First Years: Harry Potter Book Club for First Time HP Readers: Book 1 (High School)

***Note: this class is specifically designed for first time readers of Harry Potter. This is a High School based class; if your student is a middle schooler, please check out the same class being offered for their age group: https://outschool.com/classes/harry-potter-first-years-discussion-class-over-book-1-4BRBLOBn#usEjOcq2El ***

As an English teacher, my students are constantly asking me for recommendations for books, and my first recommendation is ALWAYS Harry Potter. This series has everything a young reader could want out of their reading life, and it sometimes just takes the act of reading the series to believe that. 

This class is specifically designed for high school aged students who are first-time Harry Potter readers. During this class, students will discuss the first book in the series with their peers, while also learning about different literary themes, characterization, and other storytelling techniques through mini-lessons, discussion topics, and brief videos. The Harry Potter books are complex, innovative, and expertly written: it is my goal to teach students literary techniques while also exposing them to literature they will fall in love with for years to come.

Students will be expected to read the book outside of class and come to class prepared to discuss that week's assigned chapters.
This class will utilize the "flipped classroom": students will watch brief videos before starting each week's assignment.

Some weeks will contain more reading than others; the page/chapter breakdowns are based around the subsequent literary analysis lessons and plot of the book. 

Students will be provided an introductory video and their first assignment prior to the first class. Students should plan to read the first four chapters prior to the first class.
Week 1: Discussion over chapters 1-4: Mini-lesson over characterization
Week 2: Discussion over chapters 5-8: Mini-lesson over Plot and Suspense
Week 3: Discussion over chapters 9-13: Mini-lesson over Symbolism and Theme
Week 4: Discussion over chapters 14-17: Students will discuss the novel as a whole and have an interactive quiz at the end of class.