With the magic and mystery inspired by the Harry Potter stories, many ideas for teaching strategies and lesson plans come to mind. You can let your imagination fly.
Science lesson plans that incorporate evidence to solve mysteries like fingerprints, dental impressions, and disappearing ink come to mind. Invite a member of your local police force to come and give a basic talk to your students on how they solve crimes using this type of evidence. Has anyone in your class had dental impressions or molds made from plaster of paris during orthodontic straightening treatment? Using water-based paints, demonstrate how each student has fingerprints that differ from the others. Hand-printed artwork can then be made. Turn handprints into imaginary butterflies or birds.
Hermione’s time-turner can be incorporated into your history lessons. Go back in time and talk about the people and events of that time.
One of my favorite Harry Potter items is the Sorting Hat. Hogwarts first-year students are sorted into all four (4) houses of Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff or I have found the official Harry Potter store where many of these items can be purchased (see URL below). Slytherin. In fact, the mouth of the hat can be made to move. This is a wonderful item to wear on Halloween or anytime in the classroom. Reward a student for her good behavior or grades by allowing her to wear the hat. Choose students to read passages from their storybook readers aloud to the class while wearing the Sorting Hat. Or maybe the day class monitor can wear the hat while doing their day job. There are so many ways to incorporate this hat into your lesson plans and teaching strategies.
There are 3 magic wands used by children in the Harry Potter books. One way to use wands in the classroom can be when children choose teams for various activities and can select each person with the use of a wand. Children may wish to make their own wands in art class out of various “magical” materials.
You can learn to tell time in lesson plans and keep dates correct while using one of several calendars or wall or desk clocks. Plus, kids can make their own Harry Potter wall posters.
Journals are available to encourage students to write down their thoughts daily. Maybe they too can write magical stories.
And last but not least, all teaching strategies incorporate reading into their lesson plans. There are several Harry Potter bookmarks that students will love to use to keep their place in their readers or books. What a great idea for the end of classes (encouraging reading during the summer holidays), back to school or Christmas gifts from the teacher.
Below are brief descriptions of various Harry Potter merchandise found online in the Harry Potter Shop.
Collectible Time-Turner:
This Time-Turner is an authentic recreation of Hermione’s Time-Turner. It is centered with a working miniature hourglass and its inner rings rotate.
Collectible wands:
This Harry Potter wand is an authentic recreation of the famous wizard’s wand. It measures 14 inches long. Made of wood and resin. Other wands for Rum and
Hermione are also available.
Leather briefcase with double buckle:
You don’t need to work at the Ministry of Magic to carry this awesome European-made Harry Potter briefcase! Made from high-quality leather, the briefcase features a metal ‘Hogwarts’ logo on the exterior front pocket and an embossed ‘Harry Potter’ logo on the lid. A wonderful teacher’s bag for all your magical lesson plans.
Prisoner of Azkaban Wall Calendar:
This 12-month calendar features a fun collection of artwork and images from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and is perfect for your home, office, or classroom.
Prisoner of Azkaban Calendar Day by Day:
Add a dose of magic to every day. The holographic image on the calendar holder is sure to liven up the day.
Harry Potter Sheet Music Set:
Learn to play the magical melodies of Harry Potter on the piano. Contains 9 songs.
Sorting Hat:
Bring magic into your classroom with this brown Hogwarts Sorting Hat just like the one worn in the Harry Potter movies! With a variety of brown patches and a tattered brim, this hat is an awesome replica of the hat worn by first years in the movie to sort young wizards into the proper house: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or Slytherin. This spectacular hat has a hat puppet function so you can put your hand in the hat and make its mouth move!
Albus Dumbledore’s wizard hat:
Bring magic into your classroom with this Albus Dumbledore wizard hat, just like the one worn in the Harry Potter movies! Handcrafted from the finest materials, this hat is an incredible recreation of the one worn by everyone’s favorite director. This hat is adjustable to fit a wide range of head sizes, from children to adults.
Albus Dumbledore’s tasseled hat: Become the head of your class/school with this Albus Dumbledore tasseled hat, just like the one worn in the Harry Potter movie with detailed stitching and an orange tassel. This hat is adjustable to fit a wide range of head sizes, from children to adults.
Professor McGonagall’s Witch Hat:
Bring magic into your classroom with Professor McGonagall’s witch hat. This hat is adjustable to fit a wide range of head sizes, from children to adults.
Harry Potter Hat Set (Sorting Hat, Student Hat, McGonagall Hat):
Buy this set of three Harry Potter hats and save! Pretend you’re a scholarly young wizard in this black velvet Hogwarts students hat. Professor McGonagall’s hat has a satin ribbon with checkered detail and a feather. The Hogwarts Sorting Hat has a spectacular puppet show. Put your hand in the hat and make his mouth move, pretending you’re sorting the young wizards into the right house.
Harry Potter Bookmark Set:
You’ll never lose your place when reading about your favorite wizard with this Harry Potter bookmark set. There are six lovely bookmarks in total and each design has a matching bead on its silky tassel. Designs include: Quidditch Game with Cup Bead, Flying Car with Owl Bead, Birthday Gift with Gift Bead, Dragon with Golden Egg Bead, Buckbeak Rescue with Buckbeak Bead, and Underwater with Golden Egg Bead . These bookmarks measure approximately 6″ long.
Harry Potter Journal Box Set:
Take notes, keep a journal and draw in your very own Harry Potter journal! Each 144-page hardcover book has plenty of room for students’ thoughts and drawings. The purple journal has the crest of each Hogwarts house on the cover and a wizard’s hat on each lined page. The red journal has a recreation of Platform 9 3/4 on the cover and is full of lightning bolts on each lined page. The green journal has Hedwig on the cover and a magic wand adorns each blank page.
Harry Potter Two-Sided Diary:
Take notes, keep a journal and draw in your own Harry Potter double-sided journal. Wire bound to lay flat, this hardcover journal with cover is two journals in one!
Open the purple cover showing Harry fighting a dragon to write on the purple pages. Flip it over to reveal a green journal with illustrations of Harry rescuing his friends underwater. This journal has 160 pages of fine stationery (80 purple pages, 80 green pages) to fill with students’ thoughts and dreams.
I hope these articles and others will inspire your lesson plans and teaching strategies. Your classroom will be the envy of all the other students in the school.
