Lois Lowry

The Giver

Website Evaluators

Amy Sullins - McMinn County High School, Tennessee
Jill Vickers - Ticonderoga Middle School, New York

Website Reviewer and Compliler

Suzi Donnelly - Montebello High School, California

Site Ratings

1 = Poor     2 = Fair     3 = Good     4 = Excellent

The Giver
http://cube.it.nwu.edu/bookclubs/giver.html

"Paydirt!"  This site is succinct and offers a great introduction to The Giver and a biography of Lowry along with an interview with this author.  The strength of  the site lies in the wealth of links provided.  Over 20 links are offered with "excellent teaching ideas embedded in the site."  One of the most interesting links offers students and teachers an opportunity to ask the author questions through e-mailing her publisher.  The site is "easy to navigate though slow to download."  "It is a worthwhile site—just devote some time to patiently browsing through it."
Overall rating:  4

The Giver
http://www.story-house.com./teach/free/giver.html

"A substantial number of useful suggestions not readily available elsewhere," are offered at this site that is linked to a book club site.  The site was developed by a member of the English Department at Calvin College and offers suggestions on teaching the novel.  One of "the most interesting aspects" of the site includes a recorded message from Lois Lowry that can be played with RealAudio.  The site contains interesting discussions on topics thematically found in the novel such as diversity and euthanasia.  There are also ideas for integrating this novel with other disciplines.  An example of one of the activities is a pre-writing activity that asks students to create their own perfect community.
Overall rating:  3+

S.C.O.R.E.  Teacher Cyberguide:  The Giver by Lois Lowry
http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/giver/givertg.htm

This site is directed toward teachers, but is also an "intriguing site that offers 'webplans' for students with some Internet savvy."  The site offers a course of study, culminating projects, and rubrics for evaluating projects.  Activities are divided into four sections that make them student-friendly: an introduction to the activity, the task, the process and how the students will be graded.  Suggested activities range from visiting the Library of Congress, to forming a historical puzzle to composing an alternative ending to The Giver.  One drawback is that the students need to have access to computers.  Use of this site could be a problem in teaching situations with limited technology.
Overall Rating:  3+

Learning About Lois Lowry
http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/special/kay/lowry.html

This site contains a brief biography and description of Lowry's writing, along with summaries and reviews of four of her novels including The Giver.  "It is a Young Adult Literature site and has a youthful, colorful air about it."  For teachers, the most valuable element of the site is the bibliography. The students will most likely find the summaries of the novels and the complete listing of Lowry's work helpful in projects they might do with this novel.  The site also includes a list of works written about the author.  "The site is simple to scroll through and has no links."
Overall Rating :  3

The Internet Public Library:  Lois Lowry
http://www.ipl.org/youth/AskAuthor/Lowry.html

This site is limited, but does contain a nice informative interview with Lois Lowry.  One of the nice features of this site that students will enjoy is the lengthy "Frequently Asked Questions" and answers.  This section and the subsequent interview give students an authentic gauge of the author's opinions.  The questions and answers also offer students insight into the creative process of writing and how authors draw from their life and personal philosophy of life to create characters, plot and theme. 
Overall Rating:  3