Thursday, August 25, 2011

The Hunger Games

I've read The Hunger Games twice now.  Both times I tore through it in about 3 days.  It's a great book.  Recently I was reading on blogs about teachers who are teaching The Hunger Games in their classrooms.  I would love to teach it.  I'm a bit concerned about the fact that it's so violent.  Then I chatted with a former student and she suggested reading both The Hunger Games and The Giver and then comparing the utopian societies.  This made me think that I never once thought about not reading The Giver with my kids.  Maybe I can read The Hunger Games with them.  I can bet money that they have probably seen worse things on TV and at movies, and they probably will go see the movie when it comes out. 

So, my question[s]...
A) Have you read The Hunger Games with your class? 
B) Are you going to read The Hunger Games with your class? 
C) Will you request parent permission to read The Hunger Games with your class? 
D) Do you have any great resources for teaching The Hunger Games to 7th & 8th Graders?

7 comments:

  1. I LOVED the books - and the movie comes out on my birthday next year ... I'm thinking it's a birthday present for me. My grade 6/7s read it independently last year ... but I didn't do any lessons on it.
    Tracee Orman has a FANTASTIC unit plan on TeacherspayTeachers - it's the top best-seller. I don't have this particular unit, but I do have one of her poetry units - very comprehensive!
    Try this link:
    http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Hunger-Games-Unit-Lessons-QA-Tests-Activities-Quiz-Vocab-Maps-Key

    Jen
    Runde's Room

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  2. I just found your blog and I am thrilled that I keep finding more middle school blogs! I teach fifth grade math/science and recently started a teaching blog to hopefully connect with other middle school teachers. There are just so many K-3 blogs! I recently read The Hunger Games and LOVED the series! I bought it for my class library for next year because some of the kids were reading it but after reading it myself this summer, I'm not sure how I feel about putting it out for them to read independently. I'm curious to see how people respond to this because my biggest concern is parent permission regarding the violence. I agree that they are probably being exposed to it elsewhere but it's just so raw! Looking forward to visiting your blog again. I'm your newest follower!

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  3. I'm so glad to have founf another middle school blog!
    I'm your newest follower :)

    I read the trilogy twice!!!! It one of my all time favorites!!!!
    MY 8th graders read it last year for fun, and this year my 8th graders are reading it as a class novel.

    My district approved the book and so I'm not asking parents for permission.

    We will be going on a field trip as a class to see the movie in March! We are all so excited!

    We are starting to read the book on Sept. 6th, so I will post up my lessons, activities, and ideas as we go through it on my blog.

    There is a blog that is dedicated just to Hunger Games lessons (google it) and tons of stuff on TpT.

    Have a great year!

    Mor

    A Teacher's Treasure

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  4. Can you believe that I have not even read it yet? I've only heard good things about it so far so I want to read it (and I even bought it-just have not gotten to it yet). :) So I can't offer you any advice,but am curious to see what other people say about it!

    Now I'm your newest follower! :)

    Shannon
    http://6thgradescottforesmanreadingstreetresources.wordpress.com/

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  5. I plan on reading it with my 8th graders and then taking a field trip to see the movie. I haven't told them yet, because the field trip hasn't been approved yet. I can hardly contain my excitement!

    Amy

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  6. I have it on my shelf in 8th grade. It was read aloud to my son in 5th grade, which I was not too pleased about. I had told him he could not read it until 7th grade. I agree that the violence is very profound. I would read it in 8th grade aloud, just wish the teacher would have been more discerning for 5th grade students! There is a world of difference between those years!

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  7. I read it with my advanced sixth grade reading class... they might seem young, but I work in an urban community where some of my students have seen more bad in their short lives than we can imagine. I wanted to read The Hunger Games with them because they need a character to stand behind, someone that they can root for in the hardest of circumstances. We also did The Giver, and the writing teacher did a three week unit with the whole grade based on dystopian/utopian societies, which they all loved! Ohh... and I don't ask permission, it's easier to ask for forgiveness if anyone were to complain. :-)
    (Would also like to note... I did NOT think it was okay to read because they are used to violence in movies and on TV -- this was the one reason why I almost DIDN'T read it -- but instead we talked at length about the realities of war, suffering, and governments gone wild!)

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