Stop and Write Questions Handout
Grade 8 ELA • Lois Lowry's The Giver Standards: 8.RC.1 & 8.RC.2
Seeing Beyond Sameness
Chapters 12–13 Stop & Write: Analyzing Explicit Details & Drawing Inferences
Name:
Date:
Class Period: ILEARN Focus
Reading Protocol: Read your novel until you reach each indicated page landmark. STOP reading, analyze the explicit details in that scene, and WRITE your evidence-based inference in the space provided.
Stop 1 pg 121 end of Chapter 12
Be sure to answer all the questions:
Part A (Analyze Explicit Detail):
According to The Giver, what explicit trade-offs did the founders make to establish "Sameness"? What did the community gain, and what did they permanently surrender?
Part B (Draw an Inference — 8.RC.1):
Why does Jonas react fiercely (“We shouldn't have!”)? What can you infer about how experiencing memories is altering Jonas's perception of his community's “perfect” order?
Stop 2 middle of pg 124 in Chapter 13
Be sure to answer all the questions:
Analyze Conflict & Theme (8.RC.1 & 8.RC.2):
Lowry shows Jonas abruptly reversing his argument about choice within a single conversation. What inference can you draw about the power of the community’s lifelong conditioning on Jonas’s mind? What underlying fear prevents him from fully embracing free choice?
The Giver • Close Reading Stop & Write Guide Turn over for Stops 3 & 4 (Page 1 of 2)
The Giver • Chapters 12–13 Evidence Analysis & Inferential Reasoning
Student Name: Page 2 of 2
Stop 3 bottom of pg 127 in Chapter 13
Be sure to answer all the questions:
Analyze Author's Craft & Contrast (8.RC.1):
Lowry intentionally juxtaposes the elephant’s genuine grief and mourning with Lily’s belief that elephants are just harmless “comfort objects.” What does this contrast imply about what the community has stripped away from human life? What can you infer about Jonas’s emotional isolation from his family?
Stop 4 bottom of page 130 in Chapter 13
Be sure to answer all the questions:
Inferential Synthesis & Theme (8.RC.1 & 8.RC.2):
The Giver admits that the Elders do not actually want to hold the memories—only the painless advice when an emergency arises. What inference can you make about the true stability of this society? If the community's calm depends entirely on one person bearing all the pain, is the society genuinely peaceful or living in denial?
ILEARN 8.RC.1 / 8.RC.2 Evidence Checkpoint: Strong vs. Weak Evidence
Quick Challenge: Quote one exact sentence or phrase from Chapter 12 or 13 in your novel that provides the strongest proof that true human emotion cannot exist in a world ruled by Sameness. Explain why your selected evidence is strong:
8.RC.1: Citing Strong Textual Evidence • 8.RC.2: Theme Development The Giver • Chapters 12–13 Student Handout
