1

University of Arkansas Fort Smith

School of Education
Lesson Plan Format
Unit Title:

Dystopia: Past and Future

Character Studies in The

Giver

Possibilities
Subject Area:

Lesson Title:

English

Grade Level:

th

Duration of Lesson: 50 minutes

Date(s): 01 December 2014

Name: Lindsay Tillery

SOE Course: Young Adult Literature

I. Standard(s) and Objective(s)

Standard(s)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.10
By the end of grade 9, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in
the grades 9-10 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the
range.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.3
Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over
the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.
Objective(s)
SWBAT: Create a thorough character description by combining direct and indirect
characterizations provided by the author. Students will then be able to evaluate each characters
impact on the storys development.
II. Assessment
Pre-assessment (before planning lesson)
I will deliver this pre-assessment a few days before this lesson is planned. As students arrive, I will
pass out index cards, and ask them to fill out the index cards with the names of the characters that
we have met in the story so far. After 2 minutes, I will ask students to Think, Pair, and Share with a

partner. They will compare their lists to make sure they have all of the characters. They will then
discuss whether each character is a main character or a supporting character.
Post-assessment
At the end of the class period, students will present a character poster that they will create during a
group activity. On this poster the students will summarize character traits, citing passages from the book
as a rationale for their trait choices. They will then predict the impact this character may have on the
remainder of the book. This will allow me to determine their level of mastery for the topic of character
development.

III. Planning
Students with IEPs will be grouped with more advanced to students in an effort to provide additional
scaffolding. I have highlighted passages with character descriptions for each character that will be
discussed in my copy of The Giver. If any group has difficulty finding character details, I will be
prepared to provide direction to the students on sections to examine.
IV. Engaging the Learner
I will engage the students by allowing them the opportunity to collaborate and create a visual
representation of the characters presented in the book. By tasking them with describing a character,
and providing a text based rationale for their opinions the students will be required to do a closer
reading of the text.
V. Methods, Activities and Resources
Methods
Direct Instruction
Think, Pair and Share
Small Group Activity
Activities
Small group activity to create character posters for the main and supporting characters of
The Giver
Resources
Formative Assessment slips
Character Powerpoint
The Giver book

VI. Potential Adaptations to the Lesson {PAL}

If technology is unavailable, I will write definitions and key topics on the white board for the students.
If inadequate class time is available, I will utilize the class period the following day for the planned
group activity.
VII. Collaboration
Completed posters can be displayed for Parent Teacher Conferences, this will allow the parents to
view the outcome of the lesson.
VIII. Reflection and efficacy (to be completed after teaching this lesson)
Adopted Spring 2014