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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Book Discussion: Flexible Schedule

In this 10-week course, students will read and discuss Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling.
Janelle Fila
Average rating:
4.6
Number of reviews:
(903)
Star Educator
Class

What's included

Homework
1-2 hours per week. Students will read three chapters a week on their own time. Each Sunday, students will have access to the new video and a corresponding one page worksheet with discussion questions and places for fill-in-the blank answers. Each week, I assign a short writing assignment focused around that week's discussion questions and ask the students to share their responses in the classroom. There are also daily activities each day like vocabulary words, an I Spy game, word searches and crossword puzzles to test their comprehension from the weekly chapters.
Assessment
The more questions, comments, and posts that students share in the classroom, the more I can understand their knowledge and comprehension of the topics we are discussing.

Class Experience

US Grade 6 - 9
Students will read three chapters a week on their own time. Each week a new video will discuss the pages that the students have previously read. This class does not meet live. The prerecorded sessions will emphasize characters, their motivations, theme, story plausibility, and inferences about what might come next. 

Each Sunday, students will have access to a video that covers the important elements of the week's reading and a corresponding one page worksheet with discussion questions and places for fill-in-the blank answers. The worksheets will also address/remind the students of some of the important topics from each chapter. Each week, I assign a short writing assignment focused around that week's discussion questions and ask the students to share their responses in the classroom (so other students may view, comment, and interact as well). I also ask students to submit any vocabulary words the students didn't recognize or passages the students did not understand. The more questions the students ask, the more "discussion" we can have in the classroom after each chapter. 

Weekly breakdown:
Sunday: Students will receive a worksheet and discussion questions for each weekly video. There is one weekly writing assignment to complete after the weekly readings. 

Monday: I post an I Spy challenge and ask the students to list one specific item they can "spy" from the week's reading. Students can also challenge other students (or myself!) to find other items as well. 

Tuesday through Fridays: I will post a vocabulary word for the students to use in a sentence that showcases their understanding of the definition.  

Saturday: I post a link to a Harry Potter themed Kahoot! trivia quiz. This will be a literary-based discussion Kahoot to test reader comprehension. Students can share their scores or any questions they did not know in the classroom to share their experience with their classmates.
Learning Goals
Week 1 Chapters 1-3
Week 2 Chapters 4-6
Week 3 Chapters 7-9
Week 4 Chapters 10-12
Week 5 Chapters 13-15
Week 6 Chapters 16-18
Week 7 Chapters 19-21
Week 8 Chapters 22-24
Week 9 Chapters 25-27
Week 10 Chapters 28-30
learning goal

Other Details

Parental Guidance
According to commonsensemedia.org: Parents need to know that, as this series progresses and the characters age, it is a better fit for tweens. The violence is more violent (there are many mentions of deaths at the hand of Voldemort and his followers), the mood darker, the consequences greater. A major and beloved character is killed, apparently in vain, and the emotional consequences are great. Harry and Professor Dumbledore piece together memories of Lord Voldemort throughout his life to get a better picture of the enemy they're dealing with, making parts of the book feel more like a psychological thriller.
Supply List
The students will need a copy of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince to read on their own. It can be borrowed from the library or even listened to as an audio book. The students will not need a physical copy of the story in class, although they may find it helpful to have while filling out their worksheets or working on their writing assignment.
External Resources
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
  • Kahoot
Outschool is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., owner of the Harry Potter® mark and related Harry Potter marks.
Joined June, 2019
4.6
903reviews
Star Educator
Profile
Teacher expertise and credentials
Master's Degree in Music or Theatre or Arts from Spalding University
I have an MFA in Creative Writing for Children and Young Adults. During grad school, my 30 page critical essay cited numerous quotes from the Harry Potter series. I felt so fortunate to get to read Harry Potter as part of my education! I want to share that love and passion for Harry Potter to all readers. It is such an immersive world and so much fun to escape to. There is so much to be learned from this series, especially for students who love reading about creative worlds or who have any interest in creative writing. This book particularly leads to good discussion about anger management and Harry's rather poor decision making skills that endanger (and even cause the death of) his closest friends and allies (again). 

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Live Group Class
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$10

weekly or $99 for 10 weeks
10 weeks

Completed by 1 learner
No live video meetings
Ages: 11-16

This class is no longer offered
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