“The Hunger Games” in Mathematics classes: a pedagogical proposal

Abstract

The article presents a proposal for practice to be carried out with high school students, or undergraduates, based on reading the book “The Hunger Games”, by Suzanne Collins. It was possible to identify mathematical aspects implicit in the narrative and thus the problem situation was created: what is the probability of Katniss and/or Gale being drawn to participate in the Hunger Games? Furthermore, a possible resolution is presented using statistical data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). It is noted that each teacher, when proposing this activity in class, may find paths and conclusions different from those presented in this article. Reading the book, or even just the excerpt presented here, can give rise to different mathematical interpretations for each reader who ventures through the story, making this exercise provocative for both student and teacher.