The Hunger Games: Propaganda, Media & Manufactured RealityPanem Media War

The Hunger Games: Propaganda, Media & Manufactured RealityPanem Media War Campaign | Grades 6–10

Put students inside the media battle by having them create both sides of Panem’s messaging war!

This culminating no-prep lesson moves students from analyzing propaganda to constructing it themselves. Students investigate how persuasive messages are deliberately built, then create one piece of Capitol propaganda and one piece of imagined district counter-messaging, clearly identifying the techniques used in each.

By designing competing messages, students gain a deeper understanding of how audience, emotion, imagery, word choice, selective information, and narrative control work together to influence what people think, feel, and believe.

What’s Included
- Teacher Directions
- Lesson Overview
- Mini Research Questions
- 5-Step Group Activity
- Panem Media War Campaign
- 3 Student Analysis & Planning Pages
- Color & Black-and-White Versions

Students Will Explore
- How propaganda is deliberately constructed
- Fear appeals
- Glorification of power
- Oversimplification
- Selective presentation of information
- Target audiences & intended responses
- Emotional appeals and persuasive language
- Images, symbols, slogans & visual choices
- Capitol propaganda strategies
- District counter-messaging
- Information that is emphasized, minimized, or omitted
- How competing groups use similar media tools for different purposes
- How understanding propaganda construction strengthens media literacy

Why Teachers Love This
- Designed for 1–2 class periods
- No complicated prep
- Culminating application of propaganda & media literacy
- Combines literary analysis with hands-on creation
- Requires students to create and analyze competing perspectives
- Develops visual and persuasive media literacy
- Moves beyond simply identifying propaganda techniques
- Encourages critical thinking about information selection
- Connects literature to real-world media literacy
- Includes printer-friendly black-and-white versions

Perfect For
- The Hunger Games novel studies
- Propaganda & media literacy
- Culminating projects
- Persuasive techniques
- Dystopian literature
- Critical thinking
- ELA & Social Studies connections
- Media analysis
- Group projects
- Enrichment or sub plans

Part of The Hunger Games: Propaganda, Media & Manufactured Reality Series
This independently created educational resource is not affiliated with, authorized by, endorsed by, or sponsored by Suzanne Collins, her publishers, or related rights holders. Students need access to a legally obtained copy of the novel; the novel is not included.