I surprisingly enjoyed this lesson. I remembered learning this in about book in I believe it was eighth grade. I just remember learning about basic plot and character development. The initial activity about the definition of perfect and exploring what a perfect society would look like was very good way to look at theme at it deductively. Another part that I really enjoyed about the lesson was when we got to act out a certain scene. That really helps the student visualize what exactly is going on. This is especially true in the scene when Jonah received his first memory. It was very interesting to actually see it played out and see the giver press his hands up again Jonah's back. I also enjoyed the different discussions that played out through the lesson, especially the ones including comparing Jonah to Jesus, the feminism lens applied to the text as well as talking about why the book is sometimes banned and if we ourselves would teach it. The culminating activity has always been an activity that I'm a fan of. It was also interesting to see an actual ending that someone made on YouTube. I definitely enjoyed reading this a lot more than I did in middle school. I got so much more out of it this time.
1 comment:
Isn't it interesting how the methods of teaching affect how a text is perceived and understood? I keep thinking back to when I taught The Old Man and the Sea (one of my favorite books) and failed miserably because none of my students enjoyed the text. I couldn't believe it! Looking back, I see my methodology for teaching this text was flawed in that was dependent too much on my enthusiam for the book.
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