2013: The Year That Catches Fire - Classroom Connections in Marketing

It's almost 2013, which means The Year of The Hunger Games is coming to a close. Two-thousand and twelve was a great year for fans and all the thousands of students who were able to read The Hunger Games as a class assignment. But what about Catching Fire? There's been so little news about the movie lately, it almost seems as though people have forgotten about it. I think Lionsgate® will need to ramp up the marketing for the sequel, perhaps even starting a new secret website like TheCapitol.pn.

CLASSROOM CONNECTION
Have your students brainstorm new ways Lionsgate® could market the sequels to "The Hunger Games" blockbuster movie. What are some unique ideas they haven't tried yet?

To begin, have students list the methods of marketing (pre-movie release) already used, such as specific merchandise that was created, teasers and trailers, secretive websites and Facebook Pages, mysterious tweets on Twitter, etc.. Browse some of my old posts for additional methods or check out these specific posts:
What's Your District?
TheCapitol.PN 
Updates on TheCapitol.PN and Panem October
Hunger Games Merchandise
Fan Sites Keep Fans Occupied While Waiting for Movie
The Best of The Hunger Games 2011

Browse: Browse by The Hunger Games Movie or Browse by Lionsgate

After they have discussed all the marketing strategies that were used, see what they can brainstorm for new strategies and methods. Have them think about the following:

1. Which methods seemed especially effective last year with "The Hunger Games"?
2. Has the fan based changed at all? Are they marketing to a different crowd or the same people?
3. Are there any new forms of social media that may be better ways to communicate to their fans (such as Pinterest)? Give reasons why the new ways would be effective in getting their message/branding out to fans.

It'll be interesting to see which new methods the studio will use to promote the film and compare it to your students' ideas. If you happen to have them posted online or wish to share with us, please post a link or send me a picture so I can post it online.

Feel free to share on my Facebook Page, as well: www.facebook.com/hungergameslessons

*Don't forget: today is the last day to purchase my teaching units on CD/flash drive at a discounted price. Don't miss out! Click here to find links to all my units: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Hunger-Games-Trilogy-Teaching-Units-3-CDs-plus-Bonus-Lessons

Katniss' Coping Techniques: Remembering Acts of Goodness

In Mockingjay, Katniss makes a list of all the acts of goodness around her to cope with her depression from the horrific acts she witnessed and lived through. As we cope with the Sandy Hook tragedy, perhaps we can use Katniss' technique and focus on the good deeds and random acts of kindness that surround us each day.

I have always offered this lesson as a free download, but it seems especially appropriate now. Please feel free to share this with others, as well:

Mockingjay Acts of Goodness Challenge

Have your students write about the goodness around them. The download was created in 2010, so please make adjustments to suit your class, if need be. The point is to create a positive environment, rather than one of fear. Celebrate the good in our world. Once students begin to notice the kindness of others, it is hard for them not to practice kindness in return.

Silence for Sandy Hook Elementary

A sad, sad day

From a teacher and a parent, I cannot even express how broken my heart is for this school and community. It's just so incredibly sad. Please keep the people of Newtown in your thoughts.

12-12-12 Writing Prompts

Happy 12-12-12! Are you doing anything special in your classes? What will you be doing at 12:12 p.m. today? If you are on your computer, take a screenshot for fun.

Here's some quick writing prompts you can use in your class today:

1. Some say the world is going to end today (yikes!). Some say it will end next Friday on 12-21-12. What do YOU think?

2. How many things in our culture (or world, really) are related to the number 12? For example, we have the 12 days of Christmas. What else can you come up with?

3. Is today significant to you or is it just another day?

4. What will you say to people tomorrow who think the world is ending today?

5. Research the number 12. Why is it special?

Need more ideas? Download my FREE 2012 Creative Writing Exercises HERE. Though many are pertaining to the New Year, you can adapt them for use today, as well.

Have a great day! See you tomorrow...maybe! (Just kidding on the maybe.)

Yeehaw!

Four Calling Birds! Day 4 of The 12 Days of Gift-mas for Secondary Teachers

Welcome to The Twelve Days of Gift-mas blog hop for secondary teachers! Each day you'll find a fantastic freebie that can be used in a middle or high school classroom. Thanks for coming by to Mrs. Orman's Classroom and Hunger Games Lessons for Day 4 (I run both blogs, so decided to post both places.)

"Four Calling Birds" is appropriate for my free gifts to you because I have FOUR priced items to fit that theme that will be FREE for 24 hours only, beginning at 6 a.m. (CST) today (Tuesday, Dec. 4th) until 6 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 5th.

I teach English/Language Arts, so my special gifts are the following (click on the images of the products to get the free download):

One mockingbird + three mockingjays = four calling birds!

This "bird" related activity is my review activities for The Hunger Games characters, setting, and events in preparation of Catching Fire (you can also use it as an alternative final assessment of The Hunger Games, though it is just a simple review of characters and plot):

The Hunger Games Review Activities

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Hunger-Games-Review-Lessons-Characters-Setting

The Hunger Games Meaning of Panem Activity

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Hunger-Games-Trilogy-Meaning-of-Panem-Lesson

And switching to another "bird" are my activities for To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee...
To Kill a Mockingbird Introduction KWL Activity

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/To-Kill-a-Mockingbird-Introduction-Guided-KWL-Activity

To Kill a Mockingbird Trial Organizer and Inferencing Activity for Chapters 17-19

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/To-Kill-a-Mockingbird-Trial-Organizer-Activity-Ch-17-19

A fifth calling bird?? What?

Finally, here's a BONUS freebie that can be used with any book or story (fiction or non-fiction), any time! It's my Twitter Tweet Chapter or Lesson Review Activity. Use it with any content area to review a reading passage or lesson for the day!

Twitter Tweet Summary or Review Activity

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Twitter-Tweet-Story-or-Chapter-Summary

Tomorrow you'll be heading to Liz's Lessons for the 5th day of Gift-mas! You can check out all the pages in the link-up (below).

Happy Holidays & THANK YOU for all you do each and every day. You are appreciated! :)

Special thanks to Michelle Lundy from Making It as a Middle School Teacher for organizing and facilitating this blog hop!

Use Catching Fire Set Photos to Teach Inference

A slew of "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" movie set photos hit the internet recently, so it's the perfect opportunity to seize that excitement and incorporate it into a lesson on inferring.

Because inference is a "reading between the lines" strategy, using images from the filming is good practice. No one knows exactly which scenes from the novel are being filmed, but students can make educated guesses based on textual evidence. This exercise forces them to look back in the text to support their inferences.

You can find images to project from many great fansites. See below for links to Catching Fire movie set images.

When you show an image to your class, ask students the following questions:

1. What is happening in the images?

2. What do you think happened just before the image was taken?

3. What do you think will happen next?

4. Based on the way the actors are positioned and their surroundings, which scene(s) from the novel are they performing?

Support your answers with evidence from the text.

Image links:

Hunger Games Down With the Capitol:
http://hungergamesdwtc.net/2012/11/new-catching-fire-set-photos-jennifer-lawrence-josh-hutcherson-sam-claflin-share-a-meal-on-the-beach/

http://hungergamesdwtc.net/2012/11/photos-hq-images-from-the-hunger-games-catching-fire-set-including-finnick-spoilers/

Catching Fire Updates:
http://catchingupdates.tumblr.com/

You can also find many of the images on my Catching Fire pinboard on Pinterest:
http://pinterest.com/hglessons/catching-fire/


Common Core State Standards Practiced

Inferring is practiced in the following Common Core Anchor Standards (look at your grade level for the specific corresponding standard):
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.1
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.7
If you incorporate writing:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.9
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.10
Speaking & Listening:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.SL.1
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.SL.2
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.SL.6
Language:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.L.1
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.L.2

Cyber Monday SALE on Teachers Pay Teachers

Have you been waiting to purchase resources for teaching The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay until a sale comes along? Well, tomorrow and Tuesday are the big days for the TeachersPayTeachers sale! I won't be marking my materials down until the teacher appreciation sale in May, so stock up while you can. Use the code CMT12 at check out to get the greatest discount.

And guess what? I am putting my CDs on sale, too (which I rarely do because I tend to lose money on them). This is my way of thanking you for your support these last three years (yep, three years on TpT!). Don't forget that you now have the option to purchase on a USB flash drive rather than a CD. Just leave me a note and let me know you want the USB flash drive option (there's a box to leave a note to the seller when you check out--or after you check out).

I created a new heading leader logo in my store (see above), so it's super easy to find materials for teaching The Hunger Games trilogy. If you click on that link, it takes you to the 3-CD product, which actually has links to the CDs and the digital products.

Below is another logo that links to my second best-selling product, Creative Activities for ANY Novel or Story (or any unit, for that matter). I recently updated it with new activities and printables. If you haven't checked it out, the sale is a great time to do so!

I just want to thank you all for supporting your fellow teachers. It means a lot to us and we hope you find lots of great sales over the next two days. Thanks for all you do!

Testing out BlogLovin' - Have you tried it?

Have you checked out BlogLovin'? It's like a Pinterest for blogs. I just joined and am "claiming" my blog with the link below. Will I use this? Perhaps. But I thought it was worth checking out. :)

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Comment below if you use it or what you think of it.

364 Days & Counting: Passing My Thanks On To You...

Today marks one year until "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" movie is released. Even though it still seems like ages away, it was too depressing to begin a countdown sooner.

In honor of today being the one-year mark and Thanksgiving here in America, I want to thank all of you by marking down all of my Catching Fire teaching materials, including the shipped CD. Enjoy the savings and thank you for your patronage!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Picture Your Name in the Catching Fire Movie Credits

 If you've ever imagined your name up on the big screen, here's your chance!

 Lions Gate® Movies will select 12 lucky winners to see their name in the credits of "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire." They will choose the winners from the first 12 million fans who enter on their Facebook page HERE.

 You'll also get to view the incredibly sleek new mockingjay logo, complete with the animated flames and audio (shown right).

 Underneath the image is the new logo for Catching Fire: "Every revolution begins with a spark." What do you think? I absolutely love it. I think it's a perfect tagline to describe the continuing storyline in Catching Fire.

 Now, we just have to wait a year to see the movie.

November 22, 2013...Y U No Be Here Already? ;)

New Unit for "The Knife of Never Letting Go" by Patrick Ness

I realize I've been talking a lot about Patrick Ness' novel The Knife of Never Letting Go lately. (You can read my gushing for it on my other blog HERE.) But, it's a book worthy of the praise and multiple mentions!

Last year I started teaching the novel with a small group of seniors. We already read the entire Hunger Games trilogy when they were sophomores, so I was in need of another good book for those reluctant readers. This year I teach almost all the seniors and decided to use it again. I was a little nervous, wondering if the girls in my classes would like it as well as the boys (I only had one girl in class last year). But I found out that the girls liked it just as much as the boys. I have a waiting list of students wanting to check out my classroom copies of The Ask and the Answer and Monsters of Men, the other two books in the Chaos Walking trilogy.

If having a lack of materials keeps you from using this novel in your classroom, I've recently uploaded several and there are others out there, as well. Candlewick Press has a page with links and resources. (Let me say that the audio version is phenomenal!)


This year I opened up with this anticipatory activity, in which students record their thoughts in a thought bubble. Then, I had students read their thoughts aloud. In small groups they recorded their thoughts using Quicktime, though some students used online tools like Voki. The class came together and everyone played their thought recordings at once. They agreed that it sounded like a noisy cafeteria, barely being able to pick out individual thoughts. I asked them what they thought it would be like to always hear this noise? This led into our discussion about the "Noise" in The Knife of Never Letting Go and the challenges we would have with others if people could constantly hear what we were thinking.
You can listen to their final recording here:


You can download the anticipatory activity free from my teacher store, here:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-Knife-of-Never-Letting-Go-Anticipatory-Activity

You can also check out my other lessons, which are aligned with the 11-12 Common Core State Standards.

Three-Finger Salute to Our Veterans

Today I'd like to take a moment to thank all those who serve their country. Though it is Veterans Day in America, I think the men and women around the world who risk their lives for complete strangers should be saluted, as well.

And fictional characters are no exception. Why should they be saluted? Because they inspire generations of readers to respect and admire those who serve others. Katniss, Peeta, Finnick, Boggs...just a few who were willing to take a bullet for the citizens of Panem.

As you celebrate Veterans Day in your classroom, take a moment to ask your students which literary characters they admire for their service to others and why?

Hunger Games Director Gary Ross on his first children's book

This is an exclusive story by Entertainment Weekly about Gary Ross and his new children's book Bartholomew Biddle and the Very Big Wind. Interestingly, Ross was inspired by another favorite children's book, the Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo. You can read the story on EW.com HERE or continue on...

Director Gary Ross on his first children's book, and why he hasn't had a moment's regret after walking away from the 'Hunger Games' franchise- EXCLUSIVE

Back when Gary Ross’ twin son and daughter were just a year old The Hunger Games writer/director got a frantic call from a friend. David Koepp was shooting his first movie, 1996′s The Trigger Effect, and needed a bedtime story for Elisabeth Shue to read to her son in a scene. Could Ross come up with something on the fly? So Ross dashed out some verses about a boy named Bartholomew Biddle who flies out of his window using his bedsheet as a kite, surfing currents of air in search of wild adventure. Then Ross set Bartholomew aside for years, though the boy never really left his heart. It was while on the set of 2008′s Tale of Despereaux, the adaptation of Kate DiCamillo’s charming tale of a misfit mouse which Ross wrote the screenplay for, that he showed those early pages to DiCamillo’s publisher Karen Lotz. She too fell hard for Bartholomew’s curiosity and verve and offered Ross a book deal.

The tale of Bartholomew Biddle and the Very Big Wind has since bloomed into a 30,000-word epic told in verse, full of heart and fun and surprising poignancy, which Candlewick Press will publish next week. Ross wrote the bulk of the book in the year before he dove deep into The Hunger Games. 

“There were days it was the easiest thing in the world, like eating dessert,” he says. “And then days when it was brutally difficult. I was a real purist in the beginning. ‘I will never look at a rhyming dictionary. If a word doesn’t come to you organically it’s not appropriate.’ And then by the end the rhyming dictionary was on my bookmarks bar.”

There’s something touching, Ross thinks, about now getting to share such a personal project whose gestation has spanned his now 17-year-old children’s entire lives. “Especially after Hunger Games it’s nice sending this thing out into the world and seeing what comes back,” says Ross. (And so far what’s come back includes a starred Kirkus Reviews rave and an Amazon Book-of-the-Month pick.) As for The Hunger Games, Ross insists he’s never second-guessed his ultimate decision to walk away from the franchise after co-writing and helming the phenomenally well-received first installment. "I didn’t feel that I would have the time for the way that I work to do the movie justice,” he says. “I wear two hats. I don’t wear one hat. When you write and you direct that’s a linear process, it’s not a simultaneous process. I would’ve had to have written a script and prepped the whole movie in four months and on the first movie that’s a process that took me eight months. And I thought [Catching Fire] was a more difficult adaptation, not an easier one. I didn’t really feel I had the time I needed to live up to my own standards. And I haven’t had a moment’s regret. It was absolutely the right decision and I’m thrilled about new challenges.” (Ross’ next movie will be Peter and the Starcatchers, a reimagining of the Peter Pan fable that he’ll direct for Disney.)

In the meantime EW challenged Ross, a former Los Angeles library commissioner whose mandate included expanding children’s and teen services, to narrow down his own favorite children’s books—culled from his memories both as a boy with a flashlight under the covers and as a parent reading to his kids. Ross’ list of most treasured reads will make you want to call in sick tomorrow and spend the day on the sofa covered in books. And then read them all over again with your kids when they get home from school.

Link to story: http://family-room.ew.com/2012/11/08/hunger-games-director-gary-ross-childrens-bartholomew-bartholomew-biddle/

Teachers Help Teachers in Sandy's Aftermath

Our heart goes out to all those who have been affected by Hurricane Sandy last week. A group of teachers has joined together to gather teaching materials for those schools who have lost everything.

If you are a teacher, please consider joining by donating a digital resource that will be distributed to administrators to pass along to their teachers. You can fill out the form HERE.

Special thanks to Laurah Jurca of The ESOL Odyssey blog for organizing this special fundraiser. Please pass it on by pinning, tweeting, blogging, posting on Facebook, and so on! Thank you!

Pin-Worthy...My Favorite Pins This Week!

I have to admit my blogging has slacked some with school, so I apologize for my lack of posts the last couple of months. My class just finished reading To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and I've also been working on a new novel unit for The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness (Chaos Walking trilogy, book 1). If you haven't read it, you MUST! A fellow teacher (thank you, Mrs. Cobb!) suggested I read it after I finished Mockingjay. Since all three books in the trilogy were already published, I did. And all I can say is...wow. Patrick Ness is definitely one of my (new) favorite authors. I have since read almost everything he has published and am waiting anxiously to see how Lions Gate Movies® will portray the movie for Knife.

In the meantime, I've compiled some of my favorite pins this week (or...from the past few weeks) and I promise I'll be writing more when I finish the novel unit and school slows down some. (We had parent/teacher conferences, Red Ribbon Week, and Halloween all this past week while teaching a full regular school week. I know you can relate to that craziness!) You can follow all my pins HERE.

Catching Fire Set Pics:

The Cornucopia from Catching Fire via www.thehob.org

http://pinterest.com/pin/175570085444728517/

The Chariots via www.thehob.org

http://pinterest.com/pin/175570085444701023/

Halloween:

Free Download: Truly Evil President Snow-Created Word Search

http://pinterest.com/pin/175570085444744448/

President Snow Evil Word Search & Pumpkin Carving Template

Hunger Games Pumpkin Carving Stencils

http://pinterest.com/pin/175570085444599483/

Halloween Costume Ideas:

Katniss & Peeta's Son

http://pinterest.com/pin/175570085444466826/

Hunger Games Arrows & Quiver

http://pinterest.com/pin/175570085444742561/

An Array of Links for Katniss Everdeen Costumes 

via http://www.squidoo.com/hunger-games-costumes-katniss

http://pinterest.com/pin/175570085444742556/

"Priceless"

From www.traceeorman.com

http://pinterest.com/pin/175570085444743673/

"Meme Guys"

From www.traceeorman.com

http://pinterest.com/pin/175570085444743661/

"50 Shades of Grey"

From www.traceeorman.com

http://pinterest.com/pin/175570085444743669/

Miscellaneous:

My 5 seconds of fame in NEA Today's Fall 2012 magazine:

http://www.nea.org/tools/tips/pinning-grammar-and-mechanics.html 

Link to: My Grammar Errors Board
http://pinterest.com/pin/175570085444745004/

Reached...Coming Soon! (Who else is excited for the third book in the Matched trilogy??)

http://pinterest.com/pin/175570085444599717/

New Product: To Kill a Mockingbird Discussion Questions Handouts

http://pinterest.com/pin/175570085444644574/

New product: Expository News Writing Presentation & Handouts

http://pinterest.com/pin/175570085444666029/

Just For Laughs...

Oh, Scout...

http://pinterest.com/pin/175570085444001522/

My dog has chewed a student's paper before...

This can go on my Grammar Errors board, too: Did you notice the misspelling?
http://pinterest.com/pin/175570085444707845/

Reading can save your life.

http://pinterest.com/pin/175570085444705386/

Animals and "Ermahgerd" = Laughter

http://pinterest.com/pin/175570085444600109/

Dorothy and Toto Pun

http://pinterest.com/pin/175570085444648918/

Have a great week, my friends!