Something magical has been happening in my classroomβ¦
I have MOTIVATED, ENTHUSIASTIC, and AVID readers! Students who would barely pick up a book without being forced would read through recess if they could!
How is this magic happening? With a magical book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.
I had an epiphany “well, duh!” moment last year. So many times I referenced Harry Potter throughout the year, and students knew it was my favorite. Towards the end of the year, one little yahoo raised his hand after one of my HP references and said, “Mrs. Cap, if you love Harry Potter so much, why don’t you teach it?!” *Insert palm smack to the face here.* Oh my gosh, my 4th graders are genius! Fast forward 6 months, and I am knee deep in wizards, witches, wands, potions, and love for reading!
I want to share with you the magic that we have created in our classroom. I spent 5 weeks on this unit, and it was a whirlwind of a time! I will be telling all about the activities of each week in a blog post. I will be bundling all of these activities into a no prep novel study! I plan to have this done in the next week or so so keep an eye out for it. π It is available now! Click here to purchase.
Today’s post is all about week one!
A magical Harry Potter unit wouldn’t be complete without the decor. I wanted to add some magical touches to my classroom to kick-off our unit! However, I didn’t want to add too much and give away things in the book. So, I added a few decorations to start, and as we read about certain things in chapters, I added them to my room! π
I switched out my jobs bulletin board to be Harry Potter themed! My kiddos LOVED this! π
Even though we hadn’t started the book, I wanted to start our classroom version of Hogwarts right away. So, day 1 was Sorting Hat Day!
I got this amazing sorting hat replica off of Amazon! I recorded sound bytes from movie clips and Youtube videos to get at least 2 versions of the sorting hat shouting each house. I actually sorted students ahead of time based on what I thought were common character traits. **This was important for our first activity!**
Then, students wrote the story of their wands. This was a great way to tie in narrative writing, and my students LOVED it!
How fun! I read this book with my kids and can't wait to see what else you do.
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Please please please let us know when you post this product on TpT. I'm already chomping at the bit to start this!! If you need someone to drink the potion so you can see if it works correctly, I'm your man! (said in best Colin Creevy voice)
This is AMAZING!!! I'm just catching up on reading your posts, but how much fun is this! As a fellow, Potter Head, I am loving how you've completely taken your kids into the book!!
Amelia,
I am absolutely blown away by this magical experience you've created in your classroom! I want to be in your room!!! π I just love how you have set everything up, integrated so many important skills, and captivated your students! This is AWESOME! π Thank you so much for sharing it!
-Stacia
Collaboration Cuties
Um, wow. Becks would SO want to be in your class. I kinda want to join in!!!! LOVE THIS SO MUCH!!!!
LOVE!! What an amazing job of bringing a story to life!!! Your kids are so lucky!!
I have GOT to know how you did that shopping cart through the door! I am doing a HP theme in my classroom next year and I am IN LOVE with how you managed to pull that off! PLEASE let me know!!! Thank you!!
-Kim
It's nice that you write about it, it's helpful.
This is really an amazing website
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