It may sound cliche, but reading Harry Potter with the 5th and 6th grade truly was a magical experience. The two classes had a variety of personalities, learning styles, and interest in reading. There is nothing more exciting for me than when a student falls in loving with reading, even if it is a magazine, comic, or just one book. Discovering the love for reading opens up the doors for learning about our world, the people who live there, and the information that we need to succeed in any path. When the most reluctant reader was sneaking their book into their back pack to read at home, or when they were all begging to read the second book as soon as possible, I felt like I played a little part in the life of the reader. How is that not magic? The success of our book club was hidden within the many things we did with our students, from before they owned the book all the way until the novel was done. Miss Derrickson and I brought a passion to the classroom for learning, reading, and the rich and round characters featured in J.K. Rowling's writing. The decorations, games, enthusiasm, and Pottermore competition in our classroom during this unit was layered with learning, building connections, making predictions, inferences, collaboration, critical thinking, and fun! With all this in mind, our end of year classroom party took on a theme! When the students returned from lunch recess, our classroom transformed into the house colors of Hogwarts. Miss Derrickson and I had spent the night before making chocolate frogs, rats, lightning bolts, and other treats connected to our reading. There are a million great recipes to make your own butterbeer modeled after the book, we found it easier to get cream soda and simply pretend it was the butterscotch magic concoction from Diagon Alley. This free printable made our cream soda blend right into the magical classroom setting! We also found Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans for each of the students! If you have not read the books, Bertie Bott's are jelly beans with unusual flavors that the characters often eat. Just a few of the common flavors are earwax, vomit, grass, and the list goes on. This was a great connection to the book, snack for our party, and the most enjoyable part (for the students at least) was passing a flavor to their teacher to watch the reaction! *This blog is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
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AuthorCurrent 1st grade teacher and former middle school educator trying to be techy, Reading Specialist, life long learner, and avid reader Categories
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January 2021
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