Utopia+Project-+The+Giver+by+Lois+Lowry

**Your Task:**
Our country is in decline and will soon face extinction. Your group has been chosen to create a plan for an ideal community. Your group will present this plan to the class as if you are trying to recruit your classmates as colonists to your utopian community. The plan must describe how your community will handle each of these subtopics: 1**) Government and Values** **2) Family** **3) Education and Careers** **4) Technology and Location** You will deliver your plan in an oral presentation with either a PowerPoint OR a Wiki.

The Process:
Each group member will be responsible to do the following independent tasks for one or two of the subtopics 1. Students will use the sites provided to research their subtopic. 2. Students will take notes on and summarize at least resources and will locate images to use in the final product. 3. Students will answer their research questions in at least 3-4 paragraphs (wiki) or 4-5 slides ( PowerPoint).

Topics and Resources:
Listed below are the questions and the resources for each one of the topics:

A. Government
1. In your perfect world, what would be the ideal form of government? 2. Who will be in charge and make decisions for your community? 3. How will the leader(s) be chosen? How long will they serve? 4. What do the people in your community value most? (You are founding __ because you want to live in a community where people are ...) Briefly describe five important values of your community.

[|Types of Government] [|US House of Representatives for Kids] [|Examples of Values] (Use the list in the yellow box only as a guide)

B. Family
1. In your perfect world what would be the ideal family? 2. How will families be formed? Who will decide who marries whom and who has children? How many children will be allowed in each family? 3. Who will care for the children? Where? 4. Who will care for the elderly? Where? 5. Think of at least one original family ritual that all families of your community will observe (like celebrating Christmas with presents and a tree).

[|The Ideal Marriage] [|Arranged Marriages] [|China's One Child Policy] [|Child Care] [|Elderly Care]

C. Education and Careers
1. In your perfect world what would be the ideal way to learn? 2. Describe your school. What age will students pursue their education? 3. Describe the school building (or location). 4. What will be taught, with what tools, and by whom? 5. Will girls and boys be treated differently? 6. Who chooses what career each member of the community will pursue and how is it chosen? 7. How long must citizens have the same job?

[|The Story of American Public Education] [|Education Students with Learning Disabilities] [|Bill Gate's School of the Future] ( read or listen to the story) [|Choosing a Career]

D. Technology and Location
1. Describe the level of technology for your community. Will your community have futuristic technology or go back to simpler times? 2. What methods of transportation will be used? 3. What about communication? 4. What will be your community’s source of energy? 5. Describe your community layout and location. (For example: Our community will be one large building … located on an island in the Pacific Ocean.) (You may draw a labeled map)

[|Hydrogen Fuel Cells]: Basic information about how hydrogen fuel cells work [|Cars of the Future] [|Robotic Pets] [|Future For All:] What's Coming? [|Future Energy Sources] [|Cities of the Future] [|Energy links] [|Chevy Fuel Cell] [|Nuclear Power] [|Energy Sources]: check left margin [|Innovative Transportation] [|Coolest communication devices of the future] [|Floating Platforms for Island Communities]

This assignment was taken from the School District of Waupaca, Wisconsin []