| HARRY
POTTER 
I managed to resist the
media spectacle of Harry Potter for a long time - until the fifth book
came out. There, on the 10 o'clock news, were reporters covering the
story of the mobs - in costume - lined up at the book stores in town
waiting to get their copy of the next book in the Harry Potter series.
I wanted to know what all this frenzy was about, so I decided to read
Harry Potter. After the first book I read the rest in the series. I
watched the first two Harry Potter movies. And I became a Harry Potter
fan.
A unit of study built on
the Harry Potter theme would be appropriate for several reasons. First
of all, for the sheer enjoyment of the story and characters. More than
that, Harry Potter has become a global cultural phenomenon, complete
with the mass marketing of hundreds of Harry Potter related
merchandise. And finally, the books present a context for examining a
wealth of important issues. While Harry Potter is globally famous and
popular, there is also a violent controversy raging around the books,
with various groups attempting to censor, or ban, the books, while other
groups fight for the right for students to have access to the books.
Social issues from prejudice to civil rights can be an important strand
in a Harry Potter unit.
I will be developing a
unit framework for the Harry Potter theme. In the meantime, I have
begun gathering the following recommended resources:
Recommended Reading about Harry Potter
Mythology and Legends
The Harry Potter Media Spectacle
Recommended Reading
about Harry Potter
Harry Potter's World: Multidisciplinary
Critical Perspectives (Pedagogy and Popular Culture Series), Edited by
Elizabeth E. Heilman, Taylor & Francis, Inc., 2002.
The Hidden Key to Harry Potter -
Understanding the Meaning, Genius and Popularity of Joanne Rowling's
Harry Potter Novels, by John Granger, Zossima Press, 2002.
J. K. Rowling - Classic Books From the
Library of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry: a hardcover
boxed set containing Harry Potter's books Quidditch Through the Ages and
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them; you can read Harry's comments
and notes in the margins. Fun reading!, Scholastic Press, 2001.
Harry Potter
at Scholastic.com - the publisher's web site.
Discussion Guide for Books I-IV - published at Scholastic.com
"Discussion Guide, which features summaries of the Plot, Theme,
Conflict, Setting and Characterization, as well as a number of questions
designed to encourage conversation, a book list of other titles with
similar issues, and a brief biography of the author."
Interdisciplinary Connections for Harry Potter units - links to
resources; articles; lesson plans; games; activities; worksheets; and
even a Harry Potter Pronunciation Key for those of us who are reading
the books aloud! Also shows the many different covers for the books
from around the world.
J.
K. Rowling On the Web - a list of links for official and
semi-official Harry Potter sites; Fan sites; Interviews, Autobiography
and Biography for J. K. Rowling; sites for Teachers; Listservs;
excellent information on the Harry Potter International Symposium;
Media (articles and reviews); Satire; Opposition; Activist, Legal and
Religious Issues.
J. K. Rowling Teacher Resources - Author's biographies;
Harry Potter stuff; Criticism; Lesson Plans.
kidSpeak - where kids speak up for free speech - formerly
the Muggles for Harry Potter; fighting censorship.
MuggleNet
- Name Origins - Harry Potter and Greek Mythology
The Harry
Potter Page at Fact Monster - quizzes, polls, news stories,
cover gallery and more.
What's in a Name? The
resource for Harry Potter name etymology.
Harry Potter's Realm of
Wizardry - information about the books, characters and the
movies; fan fiction, artwork, games, history and legends, and a Harry
Potter Store.
Harry Potter Lexicon
- another excellent site with loads of resources and information;
Muggle World; Wizarding World; Pronunciation Key; Sources of Names.
Hogwarts
School of Witchcraft and Wizardry - get your letter to attend
Hogwarts and your list of supplies, go shopping in Diagon Alley, travel
to the school, be sorted by the Sorting Hat, etc.
The
Daily Prophet
Fonts Portal - Harry Potter type fonts you can download and
lots of teacher resources.
Harry Potter -
Culture and Religion - an excellent resource for newspaper and
journal articles written about the Harry Potter phenomenon, including
the controversy over Harry Potter books.
Send a Howler or an Owler !
Hagrid's Hut
Harry Potter Writing Prompts
Mythology and Legends
Classical Mythology
- Information on Greek and Roman gods and goddesses, monsters and
creatures, mythological groups.
Mythology Web - Characters in mythology, myths from around the
world, types of mythology, mythology geographically speaking, sources.
Travel to the
Roman Empire - Roman emperors, mythology, before and after,
references.
Greek Mythology Galore
The Gods
and Goddesses of Ancient Mythology - Every
culture in history has had a belief in the divine and a mythology to
explain the world around them.
The
Harry Potter Media Spectacle
Hogwarts Headaches Plague
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