The Gift Of Life
By studying The Giver, students will better understand the dangers of stripping away the value of life. Students will be able to critically analyze this piece of literature and recognize how similar social concepts can be recognized throughout history. The social studies exploration of the Holocaust is one of the many examples where the value of human life was belittled. By studying the Holocaust students will see the tragedy of this time period and also become aware of racial and religious prejudices. Students will also spend time studying the intricacy of the human body’s cells and DNA.
The emotional goal that we have set forth for this unit is to enable each student to recognize their own self worth, and to help them acknowledge that their life, along with the lives of their peers are unique, and valuable. We will use challenging questions and responses to help students use their feelings and emotions to develop comprehensive answers to some of life’s difficult questions about identity. We hope that our students will see each other as more than a name, a face, or a number; but that they will understand they are specifically created and designed to be the beautiful individuals they are, and that each of them are loved by God, who made them to be the way they are.
Through studying the book “The Giver,” by Louis Lowery, students will understand the gift and uniqueness of life God has blessed them with. We will look at Psalms 139, which states that God created our inmost being, he knitted us together in our mother’s womb. As Christians, we must praise him because we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Students will understand that God values their bodies and they must use their bodies to go honor God in this world. Students will also be asked to find their identities fully rooted in the fact that they belong fully to our loving Savior, Jesus Christ.
In this unit, students will advance their knowledge of who God created them to be. They will do this communally through various activities, projects, and through a comfortable, community-inspired classroom. They will grow to appreciate their fellow classmates, as they understand the unique and precious way that God created each of them. This unit seeks to help students gain an appreciation for others as individuals created in the image of God.
Through this unit, students will learn about what makes them unique as individuals. They will learn about the intricacies of the human body in cells and DNA in order to gain a greater appreciation for their own bodies. Students will be asked to reflect on Psalm 139 and view their bodies as part of their unique identity that was carefully crafted by our loving creator.
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