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.