Hunger games, using the movie or the novel in the classroom

By Markus Skårnes

What is the difference between using the movie and the book in the classroom?

The biggest advantage of using the book is the magnitude of reading practice. The more reading a student does, the better and faster they can read. The book also contains a deeper version of the story, where there is more focus on the inner workings and struggles of the characters. A possible downside of the book is the time it takes a pupil to read it.

The movie, on the other hand, has more visual action. The pupils are able to see what is happening, possibly making it more understandable. When watching the movie, the listening skill is being developed, as well as reading to some degree from the subtitles. The movie only lasts a little over 2 hours, so the pupils will have more time working with the themes and story in other ways, rather than spending all the time just reading the story.

(Image: http://www.rantchic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/The-Hunger-Games.jpg)

As for using them didactically, one might want to focus on different aspects of the Hunger Games, depending on which medium is being used.

The book might give a better ground for character analysis, given their ability to look into the mind of the main character as well as the more detailed background story.

Meanwhile, the movie may give more opportunity and motivation to discuss themes. It is one thing to be told about the poverty and violence in the story through words, but to see them in images is perhaps an even more powerful experience.

As for specific didactic uses, we might consider having a class discussion on some real life examples of themes found in the book before reading the novel or watching the movie. This way, the pupils can immediately relate what they experience through the story to real life.

If the books is used, the pupils can use the time reading to not only focus on the story, but also on learning and practicing reading strategies, such as using the context to understand meaning.

Alternatively, if the movie is used, the pupils can focus on listening strategies, such as looking at body language and also here using context to understand the meaning of words they might not have heard before.

In both cases it might be a good idea to inform the pupils of what they're going to focus on in the post-reading activities, so that they may start to note important points and reflect over these already when they're reading or watching.

For post-reading activities after reading the novel, they could for example write themselves into a scene instead of the main character.

After watching the movie, they could work with a theme such as the vast difference between rich and poor. This could be done by for example making two drawings to represent both the rich and poor lifestyle found in the movie.  

Poetry in the classroom

By Helene Lundberg

For someone poems can be boring and many wonder why we have to work so much with poems in the classroom, especially when you find the poems difficult to understand. However, the reasons why we are learning poems are many. The Norwegian competence aims from LK06 says that “read and understand different types of texts of varying length from different sources” (Udir, 2006), this include poetry as well. Poetry is, and has always been, a huge part of literature tradition in Britain and English speaking countries, and pupils in school are supposed to learn about these countries. Poetry is also a genre we often come across in our daily life, and poems are often short texts and that appeal to many students. Poems are also a great platform for learning to read between the lines.

When students have reach 5^th and 6^th grade, they will have a greater vocabulary and we can introduce them to some more poetry terms. Rhyme schemes are something they probably are getting used to, and this might be one of the easiest things to discover in a poem. Other devices used in a poem could be alliteration, when a line or verse in a poem contains several words that begins on the letter. Assonance are when lines or verses contains words with repeating vowels or sounds. Here is one example:

  

http://powerupseo.com/free-assonance-examples.html 

Poetry can also be a good way for Norwegian students to learn new words and pronunciations. Reading a poem with several rhymes aloud English learners to figure out how words are pronounced, especially if they know one of the rhyme words pronunciations, they could figure out how the other rhyme word should sound based on the flow of them poem.  For anyone to learn new words, you have to be exposed for new words. Some vocabulary learning strategies a teacher could use in a poetry lesson are making the students identify similarities between English and Norwegian, visualize words that students have a tough time understanding, and picking out chunks or lines to see if there are some words that often occur together.

As we can see, poetry is an important part of the English subject in Norwegian schools. By reading poetry you do not only learn about different cultures, you also become more familiar with the genre and poetry terms, and it is a great way for a class to learn new words and understand the language.

Sources: 

Birketveit and Williams (2013) Literature for the English classroom. Fagbokforlaget Vigmostad & Bjørke AS

Munden (2014) Engelsk på mellomtrinnet. Gyldendal Norsk Forlag AS
LK06 http://www.udir.no/kl06/eng1-03/Hele/Kompetansemaal/kompetansemal-etter-7.-arstrinn/?lplang=eng 25.11.15

Photo: http://powerupseo.com/free-assonance-examples.html  25.11.15

The Hunger Games

By: Håvard

The Hunger Games is a book written by Suzanne Collins where we get to read about a dystopian world. The action takes place in “Panem”, a country that rose from the ashes of North America. Panem has a very particular system. There is a government that is placed in the Capitol, and it has a strict regime they use to hold the “districts” in check. It is twelve districts, which each of them has a function to the Capitol. Each district produces something different for the Capitol. There used to be thirteen districts, but district 13 rebelled and was destroyed by their government. After this, the Capitol started The Hunger Games.

Each year, two of the children from each district is “reaped”. This means that they have to leave home and partake in a televised battle to the death with the kids from other districts. The protagonist of the book, Katniss Everdeen, volunteers for the Games when her little sisters name is pulled at the reaping in district 12. Now she and the boy from the district, Peeta Mellark, has to go to the Capitol and participate in The Hunger Games.

This book has many themes and values that teenagers can relate too. Some of them are love, friendship and the need to stand up against the authorities. When it comes to standing up to authorities, teenagers often feel that the “grown-ups” treat them unfairly and Katniss is a protagonist that stand up and fights. Love is also a big part of the story, where Peeta is in love with Katniss, but she does not answer this love. This is something many people can relate to, not just teens. The friendships Katniss forges inside the arena, especially with Rue, is something that can touch the readers as well. In addition, when she dies, it shows the reader the hardships of dealing with loss.

It is a book that can capture people’s interest and make them realize that reading books is not necessarily a boring activity.

Sources:

Collins Suzanne (2008) The Hunger Games, Scolastic Ink, Broadway, New York 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/brokendownlover/6608549961

Authorities in Dystopian Literature - The Hunger Games

By Elias Stenersen

The book The Hunger Games is the first book in a trilogy, written by Suzanne Collins. The book is a so-called dystopian novel, which can be defined as “A fictional, socially engineered society usually presided over by a totalitarian regime” (Gamble, 2013, p.200).

In The Hunger Games, the socially engineered society is Panem. President Snow is the ruler of Panem, and his regime is exactly as you might think a totalitarian regime is. The totalitarian regime enforced by President Snow and his government is more or less a dictatorship.

As early as page seven in the book, we read that in Panem the government does not allow free speech. Katniss tells a story from when she was young and used to “blurt out about District 12, about the people who rule our country…” (Collins, 2008, p.7). Katniss goes on to explain that she stopped criticizing the regime in public, after she realized she could get in trouble if she didn’t stop.  

https://www.flickr.com/photos/goodncrazy/4350445408

Later in the book, another key aspect of dystopian literature is present. At the end of chapter one, the reasons behind the creation of the Hunger Games is revealed. The games were created to remind Panem’s citizens of the power of the regime. This yearly reminder of what Snow and his government is capable of is meant to kill all thoughts about rebellion against the authorities.

Snow and his strict regime use another very direct way to control the citizens of Panem. Peacekeepers are armed forces stationed in the Districts in order to control the masses and spread fear. Rue from District 11 tells Katniss a story about a boy who was shot for trying to keep his pair of see in the dark glasses.

The idea of authorities not allowing free speech, individual thinking and using fear to control the masses are typical features of the authorities or governments found in dystopian literature.

Hunger Games in the classroom

Writer: Håvard

This post will be about how you can use literary texts when teaching English. More accurately: The Hunger Games. This book can be able to grab the pupils’ attention and make the English lessons more interesting. It is a work of fiction, but has its roots in problems that we deal with today. This is why I believe it can be a useful and effective tool when teaching.

When using this kind of book, it is important that you get the pupils to read it. There are different solutions as to how to work with this. You can give them a set period to read the whole book, and then discuss it. Alternatively, give them a number of pages as homework and work through the book together in class. Using this book, that is not a traditional “boring” schoolbook, it is a possibility of peaking the interest of the pupils and make them more motivated to read even more books in their spare time.

In Anna Birketveit and Gweno Williams book: “Literature for the English classroom, theory into practice”, they have a chapter about novels for teenage readers. They list some aims and methodology that is useful when working as a teacher. I will list two of them here.

1

• .       “To suggest and encourage a passion for reading in the English classroom.
• .       To highlight what is distinctive about teenagers, thereby increasing understanding of the types of reading matter and themes which might appeal to them most”. (Birketveit and Williams, page 165)

Both of these show that it is possible, and that these type of books can be used effectively when teaching English. If this can be a stepping-stone for the pupils to read more books in English, I believe that it is appropriate to use them.

Sources:

 Birketveit, Williams, 2014, Literature for the English Classroom, Fagbok Forlaget, Bergen

https://www.flickr.com/photos/onourminds/6173966553

Matilda

Matilda Is a book written by Roald Dahl in 1988. Tha book is about a super inteligent girl with special powers who lives with her family who don't care about her or education. At school she meets the wonderful and kind teacher Miss Honey, and the terrible headmaster Miss Trunchbull.

The book has several themes and one of them is children who rebels against authority (in this case the parents and miss Trunchbull). Another theme in Matilda is family, Matilda knows that her family isn't normal and show us what a dysfunctional family is. We take it for granted that parents are loving, kind and suportive. Miss Honey has also a dysfunctional relationship with her aunt Miss Trunchbull. A third theme you can find in the book is authority abusing power. Mis Trunchbull abuses her children by throwing them around, locking them in and forcing them to eat cake. At last but not least we have the theme "superpowers", Matilda is not only super smart but she also can move things by using her mind. How cool is that?

- by Karita Hansen

Panem: A dystopian society

By: Martine Olsborg

The Hunger Games has become a world famous YA-series, and all three books have been adapted into movies. The series is written by the American author Suzanne Collins. The story takes place in “the Hunger Games universe”, and it is set in the country “Panem”. Panem is a dystopian society, and we will now look at what makes Panem a dystopian.

First of all, what is a dystopia? Nikki Gamble describes dystopia as “a fictional, socially engineered society usually presided over by a totalitarian regime” (Gamble, 2013, p. 200). One of the most characteristic things about a dystopian literature is that the humans are the cause behind the dystopic state. A dystopic state can have similarities with the world we live in, but it is usually set in an imaginary future. It is a very restricted society where you have a superior authority that controls the rest of the citizens. (Gamble, 2013, p. 200)

So what about Panem? After national environmental disasters and war, North America was destroyed. Panem raised from the ashes and became a country. Humans where therefore the reason behind the evolving of this state. Panem is placed at an unknown time in the future, as dystopias often are. It is divided into 12 districts, and Panem’s source of power lies in a utopian city called “the Capitol”. The different districts are built on class divisions and they are not allowed to have contact across the districts. The society is built as a pure dictatorship with “President Snow” as the one in charge. He and his “peacemakers” makes sure that the citizens don’t contact other districts. This is to avoid that the people in the districts comes together in a new rebellion. The society is living in hunger, but in the Capitol people are eating more than they need. The fact that nobody can take a stand against the injustice in Panem, says a lot about how much power the government has and how much power they use to keep people from rebelling.

As you can understand, Panem is a very controlling society and it does not give the citizens much freedom. It is an unfair life how the people in the different districts lives. It is truly a dystopia and I’m just happy that I don’t have to take place in a society as Panem. 

Sources
- Gamble, Nikki. Exploring Children’s Literature. London: Sage Publishers, 2013
- http://www.flickeringmyth.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/The-HUnger-Games-Movie-Logo.png

Romeo and Juliet in class

Shakespear is a Writer and a poet who many of us has heard of, he has written some of the most famous plays and sonnets. One of them is Romeo and Juliet, for those who don`t know the play is about two young lovers who can`t be together because of their families and their feuds. The play is used in many secondary schools for teaching purpose, because of it`s relevance.

I`m going to show you two ways of using Shakespeare`s Romeo and Juliet in class. Because of the sometimes-difficult language, I have chosen to give you examples of teaching Romeo and Juliet to 10th graders because it might be easier to understand for them. 

The first example is to set up the play, you can do that by dividing the class into five group, where each group has to play one of the five acts (this depends on the size of your class). That way you don`t have to make every pupil read the whole book. Each group read just their own act, and then have the chance to discuss the language, and what some of the words means.  If you want to make it a big project you could make them film their act, that way it don`t feel so scary to show it to the others. It`s worse to perform it live than showing your classmates a movie. You can also decide if you want them to perform the play as it is, or let the pupils make a modern version. 

Another way is to show them the movie from 1968 by Director Franco Zefirelli, and then divide them into groups where each make a poster about how it was for people living in Shakespeare’s time. What they wore, what kind of social rules they had, if there is any likeness to today`s society. This way the pupils get a deeper understanding for the play, because they know more about what kind of time the characters lived in.

Sources
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063518/
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romeo_and_Juliet
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare

By Karita Hansen

Using Fairy Tales in a Teaching Situation

By Vegard Melum

In this blogpost we will be looking at pros and cons with fairy tales, the structure of the tales and an activity we can use in class to further our knowledge about fairy tales in general.

A traditional fairy tale has certain pros and cons. According to Anna Birketveit and Gweno Williams (“Literature for the English classroom – Theory into Practice”, 2014:93-) a traditional fairy tale has certain pros and cons. Here are two lists of pros and cons mentioned in the book, that answers the question, “Why use fairy tales in a teaching situation?”:

The Grimm Brothers

Pros

·        The plot and characters of the tales are often familiar

·        The tales follow a fixed pattern

·        By reading fairy tales the pupils can deal with longer texts

·        The vocabulary is simple (everyday language)

·        Actions, situations and phrases are repeated

By following a fixed pattern the story enabled the learners to guess meaning of unfamiliar words. By repeating actions, situations and phrases, it will re-inforce language learning. Also, because the stories are pretty much the same in Norwegian and English, fairy tales makes it easier to compare the two languages and to guess meanings.

Cons

·        Many of the tales has outdated values and morals

·        They may promote stereotypical gender roles

Ever since Charles Perault (1697), the Grimm Brothers (1858) and Asbjørnsen and Moe (1871) started writing and collecting fairy tales, they have been changed and adapted to the new culture and society. Take for example “Sleeping Beauty”. In the original fairy tale by Charles Perault, Sleeping Beauty was raped while being asleep, and woke up giving birth. Now a days the tales aren’t that grotesque. This is because they are changing along with the society we live in. You can’t just tell a kid today about a princess being raped. That is why Birketveit and Williams states that many fairy 

tales has outdated values and morals.

To make the pupils work with both the old and the adapted versions of the common fairy tales, they need to do some activities. A fun activity you can do with pupils in the lower secondary is having the students make two versions of the same fairy tale. First, they will write a “modern” fairy tale, as the ones we read and use today. Second, they will use the fairy tale they wrote and then write a more grotesque version of it. Like the ones the Grimm Brothers collected and wrote in the 1800s.

To write a fairy tale, the pupils has to follow a narrative structure used in the fairy tale genre:

·        Opening: “Once upon a time”

Sleeping Beauty

·        The focus should be on a leading character

·        Contrast: The characters are either good or bad

·        Twins: Some characters share the same traits

·        Magic numbers, such as 3, 7 and 12

·        Final stress: The act that brings a solution

·        Closing: “They lived happily ever after”

The fairy tale should have a fast moving plot, where the telling is simplified and details are eliminated. Stock characters are common, and the tale should have a principal massage with an optimistic worldview. This could be for example: life involves a struggle, but be good and you will be rewarded.

Happy story writing!

Birketveit, Williams, 2014, Literature for the English Classroom, Fagbok Forlaget, Bergen

Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf

By Vegard Melum

Fairy tales has been an essential part of almost everyone’s youth. When you are young, you will hear them all the time. Whether it is your parents telling you a story before bed, or your teacher trying to teach you something. What most kids are not aware of is that fairy tales are meant to make them think and reflect. However, that is not what we are going to look at in this blogpost. Here we will be looking at “Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf” by Roald Dahl (Revolting Rhymes) and comparing it to the original fairy tale.

Once you get older and tired of reading and hearing the same old fairy tales repeatedly, you could check out “Revolting Rhymes” by Roald Dahl. What the famous author does in this book is quite funny. He takes fairy tales such as “Little Red Riding Hood” and “Cinderella”, and breathe new life into them. These Revolting Rhymes are written as poems, easy to understand and surprisingly funny. The other thing that really distinguishes the Revolting Rhymes from the originales is how grotesque thay are, which you will see for yourself further along in this texts.

In the original fairy tale about Little Red Riding Hood, she goes to see her grandma, meets the big bad wolf, the wolf eats her grandma and disguises himself. Later when “Red” enters her grandmother’s cabin, she has a long discussion with the wolf about “grandma’s” appearance. We all know the rest of the story.

Whereas in Roald Dahl’s revolting rhyme, everything seems like the original fairy tale at first, until “Red” suddenly does something unexpected:

Then Little Red Riding Hood said, “But Grandma,
what a lovely great big furry coat you have on.”

“That’s wrong!” cried the Wolf. “Have you forgot

To tell me what BIG TEETH I’ve got?
Ah well, not matter what you say,
I’m going to eat you anyway.”

The small girl smiles. One eyelid flickers.
She whips a pistol from her knickers.
She aims it at the creature’s head
And bang, bang, bang, she shoots him dead.

A few weeks later, in the wood,

I came across Miss Riding Hood.

But what a change! No cloak of red,

No silly hood upon her head.

She said, "Hello, and do please note
My lovely furry wolfskin coat."

I personally think this type of literature is hysterical, and I highly recommend other people to read more from Roald Dahl's "Revolting Rhymes".

Roald Dahl (1982) -Revolting Rhymes - Penguin Toung Readers Group, 2009

Romeo & Juliet

By: Marikken Sofie Riis

Perhaps one the world's most famous plays, Romeo and Juliet, is written by the famous and glorious William Shakespeare, in London in the middle of 1590s. The play is divided into 5 Acts, with 3-6 scenes in each, and it’s written in present tense. The play is categorized as a tragic drama, due to is heartbreaking ending. The setting takes place in Verona in Italy and in a typical Renaissance setting.

Romeo and Juliet by Francesco Hayez, 1823

As a summary, the story is mainly about the two star-crossed lovers and their feuding families. Romeo, the son of Montague, falls in love with the lovely and young Juliet. While falling in love, he’s uncertain of that she’s the daughter of Capulet, his family’s great enemy! However, they fall into a passionate love despite their hostiles families, and because of their forbidden love - their takes their lives.

The plays protagonist is Romeo and Juliet, which also shares
the plays point of view. The climax, in my opinion, is in act 5
and scene 3 when Romeo finds Juliet and kill himself with poison. Thereby the falling action also takes place, in my opinion, in Act 5 and at the end of scene 3, when the Prince and the parents discover the bodies of Romeo and Juliet, and agree to put aside their feud in the interest of peace.

One of the central themes in the play is love. In the play, you can find themes like the forcefulness of love, love as a cause of violence, forbidden love, love between friends and love between nurses and child. There’s also themes of the society as children versus adult, the individual versus society, the inevitability of fate. They play also enlighten the importance to have freedom. Personally, the play gave me a clear message about the importance to have and to give freedom. Freedom to be who you want to be, love who you want and do what you want.

It’s interesting that still, after all these years, the play is still essential and representative of today's society. Romeo and Juliet show us still how fragile love is, so we must grasp and accept it when we have it.

Sources: Shakespeare, William. (1982) Romeo & Juliet. Glasgow: Oxford University press

Using Romeo and Juliet in the classroom

By: Runa Nesje

Romeo and Juliet is the famous, tragic love story about two young lovers whose deaths was the necessary for their two families to end a long feud. Since the story is a play, it can be funnier for the pupils to work with the text in a practical activity. Last week we worked with Romeo and Juliet in our class, and we did this activity called “freeze frame”. We divided the class into two group, one group was going to remake a scene from all the scenes from act 1, and the other group would remake a scene from each scene in act 2. We went through all the scenes and decided who was going to act what and how we were going to place us. We had 6 scenes to make a remake of. It ended with someone being a bush, a wall, lamps, chairs, and some of the characters from act 2. The meaning of freeze frame, is to portray a scene from a story in just pictures using only our bodies and facial expressions to portray the scene the best way for the audience. The group is counting until 1o for theme self, then the whole group will change positions and make the transition as fast and smoothly as possible for a new picture .  

This picture is from when we acted out the balcony scene with Romeo and Juliet in act 2. 

I think this is a great activity one can use in the classroom. While working with the “freeze frame” the pupils get to work with cooperating with each other in groups, they have to read (parts of) the play to plan what they are going to do, and everyone in the group can contribute.

Sources: 

Shakespeare. W. (1982) Romeo & Juliet. Glasgow: Oxford University press

Romeo and Juliet Thematic Analysis

by Eskil

          The idea of fate functions as a central theme in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. In the prologue of the play, the Chorus informs the audience that Romeo and Juliet are "Star-cross'd Lovers". In other words, it states that Romeo and Juliet are controlled by fate, a force often linked to the movements of the stars. Fate shows itself in all the events regarding the young lovers: the ancient and long-lasting feud between their families, the catastrophic series of mishaps which ruin Friar Lawrence's plans, and the unfortunate timing of Romeo's suicide and Juliet's awakening. The structure of the play itself rests upon the fate from which the two lovers cannot escape.

          The play is written so that the tragedy happens by fate, uncontrollable events that are caused not by the protagonist's character faults, but by external events such as the feud between their families. William Shakespeare raises the protagonists' character to almost unearthly heights near perfection. Both protagonists are kind, loving, brave, loyal and desperately in love with each other. This creates pathos towards the characters, which makes this tragedy much morose than if there was no emotional connection to the protagonists. 

          The feud between the two protagonists families is what represents the fore mentioned fate. This is something that neither Romeo nor Juliet has the power to control, they are virtually powerless. The play has a great way of showing how some things are out of any individual's control and I believe that fate and powerlessness is one of the major themes of the play.

          

"The Hunger Games" a short analysis

By: Maja Berntsen

The Hunger Games is a novel written by Suzanne Collins and was published in 2008. The protagonist in the story is Katniss who lives with her mother and little sister. They live in a completely different world to what we are used to. Panem is the remains of what used to be North-America and consists of 12 Districts and the Capitol. The people who lives in the Capitol live a life in luxury with more food than they can eat. Life in the Districts however, are pretty different. People are starving in some areas and they are heavily controlled by the government. Every year, the government arranges “The Hunger Games”. The Hunger Games is a reality show where 24 teens fight against each other until there is only one left. The Games are broadcasted all over Panem and works as entertainment for the people in the Capitol. There are two contestants from each district, a girl and a boy and they are picked at random. Katniss becomes well known after volunteering for the games in stead of her little sister, who is the one who originally gets picked. The novel follows the games and everything that happens behind the scenes both in the games and in the Districts during the games.

I think that the book is well written and that it reaches out to the age group it has been written for. The first time I read it I was thirteen years old and I became obsessed with this whole universe pretty quick. I think that it catches on so easily because the author uses a language that is pretty easy to understand and it is not a heavy read at all. It is also easy for teens to relate to the themes in the book. Some of the themes that probably is the easiest to relate to are themes like friendship, trust, love and fear.

The novel is written with a first-person narrative where Katniss is the “I”-person. Characters and environment are described detailed through her experiences throughout the book. The other characters are described through Katniss’ description of them, how she looks at them and what what everyone else is saying about them. Katniss is always reflecting on the other character’s tactics on how to survive in the games. When she is comparing the other contestants with each other, you get the idea of who is going to survive the longest and who will get killed pretty quick.

One aspect that can be heavily criticised is how grotesque a lot of the action in the novel is. Just think about it; a group of teens are sent out on an arena to kill each other, for the sake of entertainment. The killings in the book are described quite detailed, so it might not be a novel for the ones who gets easily affected by violence, blood and killing. When I read it as a thirteen-year-old, I did not really think about the violence as a problem, and I do not think that it is such a big deal because it is not the violence that is the main focus in the book. However, if there are young people who have been through for example, wars, this book might not be the ideal book to read because it can bring up old memories.

Over all, I think that The Hunger Games is a brilliant piece of literature and that it has made lots of teens hungry for more books to read and more open to literature. The way the book portrays inequality and corruption is also a great way for young people to learn about complicated themes like this. Books does not have to be boring, to be educational!

Sources:

Collins Suzanne (2008) The Hunger Games, Scolastic Ink, Broadway, New York

The Hunger Games; Showing strength from a position of weakness through sacrifice

The Hunger Games is a trilogy of novels written by the American author Suzanne Collins, focusing on youth/adults as the suitable age group. The setting is the dystopian country of Panem, which is what rose from the ashes of what used to be North America. After a series of disasters, natural and manmade, Panem rose with 13 districts all contributing to the Capitol. Although there was an uprising of the districts against the Capitol, 12 were defeated and the 13^th obliterated. This time period is referred to as the “Dark Days”. (Collins, 2008, The Hunger Games: 21) And The Hunger Games were created as a constant reminder of why not to rebel against the superiority Capitol.

The Hunger Games is an event which each district must provide one girl and one boy, tributes, to participate. Tributes are chosen randomly, like a lottery; only “winning” could very well mean death. The age group eligible for participation are from the year you turn 12 until you’re 18, at 12 your name is entered once and twice at 13 and so on. Adding your name more times can be done in exchange for tesserae, which are supplies in the form of grain and oil. Over an undetermined time period, the 24 tributes must fight to death, until one winner is standing. The arena where the event takes place varies from deserts to green forests.

The theme of sacrifice is especially interesting. The poor whom already have given up equallity, free speach and the freedom of roaming, are forced to sacrifice even more to stay alive. Katniss reveals the harsh truth about starvation and how increasing your chances of getting picked at the reaping, is often the only way to survive.   

Katniss which is the protagonist, sacrifices a lot through the novel. She had to sign up for tesserae multiple times, increasing the cumulative effect in the “lottery” and increasing the chances of her name being picked. The biggest sacrifice however, is when her little sister Primrose gets picked as a tribute at the age of 12, without signing up for tesserae. Katniss takes her place, seeing the odds of her survival close to nothing.

For teaching purposes I think it’s important to show the collective sacrifices of the districts as well as the individual sacrifices of Katniss. They don’t have the freedom of speech, or the physical freedom to wander and explore. To provoke these thoughts, I think these while-reading (while-watching) strategies would be appropriate:

How do the conditions vary between the districts? Why are some districts wealthier than others?

What would you do, if your loved ones were in danger of never returning?

Imagine yourself as a citizen of district 12, how would you devote your time if you and your closest are well fed? Would you sign up for tesserae?

Seeing this in perspective to today’s situation (refugee crisis), what would you give up to help others?

  By: Sigve Guttormsen