Utopia - A 6th Grade Study of The Giver

In Ms. Brennan’s sixth-grade English class, students were challenged to create a prototype of a Utopian society as inspired by their reading of The Giver by Lois Lowry. Upon culmination of their work, they will present their societies, working to convince people who want to move to a better place that their community is “perfect.” Students’ decisions about how to develop their Utopian society were informed by reading about styles of government, economic factors in a community, the role of education, the impact of the environmental factors, and the infrastructure needs of a community. After creating a planning blueprint, students then created a three-dimensional model or a computer-generated model of their society. All students realized that Utopian societies quickly become dystopian and all were challenged to be curious, creative, and to think beyond their own lives. After reading The Giver, students also recognized the beauty of having choices, pets, memories, freedom, love, color, family, and emotions.