Hunger Games – Lesson plans, worksheets, and handouts
No.
I haven’t read it.
Yes.
I have seen it.
It seems like everyone I talk to has read The Hunger Games trilogy. Everyone I talk to tells me that I have to read it. Probably won’t happen. (I told my daughter that when she reads Stephen Ambrose’s Band of Brothers, I’ll read The Hunger Games.)
So I have heard quite a bit about Katniss and District 12 and Peeta and . . . well, pretty much all of it. I also spent almost three hours last Friday night watching the movie. I get it. It’s a great story of courage, loyalty, oppression, and overcoming injustice.
A few years ago when the books were just coming out, I thought that there were pieces in the Hunger Games that teachers, especially geography teachers, could use to hook kids into instructional content. I liked the idea of using the Districts within the story to lead kids into some great discussion and learning about regions, human geography, and geography’s impact on who we are.
And there were some who disagreed.
But I said it then and I’ll continue to say it:
Some suggest that we shouldn’t have to use pop culture to teach social studies. I disagree. I will use pretty much whatever it takes to engage kids in content. And if the relationship between Katniss, Peeta, and Gale hooks students into a better understanding of civic and geographic concepts, we ought to be all over it.
At the time, teachers were pretty much on their own because there just wasn’t a lot out there to help integrate social studies themes from the Hunger Games into their instruction. That’s changed. A lot of stuff, both free and commercial, is now available.
I especially like the maps. And it’s interesting to notice how they all seem a bit different.
One quick exercise I would use would be to simply ask kids to compare and contrast the maps and then discuss why they might look different. If students have read the book, you might have kids create their own map and justify why their map looks the way it does. This could lead into a deeper look at US regions and how where we live affects who we are.
I’ve listed some more things below. You can find Panem maps, lesson plan ideas, worksheets, handouts, and a variety of other goodies.
Enjoy!
Update May 4, 2012
Teaching with the Hunger Games
Map Links
- Updated Map of Panem
- A Map of Panem
- The Fall of North America and the Rise of Panem
- Google Image Search
Lesson Plan and Other Resources Links
- Hunger Games Unit Plan
- The Hunger Games Resources: Lessons, Quizzes, Tests, Vocab
- Hunger Games Lessons
- Lesson Plans & Resources for Teaching The Hunger Games
- Lesson Plans and Study Guides
- Novel Ideas: The Hunger Games Lesson Plan
- The Odds Ever in Your Favor: Ideas and Resources for Teaching ‘The Hunger Games”
- Teaching ‘The Hunger Games’
Trackbacks & Pingbacks
- Teaching with The Hunger Games « From Surviving to Thriving
- Pop Culture, Hunger Games and Geography class « History Tech
- Technology Bits Bytes & Nibbles | Hunger Games – Lesson plans, worksheets, and handouts
- Social studies teachers as subversives « History Tech
- What's Katniss got to do with College Prep |
- » Week 4: History Tech Lisa Holthaus
Wow — your timing couldn’t be better. I teach 7th grade Social Studies. I’m meeting the school librarian and LA teacher for lunch & movie in 5 minutes. I’ll be sharing this with them.
Susanne,
Sweet! Glad it was useful.
Good luck. I would love to hear how you plan to use the story in class and how it goes!
glennw
Though I’m not a classroom teacher, I work in the administrative offices at Maize and I totally agree that we need use pop culture when appropriate as a means to teach! Capturing children’s attention is a large portion of getting them involved and if they relate to this – I say “awesome”. You still need to read this book! What great discussions you and your daughter can have. The questions/views that you can add to the discussion that will broaden her horizons, but I think you already know that! My children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews and many, many friends have read this and many great conversations have occurred as a result.
Hmmm… what really led up to that revolution? Then I think of our current political crisis’ and frustrations of many citizens and wonder, “ are we headed to a similar situation”. Could this be a current events topic? How do we prevent such an uprising? Food for thought!
Amazing resources, thanks for sharing. This is extremely helpful as we are curriculum mapping.
Thanks,
Kim
I have both read the books and seen the movie. I personally see a connection to broader themes of Power and Conflict. Regarding the use of Pop-Culture to teach students; I think we’ve got to reach them “where they are”! They are going to read the books and see the movie, why not make them think more deeply about it?
Yes! I like the idea of Power and Conflict. There are so many ways to use this sort story to hook kids into thinking about social studies themes.
Thanks for thd comment!
glennw
Thank you for these worksheets. I agree that sometimes you just have to use what works!
I also have to say, I saw the movie, and I was not impressed. I happened to pick up the book while I was at a friend’s house, and I couldn’t put it down until I finished it. I’ve now read all 3 of the books, and I’ve read each one in a day. Yes, they are easy reads, but they’re also really hard to put down. It’s just my opinion, but I think you should read the first 25 pages of the first book, then see what you think.
The movie was not universally loved by wife and daughter either. It seems as if books are always better than the movie!
glennw
I have added several new links since April 12. The Hunger Games is such a popular topic, I am trying to keep the post up-to-date, with all the latest resources. http://survivingtothriving.wordpress.com/2012/04/12/teaching-with-the-hunger-games/
Linda,
Thanks for the update on your update! Appreciate all your hard work.
glennw