Happy St. Patrick's Day, Haymitch Style: Exploring Heritage in The Hunger Games

St. Patrick's Day seems to be a fitting holiday for Haymitch: stumbling drunks are just part of the festivities.

But, it does make me wonder (perhaps I should write, "it's one of the Things That Make Me Go Hmmmm...") about different heritages and ethnic backgrounds of the characters in The Hunger Games trilogy.

I first read about the topic on a guest post by Elizabeth Baird Hardy (EBH: Don't Go Down Into That Hole...) on the Hogwarts Professor website April 14, 2010. We then had a nice exchange in the comments section about the roots of the characters from District 12, especially Katniss and the other Seam characters (I posted as "Tracee"). 

Obviously in the movie Haymitch is portrayed with blonde hair; but in the book, he is "Seam" like Katniss and Gale with gray eyes, olive skin, and dark hair. The term "Melungeon" is brought up by commenter "Laurelkat" in the article, which sparks everyone's interest. This was the first time I had heard that term used to describe the Seam characters, but it certainly isn't the last time it's explored.

Classroom Connections

Have your students use inductive reasoning (context clues of character descriptions: physical traits, personalities, habits, dialects, location in Panem, etc.) to infer the District 12 citizens' background/ethnicity. 

As an added challenge, have students try to infer the other district citizens' roots. Depending on which book your students are reading, some districts may have no context clues to draw from. For readers of The Hunger Games, have them attempt District 11. Readers of Catching Fire can attempt Districts 3, 4, 7, and 11. And readers of all three can try to attempt them all. 

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

What Summer Brings in Panem {Things That Make Me Go Hmmm}

While students (and teachers) celebrate the beginning of summer vacation in North America, I wondered if children in Panem ever get to celebrate the same freedom from a break in the school year? I couldn't quite recall if Katniss ever mentioned a break in school for anything except Capitol-mandated viewing of Hunger Games-related events, which would be quite unpleasant for most citizens of Panem. In fact, summer doesn't bring the anticipation of sleeping in, lying in the sun daydreaming, or a break from studies for the district children. Summer brings the Hunger Games.

But how do we know the Games are during the summer months? Well, there are a few clues. This is something you can have your students research. Ask them to flip through the book and look for clues that the Games take place during the summer. Context clues will include dates, descriptions about the weather, plants, insects, etc.. We know that the references from District 12 should match those you would find in Appalachia and those in the Capitol should match seasons found in the Rocky Mountains. Of course, when Katniss is in the arena, the location is unknown. But considering this all takes place in North America and the arena is in an area with a lake, forest, and other wildlife, we can be certain that the arena is not located in the southern parts of North America (i.e. Mexico and the southern states). However, the arena's climate can also be controlled by the Gamemakers, as referenced on page 279 of The Hunger Games, "So cold, so bitterly cold tonight. As if the Gamemakers have sent an infusion of frozen air across the arena, which may be exactly what they've done" (Collins). Even so, this cold air is unexpected to Katniss. Students can infer from this passage that it's not winter.

CLASSROOM CONNECTION...
Ask your students to find at least three additional examples that would indicate the Hunger Games takes place during the summer. There are numerous clues, but they should use their books to find the answers (rather than the internet--which is why I am not going to post answers here).

ONLINE EXERCISE...
As an extended internet activity, have your students examine if there is any symbolism present that might connect the Games with the summer months. They should first research what types of symbols are connected to summer and the summer solstice. As they are looking for examples of symbols they should pay attention to anything that would connect to the novel.

WRITE ABOUT IT...
If you are looking for a writing activity for your students for the end of the year, have them reflect on what summer means to them. What do they have planned? How does the time off from school make them feel? Then have them compare their summer to how the tributes must spend theirs. Or a district citizen who must watch a loved one compete in the Games. How would they view summertime then? With excitement or dread?