[HPFGU-OTChatter] harry potter and teachers

[Richelle Votaw]

> Hi everyone.
> I have only posted one message before this and that was just a 'hi'
> message.
> I have a question for any teachers out there.
> I am going back to school to receive my teachers certificate.  I am
> considering 4th or 5th grade.  I would love to use Harry Potter in my
> lessons.  I was wondering if any teachers use Harry Potter in their
> classes and if they do:
> - what grade?
> -are there any objections from fellow staff/teachers/parents/students?
> -how do you handle the objections?

Well, I teach first grade, so I can't really use Harry Potter in my class.
However, at least one of the fourth grade teachers at my school has read HP
to her class and they loved it.  We do have one teacher at the school who
objects to Harry Potter though.  My response to objectors would be to ask
them to read it before they criticize it.  In a nice way, of course.  One
thing I really like about HP is that magic doesn't solve everything.  You
can have all the magical power in the world, and it won't do what you
*really* want.  All Harry really wants is to have his parents back.  And all
the magic in the world can't do that.  As long as the children can
distinguish between reality and fantasy, it shouldn't be a problem.

Personally, unless it's high level 3rd graders I'd say 4th grade would be
the lowest grade level to "handle" Harry Potter.  Especially if you go into
books 3 and 4.  It does get rather dark in GoF.  Oh, Scholastic also has
teaching guides for all four HP books.  They come with posters and are
pretty good.  I can't use them, but I do want to buy them for my HP
collection.

As a first grade teacher my kids are a bit clueless, though the movie
helped, I'm sure some of them will have seen that.  We are using magic wands
in reading and such things as that.  Of course, they don't look like HP
magic wands, more like the fairy godmother. :)

Richelle