Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

ACTIVITY 1: “Character Map”

In this activity, students will analyze characters to create visual representations of a key character from the story.

• Choose a character in the novel you know well.
• Create a poster (or other visual format) that depicts an in-depth analysis of the character. You must include all required elements from Lists A and B below.
• Present your project to the class.
• Write a response to reflect on what you learned, what you are most proud of, and what advice you can give yourself for your next analysis project.

LIST A: Include ALL elements from this list about the character.

• Character’s name
• Age or age range
• Hogwarts House
• 4 or more character traits
• 1 or more items they value
• 2 or more key character quotes
• 1 or more symbols that represent the character in some way
• A description of how they grow over the course of the novel

LIST B: Include at least 3 elements from this list about the character.

• Magical animal that represents or relates to the character
• Special abilities or talents
• Close friends and/or family members
• Character picture
• Educated guess about the character’s favorite song and why
• Advice the character would most likely give the class, or words the character might live by

Teaching Suggestion: Students might share in small groups as they brainstorm to increase analysis, speaking, and listening skills. To provide opportunities for more in-depth analysis, students might sketch out their ideas and get feedback in the form of questions through a gallery walk (or other format) before creating their final drafts.

Differentiation Suggestion: You might consider alternative ways for higher-level students to present this analysis project, such as an inner monologue presentation, a 3-D model, a computer visual, or a painting. Students who need more support may benefit from a graphic organizer, sentence stems, or a template to be filled in with more specific elements from the list (limiting choice as you see fit for the student). For alternative ways to publish their work, students can participate in a gallery walk, present in small groups, or post their work in the classroom or on a digital platform.

ACTIVITY 2: “Our House”

In this activity, students will create a house to represent their class, highlighting what makes the class unique.

Each of the four Hogwarts Houses are unique, providing distinct communities for students of different talents and strengths. Harry, Ron, and Hermione are sorted into Gryffindor House, which is known for courage and represented by a lion. The other houses (Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin) have their own traits and symbols. Consider what is special or unique about your class. What are you known for? What animals, symbols, phrases, sayings, or songs can be used to represent you as a group?

After brainstorming, work as a group to create a house banner that includes all of the following:

• House name
• House symbol
• Colors
• House song
• House motto
• Description of what makes your house unique

Your group must be prepared to present your banner to the class to explain the meaning behind each component of the banner and how it represents a unique quality of your class.

After each group presents their work, you will write a response that makes a comparison between one of the houses your classmates created and one of the four Hogwarts Houses. Your response must explain how your classmates’ house is similar to and/or different from at least one Hogwarts House.

Teaching Suggestion: Students might benefit from a class discussion to brainstorm unique qualities about the class students can consider highlighting. Reviewing key scenes in the novel or film could also help highlight houses and what makes them unique in the novel. You might also consider using Hogwarts banners or other similar items (such as family crests) to give students examples or inspiration.

Differentiation Suggestion: Depending on the class or group of students, you may consider adjusting the scope of the project to focus on a group that is smaller or larger than the class. Consider focusing on larger communities, such as your school, a students’ family, sports teams, etc., or smaller communities, such as school clubs, teams, or self-selected student groups. You can also give students an option to focus on a group of their choice, which would add a nice variety. This may help students find more commonalities to focus on if they struggle to find qualities that the overall class shares.