1. The Hunger Games
LO: To understand the
context and themes of the
novel

2. This is Suzanne Collins, author of ‘The
Hunger Games’. She has written
several other novels and has written
for children’s television.
She was inspired to write the novel
from lots of different stimuli. What
do you think they were?

3. She was inspired to write the novel
from lots of different stimuli. What
do you think they were?
a
A thing or event that evokes a
specific functional reaction.

4. Inspiration
• She was inspired
to write The
Hunger Games
after she had been
channel surfing
between watching
live coverage of
the Iraq war and a
reality TV show .
• She was also influenced
by mythology,
especially the story of
Theseus and the
Minotaur.
And
•
Roman gladiator
battles as
entertainment for the
masses contributed, as
well.

5. Inspiration
• Research Theseus
and the Minotaur
on the Internet.
• Come up with a
synopsis of the
story
• Synopsis - a
summary of the
Greek Myth.
• Make sure you
include all the
relevant facts.

6. Theseus and the Minotaur

7. Theseus and the Minotaur
Once upon a time, a long time ago, there lived a king
named Minos. King Minos lived on a lovely island called
Crete. King Minos had a powerful navy, a beautiful daughter,
and a really big palace.
Still, now and then, King Minos grew bored. Whenever King
Minos was bored, he took his navy and attacked Athens, a
town on the other side of the sea.
In desperation, the king of Athens offered King Minos a deal. If
Minos would leave Athens alone, Athens would send seven Athenian
boys and seven Athenian girls to Crete every nine years to be eaten by
the Minotaur.
The Minotaur was a horrible monster that lived in the centre of a huge
maze on the island of Crete. King Minos loved that old monster. He did
like to give his monster a treat now and then. He knew his people would
prefer he fed his monster Athenian children rather than ... well, after
thinking it over, King Minos took the deal.
Nine years passed swiftly. It was just about time for Athens to send
seven boys and seven girls to Crete to be eaten by the Minotaur.
Everyone in Athens was crying.

8. You are Theseus, young and handsome
son of the King of Athens
• What would you do?
• Let the first 14 children be sent to
Crete to die?
• Refuse to let anyone go, and draw the
wrath of King Minos on your people?
• Offer to go in place of one of the
children so you can kill King Minos?
• Offer to go in place of one of the
children so you can kill the evil
minotaur?

9. What did Theseus do?
Prince Theseus of Athens was
very young. He knew that a deal
was a deal. But he was sure it was
wrong to send small children to be
eaten by a monster just to avoid a battle
with King Minos. Prince Theseus told his
father (the king) that he was going to Crete as
the seventh son of Athens. He was going to kill
the Minotaur and end the terror.
"The Minotaur is a terrible monster! What makes you
think you can kill it?" cried his father.
"I'll find a way," Theseus replied gently. "The gods will
help me."

10. Hinge Questions
• What were the stimuli for The Hunger
Games?
• How did these shape the themes of the
novel?

11. Chapter 1
• Let’s read chapter 1 together.
• Volunteers?
• How does The Hunger Games link to
the story of Theseus and the
Minotaur?

12. Chapter 1
• What do you think Katniss will do
next?

13. Predictions
• Think back to the stimuli Suzanne
Collins used to create The Hunger
Games.
• Use these stimuli to make a prediction
about what might happen to Katniss
once she enters the Hunger Games?

14. Extension: Katniss
Think of three questions you would ask
Suzanne Collins at this point in the
novel.
Write your three questions down.

15. Post-it Note Plenary
Write down at least one thing you have
learned about The Hunger Games today
Stick your post-it on the white board
as you leave the lesson.