Name: _________________Date: ____

The Giver Study GuideChapter 1

Fill in the blanks with the appropriate word from the chapters.

It was almost December, and ___________ was beginning to be frightened. He remembered being frightened before, when an ______ had flown over the community. It made his stomach churn, and he trembled when his community went ___________. But it had been nothing; a pilot made an error. Needless to say, he will be ______________. To be released was a final decision, an overwhelming statement of ______________.

Jonas was trying to find the right ________ for the way he was feeling. He remembered how his friend, ___________, scrambled words and phrases. For instance, when he was little he used the word __________ instead of __________. Jonas wanted to select the right word to describe the way he was ________________. ______________ was the right word.

Lily was _____________today when another visiting group of sevens didn’t __________ the rules. She said they acted like _____________. Neither child knew what the __________ meant; they knew it meant someone who was uneducated and clumsy. Lily eventually realized she was wrong to feel angry, but that she should feel _______. Jonas’ father was a ______________. He was responsible for all the physical and emotional needs of every __________ during its earliest life. He was feeling very ___________ for a new infant who was not growing properly and who may need to be _________________.

He was going to ask if he could ___________ the new child home with him for the nights to help him grow. Lily asked if they could __________ the new child, but Lily’s mother reminded her that according to the _____________, they were only allowed ________ male and _________ female to each family unit. Jonas’ mother felt __________ for a repeat offender who committed a second ___________. She reminded Jonas that there’s no __________ chance. Lastly, Jonas shared that he felt apprehensive about his upcoming _____________ __ ____________.

Record details you noted about this community.

Chapter 2-Jonas remembered when his family ____________ Lily, the day she

was named and the day she had become a ________. The Ceremony for the Ones was always noisy and fun. Each December, all the new children born in the previous year, there were always _______________ in each year’s group, are brought to the stage to be named. Lily’s mom fondly remembers when they received their _________, because they had made their application and had been ________________.

Jonas’ father admitted to checking this year’s list of ____________ to see if he could help the newborn grow. His father shared that his name is ______________, and he whispers it to him in hopes of helping him grow. The family discusses the Ceremony of Twelve and its importance. Jonas’ father recalled when he turned ____________ and how nervous he was. He broke one of the rules, a minor one, and taught his sister how to ride a ___________. This was a rule that is almost ____________broken. There was talk about ___________ the rule, but a _____________ needed to study it. When something went to a committee for study, the people in the community always ________ about it. Rules were very ________ to change. If it was a truly important decision, it would go to the _______________, the most important elder in the community.

Jonas’ father recalled how in his Ceremony of Twelve, there was no element of ____________. He was fairly certain of the assignment he would be given. Unlike Jonas, who is not _________ of what his assignment will be. Jonas has noticed during the past year the increasing level of ____________. The Committee of Elders was watching and determining the ___________ of the future twelves. Jonas’ father reassured him that there are very rarely any ___________. The Committee of Elders are very careful in their selection and assignments. However, it is the ________ of the Ceremonies. After ___________, age isn’t important. What is important is the preparation

for adult life, and the training. Jonas will not have _______ hours or __________ hours. He will spend his time training.

Record some new details you discovered about this community.Next to each one, place a (+) or a (-) rating each detail.

YES ! NO! and WHY? This community is better than the world we live in today.________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 3-1. What was the first thing Jonas and Lily notice about the

newborn child, Gabe? Why is this different?

2. Jonas decided that these light eyes gave the person a certain look - _________. Why?

3. What do you learn about birthmothers?

4. Describe Jonas’ incident with the apple. What did Jonas notice? Why was he bewildered?

5. Record your recent discoveries about this community. Place a (+) or a (-) next to each item.

6. Record two similarities and two differences between More’s Utopia, his fictitious island, and the community in The Giver.

Similarities:

1.2.

Differences:

1.2.

7. What challenges (or societal problems) are being addressed?

8. Do you agree with these changes? Why or why not?

Chapter 4-1. Why didn’t Jonas tell Benjamin he was impressed with the things

he accomplished?

2. How does Jonas describe Fiona?a. she made serious work difficultb. quiet and polite

c. too seriousd. she had a sense of fune. both b & d

3. What did Larissa find to be “wonderful” about Roberto’s life?

Chapter 5-1. What did family members share during the morning ritual?

2. Did Jonas’ mother have to wash dishes? How do you know?

3. When Jonas remembers that he will need treatment, what is his biggest fear?

Chapter 6-

1. In this community, what was the first sign of independence?

2. What distinguishes the Nines from the younger kids? 

3. Why was Gabriel not present at the Naming ceremony?

4. What is a replacement child?

5. Why did children receive their first pockets at age Eight?

6. What qualities are taken into consideration when the elders are matching

spouses?

Chapter 7- Vocabulary

Words Q/H/T Pre-Reading Definition

Post-Reading Definition

exasperated

duplication

solemn

chastise

lapse

profound

meticulous

prestige

retroactive

disposition

apprehensive

serene

avert

Chapter 8-

1. Why was Jonas not “assigned” a new role?

2. Why do the Elders sometimes observe community members during their

training?

3 Which five qualities did the Chief Elder think would make Jonas a good Receiver?

4. What happened when Jonas looked out across the audience?

5. How did Jonas feel about his new assignment?

Chapter 9-

1. How do Jonas’s parents feel about his new assignment?

2. Which two of Jonas’s new rules surprised Jonas the most and why?

3. Which new rule did he care about the least and why?

Chapter 10- Vocabulary

Words Q/H/T Pre-Reading Definition

Post-Reading Definition

origin

dwelling (noun)

alcove

intricate

hastilylack

diminish

forbidden

neglect

transmit

tentative

exhilarating

Chapters 11-12 -1. The first memory that The Giver transmits to Jonas is one about

sledding downhill in the snow. Jonas has never heard of snow and does not know what the word downhill means. Based on that information, name two things you can you infer (guess) about the environment that Jonas lives in?

1. __________________________________________________2. __________________________________________________

2. How did Jonas feel after receiving his first memory?a. He was scared and did not want to be The Receiver

anymore.b. He really enjoyed it and wanted to try it experience it

again.c. He was tired and wanted to go to sleep.d. He thought it was so sad that he almost cried.

3. The Giver tells Jonas that the changes he saw in the apple, the audience, and Fiona’s hair occurred because he is “beginning to see the color red.” What can you infer about what colors everyone else in the community sees?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. The first painful memory that Jonas received occurred while he was lying in the sunshine and his skin began to sting. What was Jonas’s first painful memory? _________________________________________________________

5. What memory does The Giver give Jonas to teach him about colors? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. List at least FOUR sensory words from the following passage from The Giver. Also, tell to which sense they appeal.

“. . . he could feel that he was not on the soft decorated bedcovering at all, but rather seated on a flat, hard surface. His hands now held (though at the same time they were still motionless at his sides) a rough, damp rope.

And he could see, though his eyes were closed. He could see a bright whirling torrent of crystals in the air around him, and he could see them gather on the backs of his hands, like could fur.”

_________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________

7. Even though Jonas is forbidden to talk about his training, he thinks, even if it were not, it still would have been impossible to discuss things with his friends.  Why?

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

8. How is Jonas’ “seeing beyond”? What is he noticing?

9. How does the community create sameness? What does it eliminate? Why would they do that?

Chapter 13 -1. How does Jonas feel about the concept of “sameness?” Explain

how he feels and about this.

2. For Jonas, what is the most frustrating rule of his training?  Why? How will it affect his life as an adult in the community?

3. When the previous successor to The Giver failed, what happened? 

Chapter 14 -Fill in the blanks with the appropriate word from the chapters.

It was much the same, this ____________, though the hill seemed to be a different one, steeper, and the snow was not falling as thickly as it had before. It was colder, also, Jonas perceived. The sled moved forward, and Jonas grinned with delight, looking forward to the slide down the hill.

But the runners, this time, couldn’t slice through the frozen expanse as they had on the other, snow-cushioned hill. Jonas pulled at the rope, trying to ________, but the steepness and ____________ took control from his hands and he was no longer enjoying the feeling of _______________ but instead, terrified, was at the mercy of the wild acceleration downward over the ice.

Sideways, spinning, the sled hit a bump in the hill andJonas was jarred loose and thrown violently in the air. He fell with his ________ twisted under him. Then, the first wave of _______; he gasped. In his agony he perceived the word “__________” and felt flames licking at the torn bone and flesh. He tried to move, and could not. The pain grew.

Once back in the annex room again, __________ on the bed in pain, his face was full of tears. He asked for _____________________, but The Giver said ______ and looked away. At home with his family, Jonas thought __________________________. The realization made him feel desperately ____________.

1. The Giver tells Jonas that the memories of pain and suffering give them ____________. Why is this important for the community?

2. Why is The Giver the one with all of the memories? 

3. What does Jonas do to soothe Gabriel?  Why is this dangerous?

Chapter 15-Directions: Re-read chapter 15. As you read, with a pencil in hand,

mark the text looking for sensory words which help the reader more

clearly understand Jonas’ pain.

Jonas entered the Annex room and realized immediately that it was a

day when he would be sent away. The Giver was rigid in his chair, his

face in his hands.

“I’ll come back tomorrow, sir,” he said quickly. Then he

hesitated. “Unless maybe there’s something I can do to help.”

The Giver looked up at him, his face contorted with suffering.

“Please,” he gasped, “take some of the pain.”

Jonas helped him to his chair at the side of the bed. Then he

quickly removed his tunic and lay face down. “Put your hands on me,”

he directed, aware that in such anguish The Giver might need

reminding.

The hands came, and the pain came with them and through

them. Jonas braced himself and entered the memory which was

torturing The Giver.

He was in a confused, noisy, foul-smelling place. It was daylight,

early morning, and the air was thick with smoke that hung, yellow and

brown, above the ground. Around him, everywhere, far across the

expanse of what seemed to be a field, lay groaning men. A wild-eyed

horse, its bridle torn and dangling, trotted frantically through the

mounds of men, tossing its head, whinnying in panic. It stumbled,

finally, then fell, and did not rise.

Jonas heard a voice next to him. “Water,” the voice said in a

parched, croaking whisper.

He turned his head toward the voice and looked into the half-

closed eyes of a boy who seemed not much older than himself. Dirt

streaked the boy’s face and his matted blond hair. He lay sprawled,

his gray uniform glistening with wet, fresh blood.

The colors of the carnage were grotesquely bright: the crimson

wetness on the rough and dusty fabric, the ripped shreds of grass,

startlingly green, in the boy’s yellow hair.

The boy stared at him. “Water,” he begged again. When he

spoke, a new spurt of blood drenched the coarse cloth across his chest

and sleeve.

One of Jonas’s arms was immobilized with pain, and he could see

through his own torn sleeve something that looked like ragged flesh

and splintery bone. He tried his remaining arm and felt it move.

Slowly he reached to his side, felt the metal container there, and

removed its cap, stopping the small motion of his hand now and then

to wait for the surging pain to ease. Finally, when the container was

open, he extended his arm slowly across the blood-soaked earth, inch

by inch, and held it to the lips of the boy. Water trickled into the

imploring mouth and down the grimy chin.

The boy sighed. His head fell back, his lower jaw dropping as if

he had been surprised by something. A dull blankness slid slowly

across his eyes. He was silent.

But the noise continued all around: the cries of the wounded

men, the cries begging for water and for Mother and for death. Horses

lying on the ground shrieked, raised their heads, and stabbed

randomly toward the sky with their hooves.

From the distance, Jonas could hear the thud of cannons.

Overwhelmed by pain, he lay there in the fearsome stench for hours,

listened to the men and animals die, and learned what warfare meant.

Finally, when he knew that he could bear it no longer and would

welcome death himself, he opened his eyes and was once again on the

bed.

The Giver looked away, as if he could not bear to see what he

had done to Jonas. “Forgive me,” he said.

Chapter 16--1.  Why doesn't Jonas want to go back to The Giver?

2. Why was The Giver’s favorite memory warm and comforting to Jonas? What is this memory?

3. The word Jonas is searching for to describe the feeling in the room of the memory is. . . _________________.

4. Why did Jonas think that was still a dangerous environment?

5. How did Jonas’ parents react when he asked them if they loved him?

6. After that conversation with his parents, Jonas . . .

a) tells Gabe that things could be different. 

b) lies to his parents. 

c) decides to stop taking his pill. 

d) all of the above. 

Chapter 17---1.  Does Jonas’ family truly experience feelings? Why or why not?

2. Why is Jonas disturbed by the game his friends are playing? 

3. Why does Jonas feel overwhelmed with feelings of loss? 

Chapter 18—Fill in the blanks with the appropriate word from the chapter.

“Giver,” Jonas asked the next afternoon, “Do you ever think about _________?”

The Giver replied that he thinks about his own release when he is in a lot of pain. He wishes he could put a _____________ in for it, sometimes. The Giver can’t until a new __________________ is trained. Jonas was not looking forward to the end of the raining, when he would become the new Receiver. It was clear to him what a terribly __________ and ____________life it was despite the _______________.

Jonas wanted to know about the previous Receiver. “Can you tell me her name? My parents said that it wasn’t to be spoken again in the _______________. But couldn’t you just say it to me?”

The Giver hesitated painfully , as if saying the name aloud might be excruciating. “Her name was _____________,” he told Jonas, finally.

“Her training began. She received well, as you do. She was so enthusiastic. So delighted to experience new things. It broke my heart, Jonas, to transfer __________ to her. But it was my ________. Finally, one afternoon, we finished for the day. It had been a hard session. She stood up very silently, _________, as if she were making a decision. She left here that day, left his room, and did not go back to her ______________. I was notified by the Speaker that she had gone directly to the Chief Elder and asked to be ____________.”

1. What would happen to Jonas if he were “lost”?

Chapter 19—1. What does Jonas want to see during his training with The Giver?

2. What does “Release” mean? What is the process? How does Jonas feel about this?

Chapter 20—1. What is Jonas’ reaction after viewing the release?

2. How does The Giver explain the ceremony of release? How do the members of the community commit this act?

3. What is the plan Jonas and The Giver devise?

4. What shocking news do you learn at the end of the chapter?

Chapter 21—1. What happened that drastically altered the plan The Giver and

Jonas had created?

2. What three transgressions did he commit in order to escape?o

o

o

3. What did Jonas do to help hide both Gabriel and himself?

Chapter 22—

Read the following excerpt from chapter 22.

But there were desperate fears building in him now as well. The

most relentless of his new fears was that they would starve. Now that

they had left the cultivated fields behind them, it was almost

impossible to find food. They finished the meager store of potatoes

and carrots they had saved from the last agricultural area, and now

they were always hungry.

Jonas knelt by a stream and tried without success to catch a fish

with his hands. Frustrated, he threw rocks into the water, knowing

even as he did so that it was useless. Finally, in desperation, he

fashioned a makeshift net, looping the strands of Gabriel’s blanket

around a curved stick.

After countless tries, the net yielded two flopping silvery fish.

Methodically Jonas hacked them to pieces with a sharp rock and fed

the raw shreds to himself and to Gabriel. They ate some berries, and

tried without success to catch a bird.

At night, while Gabriel slept beside him, Jonas lay awake,

tortured by hunger, and remembered his life in the community where

meals were delivered to each dwelling every day.

He tried to use the flagging power of his memory to recreate

meals, and managed brief, tantalizing fragments: banquets with huge

roasted meats; birthday parties with thick-frosted cakes; and lush fruits

picked and eaten, sun-warmed and dripping, from trees.

But when the memory glimpses subsided, he was left with the

gnawing, painful emptiness. Jonas remembered, suddenly and grimly,

the time in his childhood when he had been chastised for misusing a

word. The word had been “starving.” You have never been starving,

he had been told. You will never be starving.

Now he was. If he had stayed in the community, he would not be.

It was as simple as that. Once he had yearned for choice. Then, when

he had had a choice, he made the wrong one: the choice to leave. And

now he was starving.

But if he had stayed . . .

1. Ask yourself what the BIG idea is and determine 2-3 important

details.

Big idea _________________________________________________

Put this into your own words by stating the “gist”

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

____________

Read the following statement.

Jonas’s decision to leave the community was a good choice.

Do you agree? Yes or No (circle one)

Why? Explain your answer

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________

Chapter 23—1. How did the novel end? What happened?

2. Where are Jonas and Gabriel? Defend your answer.