Contribute Ideas For my Reading Group

[DDforever]

Hi there!

Our school (the one I work for, a high school) has a great new summer reading program. As a result some time in September I will be one of four members of the faculty who will be leading HP discussions on book 7.

Now I already have ideas, but I really want to do this justice!! I'll have about 20-25 kids and I think I'll do my best to have a spread of magical food and candy. There are also four doros in to my room so I was hoping to have kids from each of the houses come through different doors and each of course will require passwords.

What do you guys think we should discuss? Door password ideas, recipes?
Of course I'll be in my Griffyndor Uniform. ALL IDEAS ARE WELCOME!!

[Un'Anima Persa]

I think that idea is amazing. The Harry Potter in summer reading.
I've got to read some not-as-interesting books, such as A raisin in the Sun.

Definitely the character development. JK has some great static/dynamic examples on her hands.

The themes are interesting, as well. Both overarching and underlying.

[Run Away!!!]

Well Assuming that these kids have all read the last book, why don't you make the passwords the names of the horcruxes for each house? So Slytherin would be locket, Hufflepuff would be cup, and Ravenclaw would be diadem, Gryffindor would be sword (I know it didn't end up being a horcrux but LV wanted it to be). Then its nice and easy and you can give them the clue and they can figure out the password!

[FawkesthePhoenix]

i'm not saying that hp shouldn't be read in schools, but maybe it won't work out so great. often times kids hate the the books read in school simply because they're forced to read it. making the kids read it for school might take away the magic for some of the more rebellious students. assuming that most kids don't mind reading harry potter, that's a great idea!! i'd discuss the charactors' personalitys, deeper reasons for why they did certain things, and the harry-voldy conection.

[noris]

I remember reading The Hobbit at school and its still one of my favourite books now so I think it depends on the type of book kids are forced to read at school, if its a really well written book that can capture their imagination its a definate hit.

[Run Away!!!]

Well they're not exactly reading it for school are they? Its a summer programme, a bit of fun, not a classroom situation.

[Simatra]

I remember having to read books in school and thinking, ughh, this sounds SO STUPID! but it turned out I really liked them in the end!

[Run Away!!!]

Harry Potters not really a suitable book to study for school , not in our system anyway. They always use books with really strong themes and supportable evidence. But it is fun to discuss Harry Potter theories and characters and things like that in a book group.

[DucksRMagical]

I hated most of the books I had to read in school. They were so boring. I would have loved to be able to write all my essays about HP books!

[Run Away!!!]

Our teachers wouldn't let us, the themes don't have enough grunt to them for us to be able to answer the essay questions they give us, and they don't involve important issues that are relevant.

[GodrictheGriffon]

Some of the books I've read in school wound out being really good. Like The Outsiders and Wittness. I read them last year and they actually wound up being some of my favorite books.
You could use characters from each House as a pass word.
And you could discuss the political and WWII themes.

[DucksRMagical]

I bet I could have related HP to the essays I had to write in high school. That would have made them more interesting too.

But I do kind of think that HP shouldn't be read in schools (as required reading, I think the summer reading program idea is really cool). I know a lot of kids hate being forced to read certain books in school and that probably contributes to them hating the books. I think that kids would probably like HP better if they discovered it on their own or it was just suggested to them. Like it was their choice to read it.

[DDforever]

Sorry I should have explained that better. We have a new summer reading program where the kids choose their books from a very large list. So the kids I will get choose to read HP. They could have opted for everthing from graphic novels to biographies to classics like Rebecca.

During the year they tackle books for academic study. I'm very lucky though our school still tackles a good quantity of banned books and our librarians participated in the "We read banned books" campaign. They've read everything from 1984 to Kite Runner and each year they tackle a different set instead of staying with the same old stuff. Big fan of Pygmalion though, that one and of course Shakepeare and Dickens always come up.

So you see our summer reading became something that kids do because they want to and the during the year reading is assigned.

I'm a big fan of it!!!

I just got off the web searching around and running in to references of Christian communities doing everything from claiming HP is evil to trying to turn it into their own Christian Allegory cause they know they can't fight it. No chance they could just treat like it's well. . . just a story? Mostly a story about love and bravery and friendship? Whew I hate that stuff, I need some choclate, I feel like I just ran into a dementor.

[FawkesthePhoenix]

now THAT is a good idea. (not the evil stuff, the reading program.)

[Run Away!!!]

That is what I assumed! Thats why I said its not exactly like they are reading it for class so no real problem there.