I have a lesson to teach on Harry Potter. What should I talk about?

1. Show how Rowling, like Tolkien, references all kinds of myths from different times in history and from all over the world. Have them trace as many mythological references as they can find.

Bonus: compare to Tolkien. Who brought in more sources? 2.

Compare the traits that Harry and his friends value-- courage, friendship, truth and loyalty--to the code of the Knights Templar. Then have them ask why these traits are necessary. Both Harry Potter and the Knights Templar are on quests.

Does this have anything to do with it? If they can get through the above two questions and still think the books are mediocre, that says more about them than it does about the books! 3.

Have them discuss the theme (again, an echo from Tolkien) that it is the small and powerless (relatively, at least socially) who are the ones who can change the world. 4. Have them research how many *adults* are huge fans.

They need to find these things for themselves, because at that age they'll likely sneer (mentally at least) if you present the answers: how many adults showed up for the bookstore launches? How many adult tickets were sold to the movie opening nights? How many serious scholarly articles?

You can start out this question by presenting this website of an *adult* Harry Potter party: http://www.britta.com/hogwarts/index.html 5. Have them find other books where the plot begins with the hero/heroine finding out he/she's not who or what he/she thought. Ones that come to mind in modern books are Eragon, and The Princess Diaries, but this is a common device in classical literature.

Have them find this in classical works of literature. 6. Harry was orphaned as a baby and abused and neglected from a young age, treated as a nothing and ignored.Do they think that a person with such a background could have the courage and strength that Harry does?

I bet that once they see the echoes in classical literature in both direct references and themes; how big Harry's adult fan base is; and how important and difficult the questions are that the books bring out, they will have a change of heart. Given that these kids are 16, that means they were in elementary school when the first books were published, and they haven't realized that they can approach the series on a whole new level. This happens with not just books but all kinds of things first experienced in childhood, from friendships/opinions of poeple, to religion.

And that in itself might be a great seventh question: 7. How do you see Harry Potter now, as opposed to how you saw him and the series at age 7 or 8? What new things do you see that you were too young to realize before?

The three main characters certainly have their ups and downs as friends. Or... talk about character/integrity. I'm sure 16 year olds are trying to figure out who they want to be and what kind of character they want to have.

Harry (especially) is trying to figure out what kind of character he wants to have.

Themes I would talk about:Bigotry and Oppression - the treatment of non-wizards by wizard society, muggles, house elves, centaurs etc. Trials and Tribulations of Adolescence - how much more trouble would Harry have accomplishing what he accomplished if Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall had not been tolerant of risk takingLove and Friendship - the ability for love and friendship to help people to overcome obstaclesEvil and the Quest for Power - why were so many people willing to join with Lord VoldemortMeta Topics:The mature approach to death and evil in a kids series. Social Impact of the books and movies; number of kids reading, popularity of other teen fantasy series such as Spiderwick.Is the series derivative? (for older classes).

One thing you could talk about is the similarities between harry potter and other literature. If you go to Mugglenet. Com I think you will find a great deal of information.

The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter have a lot of similarities so that might be something to talk about. Definately go to that site and check it out you should get LOTS of ideas there.

Try teaching it as a cycle of the Hero's Journey using Joseph Campbell. You can also go into archetypes in Harry Potter and why these books are popular because of that.

When all else fails, make them compare why some argue that is not a good text but it appeals to such a wide audience. As a writer, I had heard critiques that said Rowling's writing was less that spectacular. I'm not sure I agree.

However she does do two things very well--she tells a good story (plot) and is good at describing her very vivid imagination.

First, how Harry is different from the first book to the last book and how an author ages a character. Second, the relationship between Harry, Ron and Hermione, how Hermione is pulled between her friend and her boyfriend, and how many girls have this problem. Third, the concept of the quest, where it began, other quests.

Fourth, the concept of family, how Harry tries to protect those that he feels are his family. Fifth, the concept of the death of a main character. How it affects the book.

Sixth, the concept of misdirection so that the author can have a surprise at the end. Snape.

Focusing on the relationship of bullying, being different and things that they are going through themselves being taunted by bullies for being different, and maybe a few can relate to being in a foster home situation or living with relatives instead of their parents. Death is another thing that the children can relate to just out of common interest.

Although it is a good series I liked the earlier books better than the later ones. None of the Harry Potter series are particularly good for 16 year olds. They might like them and they might not; but, that should be on their own time.At 16 they should be reading more important classics for school.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.