The World of Harry Potter

All month I have been participating in the 20 Day Blogging Challenge created by Kelly Hines.  My 20 days aren't going to be within the same month, but it has been great to have these prompts to write from, as well as being able to read how others are responding to the challenge.  Kelly has created another month of challenges.  You can read about phase 2 on her blog, In the Trenches.  Also, if you are on Twitter, you can read what others are doing by following the hashtag #BC20.   It's been a busy week, so I am still on phase one.

20 Day Blogging Challenge, Day Eighteen:  Tell about a favorite book to share and teach. Tell about at least one example of an extension or a cross curricular lesson.

I love the Harry Potter books!  I always have.  Years ago a friend gave me a copy of Sorcerers Stone not long after it first came out.  I was a little lukewarm about it, and then I started reading.  Then I couldn't stop reading.  I will always remember the first year I read it aloud to kids.  All I had to do was reach for the book, and kids would hush each other with, "Shhh!  She's going to read!"  It had that kind of effect, and it still does.  Now I have Sorcerer's Stone on tape, and it is our current read aloud.  I have a classroom set of the books, so students can follow along.

This book accomplishes exactly what I want to accomplish with a read aloud.  It gets kids hooked!  If you come into our classroom right now, you will see lots of Harry Potter books sitting on desks.  Many of my students are now reading Chamber of Secrets, Goblet of Fire, or other books in the series.  Last week one of my reading groups asked if we could read Prisoner of Azkaban as our reading group book.  I had four copies and between the library and copies students brought from home, we managed to acquire enough copies for everyone.

This is my group of strongest readers, and I always have difficulty with this group because some of the group are such prolific readers that they shoot through whatever book we are reading, while others plod along slowly, and never seem to finish.  This time I am trying a new approach to address this issue and keep everyone focused and on track.  I am not going to tell kids not to read ahead when they are loving a book, but I also want to hold discussions to build skills and increase comprehension.

One of the dilemmas I run into is that my school district uses Houghton Mifflin Journeys for reading. I am supposed to teach the Common Core Standards through the use of the small readers that are part of this reading system.  By the time we spend one or two of our reading group days each week on the readers, it is very difficult to move a group through a chapter book in a timely manner while students still have enthusiasm for the book.  Not to mention the fact that these little readers are BORING  and definitely not quality literature.  This has also been complicated by time lost to district testing and because of weather.  I have mostly abandoned the readers for my on grade level students and am teaching the standards using real chapter books.  That makes it all the more important to keep everyone on track, so everyone benefits from those lessons.

One way I am trying to accomplish that is with a Blended Classroom approach, using Edmodo.  We have conducted some of our reading group discussion using Edmodo in the past, but I am trying to do it more consistently.  There are some great resources out there to add to student understanding and to build interest, including Scholastic's Prisoner of Azkaban page, and  J. K. Rowlings website.

Edmodo is a great way to provide links to resources, as well as encourage student discussion and sharing.  For the first time I am using Edmodo to create and conduct a quiz.  It was easy to use, and very similar to creating a Google Form.  It also connects with the Edmodo grade book.

Along with the group reading Prisoner of Azkaban, I am using Edmodo with two other groups.  For each group we set a weekly reading goal.  When students finish their reading for the week, they will log onto Edmodo to add to the discussion and take quizzes.  Hopefully this will keep kids interacting with the text when they are ready, and not hold anyone back.  Of course this will only work if I can stay on top of things, respond to the conversation and add resources for my speedy readers.  With 29 students and 5 reading groups that will be a challenge.

Help!!!

How do you handle reading discussion when students read at different rates?  I can use any advice that you can offer.

Meeting the Challenge

Every school year I make a vow to blog on a more regular basis.  I usually start out the year well, but before long I am posting less than once a month.  That's why I was excited when I saw the "20 Day Blogging Challenge" on Kelly Hines' blog, In The Trenches.  Even if it takes me two months to accomplish, I will be way ahead of where I am now.  So here I am on New Year's Day, hanging out at Caribou Coffee, writing my first post.

Day One:  Tell about a favorite book to share or teach.  Provide at least one example of an extension or cross curricular lesson.

We start back to school tomorrow.  Right before winter vacation we finished reading The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Spear.  This is definitely one of my favorite books.  Tomorrow we will begin reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.  I love these books, but I only do the first one with the class.  When I choose a book for read aloud, I usually look for books that are part of a series or by a great writer.  When I am sharing a book with the class, students look for additional copies and other books by the author in our classroom or school library.  It is one of the best ways to hook a child into wanting to read.

Key for me is great character development, and a well crafted plot.  The Harry Potter books definitely have this going for it.  The first time I ever read this to a class, I remember that when I would reach for the book, students would hush each other with "Sssshhh!  She's going to read."  I had one little guy in my class who asked his grandma to buy him the second book in the series,  "The Chamber of Secrets".  I know this boy had never asked for a book in his life, but he loved these books.  All year he kept that book on the corner of his desk, pulling it out to read when he had time.  The Harry Potter books are magic!  What teacher wouldn't like that?

One problem I do have when I read the Harry Potter books is that I often have a student who is not allowed to hear them, due to religious reasons.  When that happens I just pull out one of my other books on tape for them to listen to in the hall.

I like to focus on the character development.  It is a great opportunity to discuss character traits and how we can identify those traits by the the things the character does and says.  Sometimes I have students take notes as we go.  Here is a document I may use.  Feel free to use it if you wish.

I love the way J. K. Rowling uses language.  Character names reveal a lot about them.  I always like to do a lesson about how the author names some of the characters and the text books that the students use. We talk about meaningful parts of words.   A perfect example is the villain Voldemort.  My high school French helped me to identify that "mort" means death.  I point out words in English like mortuary and mortgage.  We used the dictionary to look up vol and found volition which can mean power.  Voldemort = power of death.  Is that how Rowling came up with the name?  I don't know, but I find it very interesting.

l have these books on tape.  I love hearing them read by this wonderful actor and reader.  If you have never read the Harry Potter books, give them a try.  The movies do not do it justice.