything is simple; black and white. But Jonah is special and receives a special role in the community as the Receiver of Memories and must become the apprentice to a lonely old man who holds all of the memories of all of the world. Through his studies, Jonah learns that life isn't so black and white after all, and decides that the people should know it, too.

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Common topics in language arts that The Giver is used to explore are character development and making predictions. Since The Giver leaves the reader hanging in the last chapter, a fun assignment is to have the students write an additional chapter, being true to the traits of any characters they include.
I like to look at the language used before and after Jonah discovers color and discuss how an author can create such visuals through writing. "Knowing that Jonah only saw in black and white before, do you think of his world differently as you reread the first chapters?"

Then, of course, there is the social aspect of it. What type of government is in control in Jonah's world? How does it differ from our government in the United States? Are there pros? Are there cons?