THE GIRL W HO
WAS ON FIRE +
COMMO N
CORE
w w w. s m a r t p o p b o o ks . c o m / e d u c ato r s
The Girl Who Was on Fire - Movie Edition
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
Lexile® Measure
122 0 L
Table of Contents
Introduction - Leah Wilson
Why So Hungry for the Hunger Games? Sarah Rees Brennan
Team Katniss - Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Your Heart is a Weapon the Size of Your Fist Mary Borsellino
Smoke and Mirrors - Elizabeth M. Rees
Someone to Watch Over Me - Lili Wilkinson
Reality Hunger - Ned Vizzini
Panem et Circenses - Carrie Ryan
Not So Weird Science - Cara Lockwood
Hunger Game Theory - Diana Peterfreund
Crime of Fashion - Terri Clark
Bent, Shattered, and Mended - Blythe Woolston
Did the Third Book Suck? - Brent Hartinger
The Politics of Mockingjay - Sarah Darer Littman
Gale: Knight. Cowboy. Badass - Jackson Pearce
The Inevitable Decline of Decadence Adrienne Kress
Community in the Face of Tyranny - Bree Despain
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.
Teach The Girl Who Was on Fire
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.
Brent Hartinger’s essay “Did the Third Book Suck?” to model and teach CCSS.
1 Use
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.
Ned Vizzini’s essay “Realit y Hunger” to teach CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.6:
2 Use
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
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.
Diana Peterfreund’s essay “Hunger Game Theory” to model and discuss CCSS.
3 Use
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.)
Jennifer Barnes’s essay “Team Katniss” to model and teach CCSS.ELA-Literacy.
4 Use
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?
Jackson Pearce’s essay “Gale: Knight. Cowboy. Badass” to model and
5 Use
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=l4khJzKolP0
Download 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-hungergames-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
Smart Pop Books
Smart Pop Books is a line of smart, fresh, nonfiction titles on the best of pop culture TV, books, and
film—the perfect opportunity to teach literary analysis and essay writing using books teens already love to read,
think, and talk about. Smart Pop books are designed to model the reading and writing skills that students
need to excel in the classroom, college, and beyond.
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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