If you’ve ever read The Giver by Lois Lowrey, the Ceremony of 12 should sound familiar to you. This is when the 11s become 12, and are given their assignments for their careers for the rest of their lives.

When the Grade 8 students came into class today, they were each given an envelope with their ‘assignment’ enclosed. One at a time, students read out their assignments, and as a class, we “thanked them for their childhood.” Some careers that were assigned include: Caretake or the Old, Pilot, Recreation Director, Doctor, Instructor of 9s, Landscape Worker, and Laborer. Our class is so special, that we even had one person assigned to the Committee of Elders, and one is the next Receiver of Memories.

However, just as in The Giver, not all students were pleased with their assignments, and so they all now have the opportunity to accept their career, or appeal to the Committee of Elders. We will be working on their speeches in class over the next few days, and will present on Tuesday, November 9th.

Students can find the rubric and expectations here, as well as some sentence starters in case they get stuck!