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tHe GIrL wHo was oN FIre + commoN core

sIxteeN Ya autHors take you back to Panem with thoughtful, smart, and funny essays on Katniss, the Games, reality TV, survival, and more.

•  How does the way the Games affect the brain explain Haymitch’s drinking, Annie’s distraction, and Wiress’ speech problems?

•  What does the rebellion have in common with the War on Terror?

•  Why isn’t the answer to “Peeta or Gale?” as interesting as the question itself?

•  What  should  Panem  have  learned  from  the  fates  of  other hedonistic societies throughout history—and what can we?

A sure-fire conversation starter and an outstanding reference guide for book club and class discussions. Highly recommended.” —tHe-trades.com

Bonus

teacHING tHe book aNd FILm toGetHer? E-book copies of The Girl Who Was on Fire – Movie Edition include access to special movie content: almost 30 pages of the book’s essayists discussing the film adaptation of the first book, plus links to more analysis online.

We’ve made this special Movie Edition material available to teachers for free! Download a copy at http://www.smartpopbooks.com/media/extras/gwwof-movie-content-for-educators.pdf.

The Girl Who Was on Fire - Movie Edition

Lexile® Measure1220L

Table of Contents

Introduction - Leah WilsonWhy So Hungry for the Hunger Games? -

Sarah Rees BrennanTeam Katniss - Jennifer Lynn BarnesYour Heart is a Weapon the Size of Your Fist -

Mary BorsellinoSmoke and Mirrors - Elizabeth M. ReesSomeone to Watch Over Me - Lili WilkinsonReality Hunger - Ned VizziniPanem et Circenses - Carrie Ryan

Not So Weird Science - Cara LockwoodHunger Game Theory - Diana PeterfreundCrime of Fashion - Terri ClarkBent, Shattered, and Mended - Blythe WoolstonDid the Third Book Suck? - Brent HartingerThe Politics of Mockingjay - Sarah Darer LittmanGale: Knight. Cowboy. Badass - Jackson PearceThe Inevitable Decline of Decadence -

Adrienne KressCommunity in the Face of Tyranny - Bree Despain

tHe GIrL wHo was oN FIre modeLs tHe readING and writing skills that students need to excel in the classroom, college, and beyond. It not only demonstrates Common Core Anchor Standards, but also serves as an engaging informational text to help you meet the Common Core’s nonfiction requirements.

1 UsE BrEnT HArTinGEr’s EssAy “DiD THE THirD Book sUCk?” to model and teach CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.1a: Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly and thoroughly, supplying the most relevant evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience’s knowledge level, concerns, values, and possible biases.

•  Hartinger explicitly addresses the idea of claims and counterclaims in his piece, in the way he structures his essay as well as in his introduction, where he lays out what the essay will do. Ask students to think of an example of another piece they’ve recently read that also stated claims and counterclaims, but did so in a more subtle way. Which style do they find more effective, and why?

•  Hartinger is very specific throughout the piece with the evidence he is using to prove his point. Have students go through the essay and write down each piece of evidence that Hartinger uses to support his claim, then do the same for the counterclaim. After tracking the evidence for each side, have students decide which argument they find more effective based only on the evidence they have written down. Based on the conclusion they come to about the more effective argument, do students think Hartinger is fair in his depiction of both sides, or does he ultimately favor his own opinion?

•  One of Hartinger’s biggest strengths in this essay is the sound reasoning that he uses—he acknowledges his own bias but is able to back claims up with multiple pieces of evidence, and not let his feelings cloud his reasoning. Have students find a specific example Hartinger uses  (for either side) that they most agree with, and one they most disagree with, and ask them to explain why, using the same type of reasoning Hartinger does (clear and logical evidence, as opposed to “Gale is a bad person for what he did, so the ending makes sense to me”).

•  After  reading  Hartinger’s  whole  essay,  have  students  choose  their  own  topic  (something  from  the Hunger Games  trilogy  or  another  book)  to  argue  both  sides  of.  Students  can make bullet points arguing each side and then write a compelling conclusion. Then, students can edit each others’ work with Hartinger’s essay in mind as a template.

2 UsE nED Vizzini’s EssAy “rEALiTy HUnGEr” to teach CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.6: Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.

 •  Vizzini’s piece does something very unusual in that it is written half in third person, and half in first person. Have students read through the piece without pointing this out, and ask them afterwards if there was anything they found unusual about the essay. Then, ask them to explain the differences they see in the first-person sections, as opposed to the third-person sections (e.g., less formal writing style, funnier, etc.). Have they encountered other examples of informal first-person writing and more formal third-person writing, or vice versa? Why do they think this is?

•  In his  essay, Vizzini  is  essentially  telling  two  stories:  one of his personal  experience under  the media spotlight,  and  the  other  analyzing  how  Katniss  Everdeen  walks  the  line  between  being  “real”  and “calculated” in order to succeed at the Hunger Games. Ask students what the first story’s presence adds to the essay as a whole—why do they think Vizzini chose to include the first-person, personal 

Teach The Girl Who Was on Fire

story? Would the essay be more or less effective without the first-person interjections? 

•  Have students think about the content of the first-person sections versus the third-person sections. Would it make sense to tell a personal story in third-person, or analyze a book in first-person? Why or why not? Then, have students explore in practice how content relates to point of view. Ask them to write four paragraphs, two of them analyzing a passage in the essay (or another book) and two of them telling a personal narrative. Have them write on each topic in both first and third person, and then discuss which ones they think work the best and why.

3 UsE DiAnA PETErFrEUnD’s EssAy “HUnGEr GAME THEory” to model and discuss CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.9: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

•  Peterfreund uses both other literature texts and informational texts (from which she draws classic game theory principles) to contextualize her discussion of game theory in The Hunger Games. Have students discuss which references they think are the most helpful for A) explaining game theory and B) proving her point about Katniss and the berries in terms of game theory. Are the literary references more or less helpful than the hypothetical game theory principles? Why?

•  Whether or not readers of The Hunger Games have read Ender’s Game or Harry Potter, Peterfreund makes a smart choice in relating game theory to several YA texts. Ask students if they can think of any other examples of game theory at work in literature OR examples in real-life games that they play. See if they can connect a “game-breaking” strategy like Katniss’ berries to some sort of strategy that would work similarly in a real game.

•  Have students discuss the importance of using multiple texts as support—do some arguments need to be proven using multiple texts? Would Peterfreund’s piece be as effective without the multiple references being compared and contrasted? Would other essays they’ve read, or written, possibly be strengthened by using multiple texts for support? Are there essays that work better with only one source text?

•  Peterfreund brings together several seemingly unrelated texts to discuss her point about games and strategy. Ask students to find a similar piece, and then write one of their own—ask them to find several works of literature that have one aspect in common that can be compared across the texts and discussed as a whole (e.g., discuss heroes and their sidekicks, pivotal scenes over meals, etc.)

4 UsE JEnniFEr BArnEs’s EssAy “TEAM kATniss” to model and teach CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.3: Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.

•  What makes Katniss a “complex character,” according to the definition of a character “with multiple or conflicting motivations”? What do students see as Katniss’ different motivations? Are these motivations addressed, either directly or  indirectly,  in Barnes’ essay? Have students chart how each of Katniss’ motivations affects her interactions with other characters, advances the story’s plot, and develops its theme. 

•  How  does  Barnes  illustrate  Katniss’s  development  of  the  course  of  the  text?  Have  students  find examples of specific evidence she chooses, then discuss their own suggestions for additional effective examples. Ask  them to contrast Katniss’ development with another character’s, using tactics similar to Barnes’. 

•  Barnes writes about Katniss as a feminist figure and as a symbol, as well as Katniss as an individual. Have  students  discuss what Barnes  says  about Katniss  in  relation  to  themes  in  the Hunger Games trilogy and literature in general. Do her interactions with other characters help forward themes and plot? Why? 

5 UsE JACkson PEArCE’s EssAy “GALE: kniGHT. CoWBoy. BADAss” to model and discuss CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.8.9: Analyze how a modern work of fiction draws on themes, patterns of events, or character types from myths, traditional stories, or religious works such as the Bible, including describing how the material is rendered new.

•  What archetype does Pearce mention in her analysis of Gale? Ask students to think of other examples of this character archetype, in different works, and write a paragraph comparing one or more of these other characters with Gale. Then discuss why this archetype exists. Where did it come from? Why has it remained popular in so many different cultures?

•  When claiming a character fits into a particular archetype or mold, the evidence used to back up the claim is very important. What evidence does Pearce use to characterize Gale the way she does? Have students discuss whether they think she’s oversimplifying; can they find evidence to contradict her argument? Ask them to think of instances Pearce doesn’t mention that may further prove or disprove her thesis. Is Gale “a man” the way she says Peeta is, or is he truly just an archetype and a symbol?

•  Gale is an exceptionally “modern” hero, in the sense that the Hunger Games trilogy is set hundreds of years in the future. Ask students to re-read Pearce’s essay, focusing mainly on Gale’s characterization as a modern interpretation of the archetype. In what ways is Gale an updated version of the classic hero? In what ways is he not?

The Girl Who Was on Fire Multimedia

waNt more oN tHe topIcs discussed in The Girl Who Was on Fire? Smart Pop Books offers  several multimedia tie-ins.

evaLuatING oNLINe sources

In addition to access to special movie content (almost 30 pages from the book’s essayists discussing the film adaptation of the first book), e-book copies of The Girl Who Was on Fire – Movie Edition include links to more analysis online. We’ve made this special Movie Edition material available to teachers for free!

Download a copy: http://www.smartpopbooks.com/media/extras/gwwof-movie-content-for-educators.pdf

“ArE WE kATniss or ArE WE THE CAPiToL?”: poINt oF vIew aNd tHe HuNGer Games oN paGe aNd screeN

The Girl Who Was on Fire  editor  Leah Wilson  compares  the points  of  view  in The Hunger Games novels versus the movie, using quotes from The Girl Who Was on Fire, reader survey data, and news sources, in her presentation “Are We Katniss or Are We the Capitol?” 

Watch the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4khJzKolP0Download the slides: http://www.smartpopbooks.com/media/extra/HungerGamesTalk_Philadelphia_Slides.pdf Download the presentation transcript: http://www.smartpopbooks.com/media/extra/HungerGamesTalk_

Philadelphia_Transcript.pdf

tHe GIrL wHo was oN FIre propos

Watch authors Adrienne Kress, Sarah Darer Littman, Bree Despain, and editor Leah Wilson read excerpts from The Girl Who Was on Fire.

Watch the videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/smartpopbooks

surveY data, INFoGrapHIcs, aNd medIa

Smart Pop polled fans on Hunger Games-related questions online for a talk given by Girl Who Was on Fire editor Leah Wilson at One Book Sarasota. The presentation slides include infographics of the results.

Raw data: http://www.smartpopbooks.com/hunger-games-poll-and-girl-who-was-on-fire-giveaway/ Watch the video and download the slides and a PDF transcript: http://www.smartpopbooks.com/our-hunger-

games-talk-for-one-book-sarasota/

Looking for more teachable material on The Hunger Games? Check out Smart Pop’s The Panem Companion! www.smartpopbooks.com/paNem

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In the classroom, you can use Smart Pop YA titles not only to demonstrate Common Core Anchor Standards and build broad interdisciplinary knowledge, but also as engaging informational texts to help you meet the Common Core’s nonfiction requirements. They’re the ideal way to enrich your literature curriculum.

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