November 16, 2001

MAKING MAGIC
Drawing Upon Successful Elements of the "Harry Potter" Series to Develop Short Films

Grades:  6-8,9-12

Subjects:  Language Arts, Media Studies

Related New York Times Article
"'Harry Potter': Wizard School Without the Magic, By ELVIS MITCHELL", November 16, 2001

Overview of Lesson Plan:: In this lesson, students assess the elements of J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" series that have made it such a success. Students then incorporate these elements into the creation of short films, incorporating such concepts as pop culture mythology, urban legend and archetypes.

SUGGESTED TIME ALLOWANCE:  45 minutes - 1 hour

OBJECTIVES:
Students will:

  1. Reflect on the adaptation of favorite books into movies.
  2. Explore one reviewer's evaluation of the movie "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," a film adaptation of the popular children's book, by reading and discussing "Harry Potter: Wizard School Without the Magic."
  3. Develop definitions for the terms "pop culture mythology," "urban legend," and "archetype"; incorporate these elements into original short film scripts.
  4. Write and produce short films based on their scripts; present films to class; write reviews of other groups' films.

RESOURCES / MATERIALS:

ACTIVITIES / PROCEDURES:WARM-UP/DO NOW:
Students respond to the following questions (written on the board prior to class):

  1. "Think about your favorite book. If it were used as the basis of a movie, what elements of the book would you expect to see in that movie? How closely would you expect the plot, characters and setting to reflect the book? How would you want or expect those elements to change in its movie form?" After several minutes, encourage students share their journals with the class.
  2. As a class, read and discuss the movie review "Harry Potter: Wizard School Without the Magic," focusing on the following questions:
    1. At the beginning of the review, to what does Elvis Mitchell compare "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone"? Why does he make this comparison?
    2. What two reasons make it "misguided" to complain about the film's lack of originality?
    3. What other films has the director of "Harry Potter" directed? How are these films similar to "Harry Potter"?
    4. How does the film begin?
    5. What is the basic plot of the film?
    6. What does the film critic have to say about the child actors in the film?
    7. What is the movie's most "consistently entertaining scene"?
    8. What scene from another film does the Quidditch match resemble?
    9. Does the movie include product placements? Does the critic consider this good or bad, and why?
    10. What did the critic notice about the presence of minorities in the film, and how does this affect his review?
    11. How did this critic feel about this movie? How do you know?
  3. As a class, develop definitions for the following terms: pop culture mythology, urban legend and archetype. (You may want to refer to a dictionary to help hone the class definitions. There is no standard definition of "pop culture mythology," so students should use the context of the term as presented in the review to produce a working definition. Be sure to distinguish between an urban legend, which is an actual story that has been passed down, and pop culture mythology, which is a category of concepts that have become part of our cultural consciousness, such as "the force" or "good triumphing over evil.") Write these definitions on the board.

    Next, divide students into small groups of three or four each. Have each group fold a piece of paper into thirds, labeling each column with one of the defined terms. Each group then writes down four examples of each of the terms. After a few minutes, instruct students to exchange their lists with another group. They then select one example from each of the categories on this list and consider how to write a movie script for a short film that employs all three of these elements. (For example, the plot might be based on an urban legend in which a particular pop culture myth is exploited by a main character who represents an archetype). If time allows, students can begin to script their films.
  4. WRAP-UP/HOMEWORK: Each group scripts and produces their short film (preferably on video, although pairs can present them "live" for the class if video equipment is not available). In a later class, students present their films. After watching each film, discuss the accuracy and entertainment value of their portrayal of the three key elements. Each student should then select one of the films presented and write a descriptive review.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

EVALUATION / ASSESSMENT:
Students will be evaluated based on written journal entries, participation in class discussions, and thoughtful development of film script and presentation.

VOCABULARY:
phenomenon, Gaudi, synthesize, grandeur, exploited, precocious, sheepish, drolly, swinish, resolute, coiffure, tantric, mortifyingly, paucity, cowed, soupcon

EXTENSION ACTIVITIES:

  1. See "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" and write your own review, using the one you read in class as a starting point. Respond to Elvis Mitchell's criticism by agreeing with or challenging it, using specific examples from the film to support your opinions of it. Alternately, read other reviews of the film and compare critiques.
  2. Read the article "Screening the Novel Words of Harry Potter" (http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/16/magazine/16ONLANGUAGE.html). Then, write an illustrated dictionary of "Harry Potter" terms. Include a section of your own "Harry Potter" terms that you think should be a part of the vocabulary in Harry's world.
  3. Read one of the "Harry Potter" books as well as The New York Times book review of it. Write a response to the review based on your opinions of the book.
  4. Create character profiles of three of the characters from the "Harry Potter" books or film. You can make posters or assemble a booklet that includes information on how they look (provide a picture), their personalities, their relationship with Harry, and their role in the story. Then, develop a character profile for a new character who you think might be a good addition to the current cast of characters.
  5. Poll teachers about the value of "Harry Potter" as a teaching tool. Some questions to ask include: Do you allow students to read "Harry Potter" books for book reports? Would you teach it as part of your curriculum? What positive lessons might "Harry Potter" provide for students? What might be some dangers in teaching it in class? After interviewing several teachers, write an opinion essay on whether or not you think it should be taught, and, if so, in what manner.
  6. Read a New York Times movie review of another highly publicized children's movie from the past year, such as "Monsters, Inc.," "Toy Story II," "Shrek," or recently released Disney films. Create a chart addressing the following questions: What common elements seem to be critiqued in each film? What type of review did each film receive, and how did this review relate to the reception of the film in the general public?

INTERDISCIPLINARY CONNECTIONS:
Economics- Keep a log for one week of each time you see or hear about Harry Potter in the media. This includes interviews, advertisements, promotions, toys, etc. After completing your log, determine an area in which Harry Potter has not yet been marketed and create a proposal for a new Harry Potter product. Include in your proposal a picture of the proposed product and an explanation about to whom it would be marketed and how. Try to tap into a new target group of buyers.

Fine Arts- Critic Elvis Mitchell criticizes the "Harry Potter" film for being too much like the book, but he also acknowledges that fans may not appreciate changes. Research the different versions and remakes of a popular song, and create a "mix" tape with all of the versions on it. Some songs that have many incarnations include "No Woman, No Cry," "I Shot The Sheriff" and "Yesterday." Play the tape for your class and see if they can pick out the original. Then, discuss how the different versions change the song and whether this is for the better or for the worse.

Social Studies- Create a two-minute survey about the topic of race in the film "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," to be handed out outside of a theater where people who have just seen the film are exiting. Start with general questions about whether the person noticed the race of the different characters, then move to opinion questions about how the racial make-up of the film made them feel. Make sure to write the questions in a neutral way so that the answers you receive are accurate and not biased, based on the information you read in the article. Make sure to ask people politely if they will take your survey. Then, analyze and graph your results.

Technology- Learn about the different technologies used to create the special effects in fantasy films. Create a poster highlighting some special effects from your favorite films (such as the pod race in "Star Wars Episode I" or the animation in "Toy Story"). Display a picture of each one, along with a description of the technique used to achieve the effect.

Copyright 2001
The New York Times Company

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