Why do so many Harry Potter fans REREAD these farcical fantasies over and over again? ? Are there secrets that gradually unfold? Are there layers and layers of understanding they are peeling away? Does the imagery enrich each time?

http://rms.concord.k12.nh.us/rl/226.htm http://lfkhome.northstarnet.org/potter.html
http://www.monroe.lib.in.us/childrens/potterbib.html
http://www.selco.lib.mn.us/winona/Harry.html
http://www.colonial.net/schoolweb/willardweb/library/PotterRelated.html http://www.waukesha.lib.wi.us/kz/bkpotter.html

Maine Sampler activities have usually been designed for MSBA nominees or Lupine Award books, but occasionally other books have been requested. (See "A Maine Sampler, Part II.") This Sampler will cover aspects of the first three of J. K. Rowling's books:

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (published in Great Britain as Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by Bloomsbury)

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 1999

Publishers: Scholastic, Bloomsbury, E. D. Levine (American Editor)

Publishers state that these books are intended for readers ages 9-12. However, they have appeared on best adult lists in US (13 weeks on N. Y. Times bestseller) and Great Britain. Parents and grandparents read them to themselves and younger children. Go to the Customer Comments on Amazon.com to verify the interest of people ages 7 to umpty-something.

Note: American editions have had some British terminology Americanized. See "The New Yorker," Sept. 20, 1999, pp 55-56.

About these books: The first three of seven projected books follow an Everyboy hero, Harry Potter, through a school of wizardry and witchcraft that has the trappings of an English boarding school. His days are filled with magical adventures and suspenseful mysteries, with a heavy dose of typical preteen problems and hijinks. The sum: a farcical fantasy.

Is Harry Potter Evil? by Judy Blume [National Coalition Against Censorship] Judy's article Published in The New York Times on October 22, 1999

1. MAGICAL CANDY CONTEST

Amazon.com had such a contest, ending September 30, 1999. Have a similar candy invention contest which judges 4 components...(a student group may help design rules, such as eligibility, judges, and criteria for the following:).

1. name of candy

2. a color advertisement for the candy

3. up to 100 words describing powers, flavors, other aspects of the candy.

4. a 3-D artist's model of candy

Note: Students should be familiar with the innovative candies available in Harry's wizard world.

2. SECOND READINGS

"We love to fantasize about playing Quidditch or being a wizard!"

"...my best friend was having a hard time dealing with my ... loud 'conversations' with the characters."

"It is my dearest wish to go to a school like Hogwarts."

"...in Harry's world I can shed my muggle skin [and] enter a world of magic and mayhem.." "...of course that's impossible. Or is it?"

"Now that I know what happens in the end, it almost is more fun to read the second time because of all the fun clues to the crime in it."

"There is one thing I recommend, though. Have a piece of paper handy to write down any little detail. It just might come in handy. Take the little brown package, or Quirrel's turban, for instance. I kept track of ... how the little package contained the heart of the story."

"The book gives you a sense that it could be real because of all the little restrictions that people and wizards have. You might think that a wizard could not be stopped, but this book gives lots of things that wizards must obey to keep the balance."
(from Amazon.com's Customer Comments)

Read the book a second time and record consequences to actions, or some other details that support a conclusion you have come to. Then research some examples of that same idea in your community. Write a comparison of the two, and some of your judgment about the comparison. For example, follow the rules that limit the power of wizards. Then find out what local rules govern the power of your town's policemen. When, specifically, may a policeman remove his gun from its holster, for instance.

3. BULLYING, SOCIAL SKILLS, HEALTH, PROBLEM SOLVING

J. K. Rowling wrote "I did once have a fight with the toughest girl in my year, but I didn't have a choice, she started hitting me and it was hit back or lie down and play dead. For a few days I was quite famous because she hadn't managed to flatten me....I spent weeks afterwards peering nervously around corners in case she was waiting to ambush me." In her novels Harry Potter and others are frequently bullied, both physically and verbally.

First, write a clear definition of bullying. Then list or chart 5 instances from a Harry Potter novel. Include the initiating incident, the kind of bullying, and how the victim reacted. Also, what was the REAL cause of the bullying? Was it the incident, or something else? Do you think the victim handled it wisely? How could the victim have handled it better? How could the bully have dealt with the real cause better?

Read another book about bullies, such as Stepping on the Cracks by Mary Dowing Hahn, or The Night the Bells Rang by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock, or some other approved book. Design a way to compare how J. K. Rowling and the second author handle bullying. Did you come up with an idea that might work in your school? Get it approved and follow through.

4. CREATING A SCREENPLAY - HARRY POTTER GOES TO HOLLYWOOD.

J. K. Rowling said that the greatest impact a writer or novelist has concerning a movie version is "to sell the rights to the people you believe will make the best film...." Imagine the rights have been sold to your group, similar to Warner Brothers, which actually have the rights. Write a screenplay for one Harry Potter chapter after you have dealt with the following issues in writing.

a. What are the major differences between a novel and its movie counterpart? What is lost and what is gained? Take the situation of the puzzle of the bottles in Harry's first book. Would actually seeing the bottles give the audience a chance to tackle the problem as well, or would it be better to keep the image of the bottles in one's imagination? J. K. Rowling herself said, when asked how she felt when she finally got the pet rabbit she had always wanted, "Some things are best left in the imagination."

b. What strategies or techniques will be required to transform the text medium to a movie medium that will have the equivalent impact on an audience? Which components of Harry Potter novels will make it easy to convert them to a movie? Harder?

c. What jobs will the individuals in your group assume, and how will they correlate these? What kinds of research or advice or skills will be needed for each.

d. Decide on a format for a screenplay. It could be a double-entry storyboard. It could include stick figure sketches. It could have one section for dialogue, one for action, one for scenery, one for camera and lighting instructions. It could be some other combination.

e. What criteria will the group utilize to be sure the result is top quality?

f. Plan

g. How will you share your one-chapter screenplay?

h. Explore, decide and justify decisions regarding audience concerns, such as, '...will the "Harry" actor be American or English? Will the movie be set in America or England? Will it take place in the present or in the past?" Or, "And if they make a movie out of it I bet that some people who see it will say 'Hey that's not how I imagined it'".

i. As you develop your screenplay, keep notes on what your group decides to do first, then next, and keep track of this sequence. Also keep notes on mistakes and on breakthroughs and what you are learning about the process of developing a screenplay. When the screenplay is complete, create a manual on how to develop a screenplay. Include helpful samples, hints, and rules. Ask your class to measure your manual according to a set of criteria that includes:

1. Are the steps clear and simple? Identify any that are confusing or vague, or that leave an important direction out.

2. Do the samples help to understand the process of developing a screenplay? Could they be improved, are they necessary, should others be included?

Make essential revisions in response to the assessment, then print out the results and send copies to the library as a resource, and to the media coordinator, English teachers, and other potential users.

5. RELATED BOOKS AND AUTHORS

Readers have compared Rowling to J. R. R. Tolkien, Roald Dahl, C. S. Lewis, Lloyd Alexander, Brian Jacques, Terry Brooks, Anne McCaffrey, Ursula K. LeGuin, D. W. Jones, E. Nesbit.

Threesome: Choose a book from two of these authors, and one from Rowling. What do the writings of all three writers have in common? How do they differ? Quote some examples for each of your conclusions. What do you think their appeal is for young readers?

Heroes: Based on your readings about Harry Potter, what is a 'hero' or 'heroine' and what is 'heroism'? Include some examples. List some verbs and adjectives that Rowling uses in this context. Compare your written definitions with those in a dictionary. Is anyone in your readings a hero, then, or not? Justify your decision with references to the book.

Now read another book about learning how to be a wizard, such as Jane Yolen's Wizard's Hall, Harcourt Brace, 1991, or Ursula LeGuin's A Wizard of Earthsea, Atheneum, 1991, or another approved book. Keep written track of heroes, heroic traits and heroic acts. Compare the hero or heroes in the two books. For instance, which were honored for their heroism, and which resented? Do you think the two authors have the same ideas about what a hero is and what heroism is? Justify your answer with references to the books.

Design a short but pithy questionnaire about heroes and heroism. Survey an agreed upon number of classmates and analyze the results if you are working alone, or if a group, add different categories of respondents, such as teachers, library patrons, retirees, veterans. Surveys may be done by computer, taped or video'd, then analyzed. Share your conclusions with your respondents.

(See variations on 'hero' activities in Grace, Sampler IV.)

About the Author

Interview: http://www.scholastic.com/harrypotter/author

Interview: Stories from the Web http://hosted.ukoln.ac.uk/stories/stories/rowling/index.htm

Investigate the above biographical information. Include other material that you may locate.

Create a timeline of J. K. Rowling's life. From the current date on, project a timeline of what you think might occur in her life. For instance, you might put in the future publication of planned Harry Potter books, possible movies. Where has she lived? Do you think she will continue to live in her present home?

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The following activities have previously been published in the journal "Maine Entry"

6. EXCERPTS

These are valuable resources for teachers/librarians who do not have class or small group sets of the books. Some examples, aside from using these as whole class cliff-hangers:

1. Use parts of them to model ideas, such as relating naming or alliteration to personality traits.
2. Use sets of chapters to color-code for student "play" readings - a separate color for each character's dialogue.
3. Have students write questions and comments on an excerpt as recommended in the Junior Great Books process. A discussion follows, perhaps about Harry invading Filch's privacy by exploring his desktop correspondence, then lying about it.

Chapter 2 Prisoner of Azkaban: "Aunt Marge's Big Mistake:" http://www.scholastic.com/harrypotter/books/prisoner/chapter.htm

Chapter 2 The Sorcerer's Stone, "The Vanishing Glass: " http://www.scholastic.com/harrypotter/books/stone/chapter.htm

Chapter 8 Chamber of Secrets,, "The Deathday Party:" http://www.scholastic.com/harrypotter/books/chamber/chapter.htm

7. READING ALOUD

Extensive use of dialogue makes these books excellent read-aloud material, as do the fast pace and cliff-hanger chapter endings. (The numerous diversified characters invite unique voices.) Some logical class or small group discussion topics: how Harry and his friends solve problems, including those of their own making, the reasons behind taunting and bullying, and successful and unsuccessful responses to bullying.

A Harry Potter discussion guide by Kylene Beers of the University of Houston may be found at http://www.scholastic.com/harrypotter/books/guides/index.htm

8. ART

Fifteen artists have illustrated Harry Potter editions globally. Locate illustrations using different artists, and compare them for similarities and differences. Or compare the 6 covers pictured at http://www.homestead.com/penelopeclearwater/welcome1.html

Use a tape recording or a printed excerpt from a Harry Potter book without illustrations and create your own Harry Potter characters and settings. (See excerpts available online.)

9. LANGUAGE ARTS

Personification Plus: J. K. Rowling give cars and buses and other inanimate objects minds and actions of their own. Animals and plants as well are given human characteristics. For instance, they talk, are bored, punish. Students may create two charts (1. objects & 2. living things) to analyze and compare characteristics. They may chart other fantasies or picture books to come to various conclusions as to the observed purposes of personification, its potential values, and how Rowling's work fits into these conclusions. Students may 'expand' the role of one of these 'characters'. How could such a character influence the plot? To create or to solve a problem? To provide humor? Adventure? Thrills? Such an expansion must fit into the concept of that character already delineated by the author. (Therefore, the bare bones concept of that character must be defined before an expansion is invented.) Now that an expansion has been thought through, it may be written.

Glossary: Frequently questioned about how she devised names and new words for her fantasy, J. K. Rowling responded that she collected notebooks of unusual names, both real and imaginary. (Dumbledore being Old English for bumblebee, and Hogwart's headmaster being a music lover and probable hummer. And Voldemort means flight of death in French.) Some sources she mentioned: war memorials, gravestones, saints. Create a glossary of 'Harry Potter' names, places, book titles, charms, passwords that contribute to the mystery, humor, and historical sense of the novels. Include their meaning, or parts of them that have meaning. Write why you think they are good names for what they represent. Quote a sentence or two from a Harry Potter book that illustrates your reason(s). (Check out how the O.E.D. [Oxford English Dictionary] which does this.) Add readers' contributions.

One section or a separate glossary should be comprised of samples of alliteration that J. K. Rowling employs, such as the "whomping willow". Preface this mini-glossary with an explanation of what alliteration is, and why you think Rowling uses it.

If your group's glossary is created with a computerized database or a web site or a hypercard-like application, it can easily be added to as each novel is published. It can also be created with inviting options for user activities.

(Clue: Play around with anagrams. Some 'new' words in Harry Potter books may be variations on actual words.)

Myth and legend: Griffins, phoenixes, centaurs, unicorns, basilisks and other creatures of myth and legend abound in J. K. Rowling's work. Animals such as owls and snakes and spiders behave according to their reputations in folklore. Individuals or groups could select one such creature and

1. Describe its relationship and use within a Harry Potter story, including specific attributes.
2. Research its history, background, origin, including attributes and behaviors, with specific examples of myths, legends, or folklore.
3. Create an additional Harry Potter episode or chapter that incorporates the creature's depicted nature and includes the creature as a major participant. Some examples of children's additional HP writings may be found at http://www.geocities.com/EnchantedForest/Mountain/5101/index.html

So You Want To Be a Wizard!

Write down the skills required to be a wizard. Check a Harry Potter book and two other resources and add any missing skills. Which skills are easiest for Harry? Hardest? Describe several examples of these and give page numbers. Why do you think they were easy or hard? Does Harry eventually acquire the hard skills? How? Are there requirements of a wizard that do not involve actual magic? If so, what are they? Give examples.

GEOGRAPHY:

Begin at the railroad station, where the train for Hogwarts is waiting in between muggle tracks...and figure out where Hagrid's cottage is, and the forest, and the Quidditch playing field, and the rest of J. K. Rowling's fantasyland. That's one map to make.

Then there's the interior of Hogwarts.....the infirmary, the faculty and the custodian's offices, the dorms, the celebrated bathrooms, the classrooms, the location of the deathday party and the introductory selection of 'houses' for new students. Another map.

Oh, there's the street where one can buy all kinds of supplies for the students of wizardry. Another map?

These could be simple two-dimensional maps with significant legends and keys appropriate to the map skills of the students.

Or they could be created with a hypercard or other computer application allowing for multilevel techniques. The fantasyland is complex enough so that clicking on the forest area of the general map could reveal a detailed map of the forest. The map of the forest could have areas to click on that reveal a scene about the flying car, or about centaurs, or about other forest happenings. Clicking on the location of Hagrid's cottage could disclose a photo-like picture of it, Hagrid, his dog, and other localized details. Clicking on the great hall location could reveal an illustration of the Halloween party there or the Christmas feast with the great hall as background.

Oh dear....how will you handle the fact that Hogwarts is a world within a world, and not entirely separate? An interesting challenge!

CRITICAL THINKING: EVALUATING A WEB SITE

Explore a Harry Potter websites, created by youngsters, such as:

http://www.geocities.com/EnchantedForest/Mountain/5101/index.html

You may use a different web site upon approval....it should be as extensive as one of the above.

Find out if your school, school district, teacher, librarian, or computer coordinator uses a tool to evaluate websites or to design websites.

Use that tool, or create one of your own and get it approved, then apply it to the web site you've chosen. Two ideas you may want to include in your tool: Does this site need to be up-to-date? If so, how can you tell if it is? Also, how does this site motivate you to come back? How would you assess the motivators?

Write a complete evaluation, including excellent components, poorly executed or missing components, and suggestions for improvements. Make a presentation to a class or group with copies of the tool and a demonstration of the site. Or conference with librarian/teacher.

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WARNING, Teachers and Library Media Specialists: FOR THE BEST HEALTH OF YOUR LIBRARY AND CLASSROOMS, MODIFY THE ABOVE ACTIVITIES TO SUIT YOUNGSTERS' MATURITY AND SKILLS AND YOUR OWN GOALS.

USE SPRINGBOARD: THE INNOVATIVE ASSESSMENT OF ELECTRONIC AND INFORMATION LITERACY TO MEASURE ASPECTS OF THE ABOVE ACTIVITIES. (MAINE STATE LIBRARY MEDIA SERVICES 287 5620)

by Audrey Conant
Chair, MASL Information Literacy

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