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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
Harry Potter
Resources on the Web
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
Potter Project - student tasks like those done by Hogwarts students;
designed at all levels of Bloom's Taxonomy; special page for teachers
with suggestions for how to prepare your classroom and suggested
activities.
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.
History
of Magic - a timeline at the Harry Potter Lexicon.
Prejudice Theme in
Harry Potter books
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 - two
Harry Potter type fonts you can download.
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.
Activities
for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - a fifth-grade teacher's
web page.
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
InfoStructure @
Mt. Olympus - gods, heroes, Titans
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
to be added soon
Hogwarts Headaches Plague |
Harry
Potter