Help Jonas: Authentic Assessment for The Giver
Many people find themselves frustrated at the ending of The Giver because they want to know what happens to Jonas and the baby. This is your chance to help create an ending! The community that Jonas and his family live in is based on a concept called Utopia. It's your job to create a Utopia for Jonas. Have fun!
The Task
First, it is important that everyone understand what utopian means. You will research this term in a team of five people. Once your team understands the basic aspects of a utopia, you will be responsible for creating a new community in which Jonas and the baby will thrive. Each teammate will choose a specific aspect of community life to research and design. For the assignment, it is important to remember that in order to develop a community organization is required. The roles will be as follows: leader, developer, planner, accountant, and recreation director.
Step One: Use the resources listed below to research real utopian communities.
Step Two: Decide which aspect of community life each member will be responsible for designing.
Step Three: Design your dream community!
Step Four: Each member will write a page describing their decisions for the community and how the aspect they chose to be responsible for works well with the other parts of the community. The more detailed your explanation, the better.
Step Five: Create a visual representation of your community and a written report answering the questions listed in the conclusion section.
Step Six: Present your new community to the class and turn in all of your materials to the teacher.
Resources
This site is helpful in defining UTOPIA
A utopian community located in Virginia.
Another utopian community located in Tennessee.
A community located in Scotland.
A community located in Virginia.
A community located in Ecuador.
A community located in Missouri.
This site contains futuristic ideas, which you are welcome to use.
The Process
The Leader
As the leader, you will decide on a name and where the community will be located. It is up to you how you finalize this information. You may let the group vote or you can use your power as leader to determine these aspects. Your members will come to you to ask for approval of their decisions. It is important that you share this information with your group so that they will have the information they need to do their own research. As leader, you will decide the form of government your community will use. Remember that this is a utopian community, and anarchy is most likely not an option. Use the sites of other communities to find what you think will work best.
The Developer
As the developer, you will work with the planner to decide what types of buildings will be necessary for the survival of your community. You will be entirely responsible for mapping out the community, making sure to include natural resources found on your land like lakes and farmland. Be sure to discuss decisions with your leader and ask for input because they will have chosen the land and should know about its size and resources. The accountant will need to know how much land you devote to farming so they can take that into account when determining income.
The Planner
As the planner, it is essential that you work closely with both the developer and the accountant. You will be responsible for deciding on issues such as education, medicine, religion, and housing. The developer will need to design and leave space for schools, hospitals and churches. The developer will also need to know if s/he should build houses or communal living spaces. The accountant will have to help you decide if you will be able to afford all the things you want to include. You will also have to help the accountant decide on how to have an income. You may have to plan to have your community hold outside jobs in order to support themselves financially. Always remember to discuss your decisions with your leader.
The Accountant
As the accountant, you will have to decide how your community will make its living. You can use other utopian communities for ideas and inspiration. Remember to consult your leader when making decisions. You will also have to decide if the monetary resources will be communal or how much people will contribute and how often. You and the planner will also have to determine if your community will house such necessities as doctors, your own medicines, how much of your food will be grown there, and how much will be purchased elsewhere.
Recreation Director
As the recreation director, you get to decide on the fun stuff! Using your groups' choices for your community you will decide what your members will do for fun. Research what other communities do and try to come up with some unique activities on your own. If you find that you need space on the property do not forget to consult with the developer. Also, you will need to keep in mind some of the choices the planner made. There are numerous religious activities to chose from, but if s/he decides not to have a religion in your community, you have to respect that. Don't forget to talk to your leader to get his/her input!
Learning Advice
Remember to work together as you create your individual aspects of the community. If your planner decides to educate on the property and the developer did not design a schoolhouse, then it will be obvious that you did not consult each other. If the leader makes a decision you are unhappy with, you must respect his/her authority. You could always try to reach a compromise if you feel that strongly about something. It is your choice whether to include children in your community, but
remember that your task is to create an environment in which Jonas and the baby will thrive. Not taking children into account is a sign of losing track of your goals.
Conclusion
Hopefully, you have learned how to work as a team in the process of designing your own utopian community. What did you learn about utopian communities? Did your community differ from the democracy of the United States? How? What sort of things did you consider when creating your utopia? What was the hardest part of your task? Where do Jonas and
the baby fit into your new community?
Assessment
Your group will receive a group grade and each person will receive an individual participation grade. The group grade will be based on the overall description of the community. The individual grade will be based on attention to detail and the inclusion of specific aspects of each group member.
Total Grade Breakdown:100 total points
Group Grade50 points
Teamwork15 points
Overall Design20 points
Visual and Presentation15 points
Individual Grade50 points
Teamwork15 points
Personal Design25 points
1 page description10 points