...This book, A Long Way Gone, tells a biography of Ishmael Beah. Ishmael Beah starts out as an innocent boy who is fascinated with rapping with his friends. When he is 12 years old, his village is attacked by rebels while he is performing in a rap group at school. Among the confusion, violence and the air of uncertainty of the war, Ishmael and his brother, Junior, and his friends wander from villages to villages in a desperate search of food and sanctuary. Their daily struggle for survival causes them to commit acts that they have never believed themselves capable of, such as stealing food from the younger children. Eventually, Ishmael is conscripted as a solider by the army and he becomes a killing machine who enjoys horrible violence. The...
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...NOTE: This is a published paper and should be cited as follows: Simmons, A.M. (2012). Class on fire: Using the Hunger Games trilogy to encourage social action. The Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 56(1), 22-34. Abstract This article explores ways to utilize students’ interest in fantasy literature to support critical literacy. Focusing on Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games series (2008, 2009, 2010), the author addresses how elements of the trilogy relate to violent acts in our world, helping student understand that violence and brutality toward children is not fiction, but very real, and that they can play a role in its abolishment, just like Katniss, through social action projects. Issues such as hunger, forced labor, child soldiers, and the sex trade that appear in both the fictional series and our world are discussed, encouraging students to assess their world and advocate for change. Examples of social action projects that utilize multiple literacies are suggested as a way to inspire students take action in the community and to stand up to injustice and brutality in hopes of creating a better world and a better human race. Using popular literature to pique student interest, this article explores how to incorporate the books in the Hunger Games series into the ELA classroom to support literacy and critical goals. Class on Fire: Using the Hunger Games Trilogy to Encourage Social Action Introduction The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, comprising...
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