The Hunger Games Writing Contest was a celebration of one of the most beloved novels in sixth grade. The objective of the contest was to strengthen student engagement with the novel and to recognize outstanding student writing.

The contest ran for nine rounds. The rounds were divided into three sets with different writing guidelines for each trio. In Rounds 4 to 6, for example, entries were written from the first-person point of view, consisted of exactly two sentences, and were 30 words or less. The word limit was particularly important. We wanted our writers to focus on the import of word choice and phrasing. Given the same amount of words, who could use them best? Each round covered three chapters from the novel and was themed based upon a quote from the weekly reading. The quotes weren't necessarily the critical to the plot, but did illustrate a particular type of writing.

It's real bakery bread, not the flat, dense loaves we make from grain rations. I take it in my hands, pull out the arrow and hold the puncture in the crust to my nose, inhaling the fragrance that makes my mouth flood with saliva.
-Katniss Everdeen

After discussing the quote and its context, writers were given a model sentence to re-write for the contest. The model sentence for Round 1 was "The food was delicious." The model sentences were made deliberately simple to give writers room for interpretation. Writers were then given a limited period to re-write the sentence and submit their entries. Linda Kye, co-teacher for sixth grade, and I then chose the best entries from each of our classes and posted them in the hallway anonymously for voting. The winner of each round was determined by student vote and then posted on the Survivors cork board. Each Survivor received a small reward and was granted entry to the final round.

At the end of nine rounds, there were 10 finalists (Round 8 producing two winners from a tied vote). Each of the finalists submitted their entry and the final vote was held. The winner of the first annual HG Summer Writing Contest was...Sally Cho!

Sally Cho!

Overall the entries submitted from the writing contest were consistently great. And, some of the most beautifully crafted sentences came from those we least expected.

The contest has been a lighthearted way to highlight our students' talent as writers. They were able to flex their literary muscles and compare their work to the rest of the sixth grade.

-Brenden Lee Teacher