May the Odds be Ever in Your Favor!

Title: The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games Series #1)

Author: Suzanne Collins

Copyright: 2008

Publisher: Scholastic Inc.

Guided Reading Level: Z

Genre: Science Fiction

Summary: This thrilling novel is focused around a young and fierce Katniss Everdeen, a 16 year old girl who volunteers as a tribute for her younger sister Prim to fight to the finish in the 74th "Hunger Games".  In the "Hunger Games" two tributes from each of the 12 Districts in a dystopic country called "Panem" in North America must fight to stay alive. Only one of the twenty-four tributes in each of the 73 games before has won. Katniss grew up in District 12, the poorest district of them all. After her father died a few years before this novel takes place, Katniss became the family provider. Not only is it because of this and her strength, but it's Katniss's sheer love for her younger sister that entices her to volunteer - with the intention to fight to the death for her sister.  Will Katniss survive the violence of the games?

Suggested Delivery: Read Aloud

Key Vocabulary: 

• Apothecary
• Dystopia
• Iridescent
• Meager
• Reaping (see second definition)
• Repentance
• Tesserae
• Treason
• Tribute

Electronic Resources:

• Here is a great book trailer to show children before they read the book: 

• This is a fun game for students to complete during free time before, during, or after reading the novel. Trial by Fire

Increasing Comprehension Skills:

Before Read Aloud:

• Have students fill out a word knowledge chart like the one I created below.  This will familiarize students with the vocabulary words, and when the words come into play while reading, students will have some prior knowledge with the words. 

• Have students brainstorm ideas about what the symbol on the cover of the novel might mean. Creating inferences with this will enrich comprehension skills as they will later find out what the symbol means later in the novel. 

During Read Aloud:

• Make sure students fill out a word journal for each vocabulary term. They will need to have nine copies of these.  It might also be a good idea for students to paste these sheets in their reading journals. They will need to use context clues for this activity, which will benefit them greatly. Here is a sample vocabulary journal worksheet (found at this website). 

• Make sure students create two Text-Text, two Text-World, and two Text-Self connections throughout the novel. Students can write however many connections they would like, but they should have at least two of each throughout the novel. They need to write them down in their reading journals and also provide textual support with each connection. This will help enrich knowledge while building connections of not just the characters, but also the events happening in the novel.  It will be interesting to see what students can come up with! 

After Read Aloud:

• Students will love creating a wordle based on a character.  I created a sample wordle below based on Katniss. This will enrich inferential and literal comprehension skills.  

• Have students create a timeline of the events this novel depicts. This will help students summarize, and will require students to go back and find key events in the novel. This skill is excellent for students who struggle comprehensively.  Also, if students want to continue to read the series, this will help them greatly as they will be able to understand more comprehensively as the events in the next two novels certainly require rich prior knowledge with the first novel. 

Writing Activity:

• Students can respond to many prompts for a writing activity, but I highly suggest one of these two prompts:
• Imagine you are a citizen of any one of the districts.  You do not like the Hunger Games and believes the tradition of people fighting to the death for Panem is ridiculous, regardless of the history behind it.  Write a letter to President Snow persuading him to get rid of the Hunger Games.  Use evidence found in the novel to make your letter strong!
• Knowing how the novel ended, what do you think the next novel, "Catching Fire" might be about?  Do you think Peeta and Katniss will have many consequences for what they did or not? Do you think the Hunger Games will continue?  Use evidence from the text to support your opinionated essay. 

Tiffany Tidbit: I cannot think of a better word other than "obsessed".  I am obsessed with the Hunger Games trilogy.  I have read the books cover to cover many times, and I have watched the movies just as much. The movies are great, don't get me wrong, but every time I watch one of the movies I find myself comparing the movie to the coinciding book.  Not to mention Suzanne Collins, the author of the trilogy, lives in my town!  Of all the well-known people who either live or lived in my town, I am proud to say Suzanne Collins is one of them, because she gives our town pride. When my younger brother read this novel in 6th grade, about a year before the first movie came out, that was when I was introduced to the trilogy and fell in love. While this book is very violent, it may be a good independent read for most children, especially if your school does not tolerate violent novels. If you have a child in your classroom at this reading level and know they can likely handle the violence within the novel, encourage them to read the novel and to complete the trilogy.  The messages in each book are amazing and quite inspiring.