Concordia University Nebraska Education Department Lesson Plan Scaffold

Name: Payton DeMers-Sahling Grade Level: 8th Grade

Topic/Central Focus Subject: English/Language Arts

Intro to the setting of the book the Giver –
dystopia Time Frame: 50 min
Also focusing on the concept of rules

Standard(s) to be met in the lesson:

LA 8.1.6.i Construct and/or answer literal, inferential, critical, and interpretive questions and
support answers with explicit evidence from the text or additional sources.

LA 8.1.5.c Acquire new academic and content-specific grade-level vocabulary, relate to

prior knowledge and apply in new situations.
Learning Objective: Assessment Tool(s) and Procedures:
TSWBAT: Exit ticket: One-Minute Paper will show
 Define and identify characteristics of what has been learned, Discussion will help
dystopias get students to bigger understanding,
 Assess the need of rules Group activity will apply big ideas in a
realistic situation,
Independent sharing will keep students on
task

Research-Based Best Practice used in lesson and why it is appropriate/useful

Here I use a form of simulation by asking the students to put themselves into a dystopia that
they have created. I think it is appropriate for this lesson because it gets students to think
about what dystopias are really like.

Student Engagement used throughout the lesson

Key Vocabulary:
Dystopia
Utopia
Materials: Technology:
Pencil, Paper Project
Dystopian Sheet Computer
Faith/Values Integration:
None

Assets (Knowledge of Students: personal, cultural, community)

Prior experience with utopias and dystopias in novels or movies
Concordia University Nebraska Education Department Lesson Plan Scaffold

Differentiating Instruction

Handout a sheet with bullet points about dystopias for students to reference (Brian, Kristen,
Madison, David, and Oscar) - Process

Groups are separated evenly so that everyone has a chance at working with students at
different levels - Content

Group and individual work - Product

Procedure with time allotments:

 Hook/Engage/Pre-Assess Students
THIS IS DAY ONE

Pre-assessment Quiz
1. What do you know about the author, Louis Lowry?

2. Have you ever been to a dystopia, which is the setting in the novel? What do
you know about the setting?

3. The themes in the novel are memory, rules, and discovery. What do you know
about the theme(s) from previous books?

Dystopias – “Who can tell me something about dystopias or utopias?” – “What are some
books you have read that occurred in a dystopia or utopia?”

A) Communicate the purpose of the lesson to students

(objective/assessment)

“We are beginning our novel that we will read together called “The Giver”. It is a
dystopian novel and to understand the contents of it, we need to know what dystopia
means.”

B) Instructional Sequence:

 -Definition of dystopia: an imagined state or society in which there is great

suffering or injustice. -Definition of utopia: an imagined place or state of
things in which everything is perfect. - “The first thing we are going to do
today is build your perfect Middle School.”
 Designing a Utopian Middle School
In small groups, students should design an ideal school for every student,
answering the questions below.
o Who are the students and teachers?
o What are the hours?
o What does lunchtime look like?
o What does learning time look like? What are the classes?
o What does the building and location of the school look like?
Concordia University Nebraska Education Department Lesson Plan Scaffold

o How does the school make sure everyone is safe at all times?
o What does the dress code look like?

Group 1: Group 2: Group 3:

Scott Emma Sarah
Liz Brian Samantha
Madison Kristen Brock
Oscar David Justin
1 2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9
10 11

 Have one group stand up and read its answers to the above questions. If
another group had the same idea, everyone must cross it off their list. The
group with the most remaining unique list items is the “winner.”
 Discuss with students: A utopia is a place that is perfect. But is a utopia ever
actually possible? Explain your answer based on detail from the first part of
this conversation. What is your Perfect? As you can see, utopias can never
really exist because not everyone can agree on the same idea of perfection.
Each group has its own version of utopia, so there can never be one ideal, one
utopia.
 Step Two (completed independently by each student):
Ask students, what would happen if I said all of your Utopian Middle Schools
had to have these three rules?
1) All students must be under constant surveillance, even on the weekends.
2) All students must conform to dress code expectations; all clothes, hair styles, shoes,
jackets, and bags are to be uniform.
3) All students follow the same religion, abiding by the same religious values without
question.
 Ask students, how would your utopian school change? Provide as much detail as you
can.
 Give your students the Handout "Dystopias: Definition and Characteristics." Ask
students to explain how their once utopian school has become a dystopia based on
the characteristics.
Students will share their answers to the questions in the line sharing assessment

 -“The purpose of the genre of dystopia is to caution against trying to force

people into some kind of perfect community.”

 “Most of the time dystopia’s have rules that are required for citizens to follow.”

 “Answer this question: “Why do we have rules?” “Keep your answer to this
somewhere handy because we will be coming back to that.”
Concordia University Nebraska Education Department Lesson Plan Scaffold

 “For our readings, I want everyone to keep “wows” in their books by using
sticky-notes. If something stands out to you make a comment on the sticky-
note and put it on that specific page.”

C) Closure:

Exit Ticket:
One-minute paper
Tell me what I need to know about dystopias before I read the Giver.

Analyzing Teaching (Reflection):

Complete after the lesson is taught.
Give evidence that the lesson was successful for students meeting the learning
objective(s).

If you could teach this lesson to the same group of students again, what are two or three things you would do
differently to improve the learning of these students based on their varied developmental and academic needs and
characteristics? Consider missed opportunities and other aspects of planning, instruction, and/or assessment.
Explain in the table below.
Clearly state each change you would Explain why and how you would change
make. it.