Illustrations by Mary Grandpre
Arthur A. Levine Books (Scholastic) 2000

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About this book:

The saga of Harry grows ever more complex in its storyline, its moral issues, and its psychological elements. In Harry's third year at Hogwart's Wizardry School, he confronts the wizard responsible for his parents' deaths, who is now after him. He also confronts his own fears in the twists and turns of the plot. The tempo escalates, established characters are expanded and enriched as they are further engaged, and new characters are introduced. Earlier details bloom to importance, and new details suggest future significance. Add a cliff-hanger ending and you have readers on the edge of their seats.

Note: Theories abound as to the phenomenal success of J. K. Rowling's four Harry Potter books. Two factual outcomes from this success deserve to be cited:

1. The New York Times introduced a bestsellers list for children in July 2000, in recognition of the new interest in children's literature engendered by J. K. Rowling's books. (bookbrowse.com)
2. The Harry Potter series were the most "challenged" in ALA's 1999 intellectual freedom records. http://www.ala.org/alonline/news/2000/000131.html#potter

Two such facts, at the opposite ends of a continuum, verify that these books deserve to be explored in depth and thought about and discussed and utilized. Some adults criticize the use of sampler-like activities with youngster's novels and wish to fully protect the "appreciation" aspect of information literacy. Youngsters themselves, however, are rereading and rereading this epic on their own and contributing unsolicited examples of 'beyond pure enjoyment' thinking in their comments to such websites as Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and Bookbrowse. Check them out.

Wise planning and avoiding overkill can only enhance interest in imaginative stories. WARNING: FOR THE BEST HEALTH OF YOUR LIBRARY AND CLASSROOM, MODIFY THE ACTIVITIES BELOW TO SUIT YOUNGSTERS' MATURITY AND SKILLS AND YOUR OWN GOALS.

About the term, "student-centered".

The MASL committee has endeavored to create activities in which students have challenging as well as rewarding choices and decisions to make. Interactive and active behaviors and thinking predominate over passive. These lead to a sense of ownership and accompanying motivation and understanding. The committee has also tried to incorporate critical thinking skills wherever appropriate. Such rigor guarantees that student-centered activities are neither watered-down versions of teacher-centered units nor unheeding of educational goals. If you see opportunities for upgrading activities to "student-centered", go for it. And if you wish, share your ideas with MASL by e-mailing to our webmistress, Abigail Garthwait, Web Manager.

Thanks to all the folks who contact us to add material about Harry Potter or who want Harry Potter questions answered. This latest is a web-link from a school site in Concord, NH. It consists of a booklist titled "If you liked Harry Potter." There are about 40 titles, all the way from King Arthur to Star Wars, and the list may be duplicated non-commercially with appropriate credit. http://rms.concord.k12.nh.us/rl/226.htm

Level: recommended grade 4 and up

ACTIVITIES FOR BOOK 4, HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE

Yes, buts We don't have a class set of Goblet of Fire and I want to do whole class brainstorming/discussion/whatever." Use text excerpt available on the Internet, read aloud to students, or use the excellent audio tape. ?Text Excerpt: Chapter 1. "Riddle House" The Unofficial Harry Potter Fan Club: http://www.geocities.com/harrypotterfans/ Audio excerpt: "A Sorting Hat Episode" http://www.randomhouse.com/audio/harrypotter/

HARRY POTTER TAPING

Preparation:

When sound creators ask for advice in taping, they are always told to be a pro-active "listener," because that will teach them what good sound is like and what bad sound is like. Listen to live radio, taped books, and classics such as Orson Welles' "War of the Worlds" and make notes. How do the creators get you to "see" images? How do they set mood, feelings? How do they use music? Sound effects? Pace and timing, including pauses and speed-ups? Prudent use of pauses and speed-ups can be remarkably effective. What voice components appeal to you? Which seem to impair good sound? Write these down as you listen.

Practise taping yourself or yourselves if you are in a group. (This part of taping lends itself to partners.) Listen to yourselves on tape: does alliteration trip up the tongue and therefore need special practise? Are the beginnings or endings of sentences lost by dropped tone or volume? What good qualities stand out? Technically - what is the best distance from voice to mike? If there is extraneous sound how can it be eliminated or minimized? Observe other strengths and problems. Write these down as you critique each other.

Join your observations with others - a group or a class - into two sets of lists:

1. Technical do's and don'ts and
2. Artistic do's and don'ts.

Use these tip sheets as you plan and execute a Harry Potter tape.

Content options: Goblet of Fire lends itself to taping due to the heavy use of dialogue and the large number of characters. This results in frequent variation of voice, tone, mood. Choose your favorite section. Other sources could be a student-rewritten final chapter in which Harry makes different choices resulting in a different ending (or 'beginning') or a student- written first chapter of the 5th book.

Random House's audio cassettes were taped by one person, Jim Dale, who used and remembered over 100 characters' 'voices'. Another option is to record much like a play, with a different student's voice representing each character and a narrator for the non-dialogue text. So that individuals don't lose their places or lose the pacing by coming in late, the script may be reproduced and colorcoded for different 'voices.' This provides cues as well as a sense of security, allowing the readers to concentrate on their delivery.

Sound effects can be colorcoded in as well. Going through the above: Preparation activities to analyze good and poor use of sound effects will result in a valuable set of tips. Can dialogue be heard clearly over background music? Are there so many 'whistles and bells' that the storyline gets lost? How is sound used to predict or prepare or to follow through with an aspect of the plot? Do you need to arrange for a special place to do your taping, so that you do not disturb others or that your taping is protected from extraneous noise?

The audience: Will your product become part of your library's audio collection? Will it be used by teachers of lower grades to introduce a Harry Potter book and motivate students to read further? Will it be donated to the Maine State Library for its collection of recorded material for the visually handicapped? After your audience has been decided you might want to check out if there are any special requirements involved. It could be that a specific quality of tape is needed, or that performers' names not be listed, or that the first chapter is requested as content.

Management: This project will probably involve a number of students and an extended period of time. Meet with your teacher or librarian and decide on a timeline, locations, equipment and other materials, supervision, and be sure you understand the criteria and assessment of your project. Perhaps your 'rough draft' tape will be heard by a class of your peers or a different 'target' audience who will fill out individual checklists to help you refine your performance for the final product.

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