This month, as we prepare for the release of "The Hunger Games" movie, Hunger Games fans are taking action to help fight hunger in the real world. We’re teaming up around the world to help The Harry Potter Alliance’s Imagine Better Project with their campaign, Hunger is NOT a Game.
Just like in District 12, there are lots of people around the world who don’t have enough to eat every day and who struggle to get by because of forces they can’t control – war, famine, and unjust laws. But we can do something about it! Just like Katniss, we won’t just sit by and watch it happen. We will take our fight directly to the Capitol itself to try to change our world’s perspective on hunger and eradicate it for good!
For the next month our friends at the Harry Potter Alliance are running the Hunger is Not a Game campaign so that we can all help with this issue – whether it be running a food drive at your local movie theater for the midnight release, signing Oxfam’s GROW pledge, or spreading the word about this important issue. You can join the campaign by visiting the HPA’s website: http://thehpalliance.org/imagine-better/hunger-is-not-a-game/. Together, we can stand up against the Capitol and get rid of hunger for good!
Classroom Connections
Teachers: Here are some tips/ideas to help with this project.
1. Host a food drive at your school. Have each grade level compete to see who can donate the most food items. Give them to a local food pantry or homeless shelter.
2. Coordinate your class mock "Games" event with food or monetary donations. The tribute(s) who raise the most money or food items for charity are crowned Victor(s). OR...use them as "sponsor" payments. If someone wants to "bet" on a certain Tribute to win, the more food they donate, the more "bets" they can place. What do they get if their Tribute wins the "Games"? Bragging rights, of course!
3. Require a donation for the field trip to the movie. Ask for each student to bring an extra $1 on your field trip and donate those funds to the Hunger is Not a Game campaign.
4. Have your students research one of the five points addressed by Oxfam America. They can write a research paper, create a visual presentation (online using Prezi, Glogster, or traditionally using PowerPoint or Keynote), or record a podcast that can be shared with other students or even the entire school.
5. Tie your final Hunger Games project to a service project. Have students do something for your local community; it could be volunteer at a homeless shelter, collect donations in their neighborhood, educate younger students on the issues of world hunger, etc..
