6th grade Humanities students started Lois Lowry’s The Giver this week. As an introduction to one of the major (cultural) concepts expressed in the novel, students brainstormed and analyzed the pros and cons of several elements of a potential utopia on Earth, including ideas such as the following:

*War would not exist.

*Everyone would have the same clothing.

*Disease would not exist.

*Inclement weather would be eliminated.

*Everyone would be employed.

The students made predictions about the possible positive and negative long-term effects of the elements and evaluated the elements to determine if they were appropriate for a utopia. Finally students conducted a class discussion about whether or not they would like to have these elements implemented into our real-life, contemporary culture. The heated discussions led students to justify their beliefs about what constituted an ideal world, but it was clear to the class everyone had their own opinions about what was perfect. What a fantastic introduction to our new novel!