The Giver Webquest

Lois Lowry’s The Giver explores many important issues that people around the world have been debating for a long time. In this webquest, we are going to explore two of those issues in more detail. One is the concept of a utopian society. The other is the issue of euthanasia. 

A utopian society is one that is supposed to be perfect. The people in Jonas’s community are led to believe that they live in a utopia. In the end, Jonas came to believe that this perfect society wasn’t really so perfect after all. There have been attempts to create utopian societies in the real world. We’ll take a look at those societies and make our own decisions about whether or not they really were/are perfect.

Euthanasia is the idea that people have the right to choose to end their own lives to avoid pain and suffering. It sometimes means that others can choose to make this decision for them. In The Giver, old people were “released” after being given a going away party. While people in the community didn’t know this, Jonas discovers that being “released” really means to be given a fatal injection. We’ll take a look at real-life examples of euthanasia and make our own decisions as to whether or not it should be allowed.

You will work in a group of four students. Each group will be asked to choose whether they want to explore utopian societies or euthanasia in more detail. You will be provided with a Google Doc in which you can sign up for your choice. Those who choose to research utopian societies can choose to write and perform a short play OR make a presentation to the class OR create a video. The play, presentation or video must discuss one utopian society (past or present), why it is supposedly utopian, what life is/was really like there and discuss whether or not the team thinks this utopia is really perfect.

Those who choose to research euthanasia can choose to make a scrapbook (this can be electronic in format) OR a Google Slideshow presentation of euthanasia cases or debates. Do not print out entire articles and include them in your work. You must paraphrase them in your own words. The presentation must include something that outlines the team’s decision on whether or not euthanasia should be allowed.

In both cases, if you can think of another creative way to present your information, please see the teacher.

1. Read The Giver by Lois Lowry in its entirety (we will do this as a class).

2. Discuss with your group whether you would like to investigate utopian societies or euthanasia.

3. Write your group’s choice in the provided Google Doc.

4. Assign group members things to research. For example, for utopian societies each person can be assigned a different utopian society to research. For euthanasia, one or two people can look at cases while the other two look into debates. Make sure the workload is balanced evenly among you and that you don’t waste time by duplicating your research.

5. Use the links under the heading “topics and resources” below to begin your research. You can search for more information using Google.

6. Bring your information together and discuss how you are going to present it. 

7. Make a choice: for utopian societies you can choose to make a play, a presentation or a video. For euthanasia you can make a scrapbook or a Google Slideshow presentation (Don’t print out whole articles and include them, paraphrase the cases or debates that you find). If you want to present your information in a way that is not listed here, please see your teacher.

8. Inform your teacher of the choice you made in number 7.

9. Work on creating your presentation. Assign roles to the team members and make sure the work is evenly balanced.

UTOPIA PRESENTATIONS: You must discuss one utopian society (past or present), why it is supposedly utopian, what life is/was really like there and discuss whether or not the team thinks this utopia is really perfect.

EUTHANASIA PRESENTATIONS: You must include paraphrased accounts of euthanasia cases or debates. The presentation must include something that outlines the team’s decision on whether or not euthanasia should be allowed.

Present your final product to the class. Even if you do a scrapbook, you still have to talk about it with the class. Be prepared for questions!

Topics and Resources

Utopian Societies

General Information About Utopias

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utopia

http://users.erols.com/jonwill/

http://www.answers.com/topic/utopian-socialism-2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utopian_socialism

Utopian Societies

http://www.neatorama.com/2007/08/17/4-utopian-communities-that-bombed-miserably/

http://www.answers.com/topic/utopian-communities

http://www.acorncommunity.org/

http://www.twinoaks.org/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSrcLC6Zz54&feature=related

Euthanasia

General Information About Euthanasia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euthanasia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Kevorkian

https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/medical-assistance-dying.html

https://www.ontario.ca/page/medical-assistance-dying-and-end-life-decisions

Euthanasia cases

http://www.euthanasia.cc/cases.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sue_Rodriguez

http://www.righttodie.ca/assistedsuicides-canada.html

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2010/12/06/f-robert-latimer-compassionate-homicide.html

Euthanasia Debate

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2009/02/09/f-assisted-suicide.html

https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/the-saturday-debate/2020/12/05/is-canada-trying-to-make-medically-assisted-dying-too-easy.html

Please click on the link to see the Google Doc of the rubric.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CZmJMD-NBmCMj9rMZdSt4kxmpqYgesWkF-IrfH8p2Rg/edit?usp=sharing

The Giver, by Lois Lowry, is a book that makes you think seriously about a lot of different things. 

I hope that this webquest has made you think about what it might be like to live in a utopian society. As you’ve probably seen, it’s hard to decide what a perfect society should look like, and it will likely be a topic that will continue to be debated for a long time.

Euthanasia is a topic that comes up again and again over time and it is an issue that will not be resolved easily. I hope this webquest has helped you to decide your own position on euthanasia.

Please refer to the attached rubric for information on how your final product will be graded.