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DISCUSSION:Invite students to ponder: What consequences may occur if the following happened in the Community?For each, challenge students to consider what type of punishment, if any, would be assigned.• Writing derogatory slurs on a wall• Taking someone else’s bike• Teasing a sibling for doing poorly on a test• Biking to another community• Refusing to accept someone’s apologyIRONYIrony is a literary technique that contrasts the expectations of a situation with the events as they actuallyhappen. For example, the way Jonas’s Community uses the term “voluntary” to describe requiredcommunity service is ironic.MUSIC CONNECTION:Invite students to listen to Alanis Morissette’s song Ironic. Encourage them to consider the lyrics and identify someof the ironic situations Morissette references.CIVIC ENGAGMENT:The youth in Jonas’s Community are required to do a certain amount of volunteer work. This is ironic. How cansomeone be required to volunteer? Should volunteer work be required of youth in your community? Why? Pressstudents to justify their argument (their beliefs about how the world operates) with logic or evidence (experiencesthey have had with this type of activity). As a class, develop a service-learning project that you can completeover the course of the year to make a positive difference in your own school or community. Create a list of theproject goals, and include student-generated strategies for ways to ensure that the project will be successful. Askstudents to compare their own program with the volunteerism found in The Giver.3