The Magical World of Harry Potter Webquest

Overview

• This Webquest will allow you to explore many aspects of these magical books and utilize your knowledge of them in new ways.
• You will engage in activities that involve language arts and visual arts.
• This Webquest is most suitable for students in grades 3 through 5.

Introduction

    Have you ever wanted to be a student at a school similar to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?  Well, you will have the opportunity to see what it would be like in this WebQuest.  You will also explore the controversy over the books and defend a given point of view about this issue.  There are many characters and mythical creatures that abound in the Harry Potter books and you will learn about them as well.  So have fun and expand your world by delving into the world of Harry Potter!

Tasks

#1 - Visit Hogwarts Castle
-Take a tour of Hogwarts Castle at www.hp-lexicon.org/hogwarts/hogwarts.html
-Then choose two of the rooms and write a paragraph about each one, describing each one's appearance and purpose.
-Your paragraphs should be 3-5 sentences each and be proofread for correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

#2 - How Well Do You Know the Characters?
-You will now learn about Harry's friends and maybe even a character who doesn't see Harry as a friend.  Remember, Harry has many friends, but he also has a few enemies.  Learn more about all of them at http://kidsreads.com/harrypotter/who.html.  
-As you read, write down notes about the 3 most interesting characters you find.
-From your notes about the characters, choose one and create a 3-dimensional model of him or her (other than Harry).  Your model must be at least 12" tall and must be made out of the most creative materials you can find.  Have fun!

#3 - Ask the Author
-Find out more information about J.K. Rowling at www.kidsreads.com/harrypotter/jkrowling.html.
-Then write at least 8 of your own questions that you would want to ask Rowling if you had the opportunity to interview her.

#4 - The Harry Potter Controversy
-You are to pretend that there is one very vocal parent in your school's PTA who is against the Harry Potter books and would like them to be banned from the school library.
-Choose a role from the list below and become that person.  Write a 3 paragraph defense stating your opinion and why it is the most reasonable and valid.  Use these resources to find information to support your position:
    www.familyeducation.com/article/0,1120,1-9966-0-3,00.html
    www.kidspeakonline.org/
    http://connect.familyeducation.com/webx/webx.d11?13@@.ee7fd01/224
        Roles
                 For Banning the Books:
                    Barbara Banndanna - parent who feels that children should not be allowed to read
                    about magic in school because it puts bad thoughts into their minds
                    Ira Rant - senior citizen in the community who sees today's youth as already causing 
                    enough trouble and thinks these books will only make it worse
                Against Banning the Books:
                    Sam Rightly - a social studies teacher who feels a great responsibility to stand up for
                    the First Amendment rights
                    Billy High Jr. - a 7th grade student who didn't like to read before he discovered the
                    Harry Potter books
-Now that you've taken one position, choose a character from the opposite position and write a 3 paragraph defense stating your opinion and why it is the most reasonable and valid.  Use the above resources again to find information.

#5 - What A Character!
-There are many intriguing characters in the Harry Potter books.  Choose one (besides Harry).
-Take a sheet of paper and fold it into quarters so that when you open it back up you have four separate boxes.
-In the center of the paper, write your chosen character's name.
-Then choose four traits that describe the character from the character traits listed below.  (If you are unfamiliar with any of the words, look them up in a dictionary or at www.dictionary.com.)
    Character Traits:   honest    light-hearted    leader    expert    brave    conceited    mischievous
                                    thoughtful    keen    bright    timid    bold    daring    dainty    courageous
                                    demanding    serious    humorous    humble    friendly    adventurous                       
                                    hard-working
-Write each trait at the top of a box on your paper.
-Now, use your Harry Potter book(s) to find quotations that support each of these character traits and write down the quote and book and page number in the box.
-Choose 2 traits from your paper and write a paragraph for each that describes how the quote shows that the character exemplifies this trait.

#6 - Potter-Mania Is Everywhere!
-Harry Potter is everywhere - in books and films!  Read this article and answer these intriguing questions about them:
http://film.guardian.co.uk/harrypotter/storynav/0,10608,583653,00.html
    1)    How many versions of the first film are there?
    2)    How many copies of the books have been sold in the whole world?
    3)    How many children auditioned for the role of Harry?
    4)    How many languages have the books been translated into?
    5)    How much did the movie cost to make?
-Use the French-English dictionary at this site, www.wordreference.com, to translate these Potter book titles:
    Harry Potter a l'Ecole des Sorciers
    Harry Potter et la Chambre des Secrets
    Harry Potter et la Prisonnier d'Azkaban
    Harry Potter et la Coupe du Feu
    Harry Potter et l'Ordre du Phoenix
-The Potter books are fun to read because of the many strange words in them.  Use a dictionary or www.dictionary.com to find out what 5 of these names (or parts of them) mean.  Do you think they're good names for the characters they represent?  Write a rationale for each, explaining your reasoning.
    Hogwart    Filch    Voldemort    Fluffy    Crabbe    Lockhart    Remus Lupin    Slytherin
    Sirius Black    Scabbers    Hagrid    Longbottom    Weasley

Evaluation

Task #1- Visit Hogwarts Castle

Task #2 - How Well Do You Know the Characters?

Task #3 - Ask the Author

Task #4- The Harry Potter Controversy

Task #5 - What A Character!

Task #6 - Potter Mania is Everywhere!

Conclusion

Do you now feel that you know even more about the magical world of Harry Potter?  Hopefully you had fun, learned some new things, and will be able to use the knowledge and skills that you've learned in this Webquest and apply them to other ideas that you learn about in the future!