Today, in Junior English, we did an activity which would prepare us to start reading The Hunger Games! By filling out an Anticipation Guide, we were able to start thinking about some issues which may emerge as some of the major themes of the novel. On the guide, there were eight statements. For each statement, each person personally wrote down whether he or she agreed or disagreed with the statement, and a brief explanation of what influenced the decision. The statements were as follows:"There are some situations where it's okay to break the law. Some rules are made to be broken."
"It is never okay to kill humans."
"If a government is wrong, the citizens of that country need to do something about it."
"Plastic surgery is a personal choice, and could be viewed as a fashion statement or an art form."
"Older siblings need to take care of and responsibility for their younger siblings."
"Poaching is wrong."
"Having children is always a good decision."
"Reality TV is an exciting form of entertainment."
But--the fun didn't stop there! After everyone finished writing, we went to the Tech Lounge to answer these questions in a physical manner. On each side of the lounge, a sign indicated whether that side of the lounge represented "agree" or "disagree." I read each statement aloud, and after each statement, everyone traveled to the side of the room which represented their answers. From there, each side had about a minute to discuss their reasoning. Then each side would nominate a spokesperson who would report all of the reasons people shared for the side they were on. This sparked some incredibly rich discussions about each issue.
We will revisit these statements after reading chapter 1 of the novel. You may be surprised at how much your opinion may evolve!
-Ms. Audy
