Put Yourself at Hogwarts

Some book settings—such as Hogwarts in the Harry Potter series—are unforgettable. Transport yourself to your favorite story scene with this project.

• 1.

  Reading a terrific book instantly puts you in the middle of the action. What are some of your favorite books? Surely everyone who has read a Harry Potter book has been transported to a place where owls carry messages and school feasts appear before one's eyes. Were you sitting in that boat floating in the dark as Hogwarts comes into view for the first time? Do you ever wonder how you would respond when confronted with an ogre in the bathroom? Or snobbery at the lunch table? Find out by putting yourself at Hogwarts (or whatever your favorite book setting)!

• 2.

  With Crayola® Scissors, cut a large square from a recycled file folder. Fold the square in half two times by matching up the points. Cut one of these folds to the center. Slide the two pieces on either side of the cut together to create a standing triarama.

• 3.

  To decorate the backdrop of your Hogwarts' scene, unfold the triarama and color its two walls and floor with Crayola Construction Paper Crayons. You may also cut colored construction paper and glue it to the walls or floor with a Crayola Glue Stick.

• 4.

  After the surroundings are finished, glue the two file folder pieces that form the floor together to create the standing triarama with Crayola School Glue. Air dry.

• 5.

  On white paper or a file folder, draw the outline of Hogwarts with Crayola Erasable Colored Pencils. Color in the castle. Erase sections for highlights or to add mortar colors between stones, for example. Use Crayola Metallic FX Crayons to add magical flo

• 6.

  With a small piece of Crayola Model Magic, form a cube to act as the base for your form. Stick a craft stick in the cube as the armature for your cutout. Air dry overnight.

• 7.

  Cut out a small photo of your head. On another piece of file folder, draw and decorate your figure with colored pencils and crayons. Make sure that your body is proportional to your head. Attach them with glue. Air dry flat.

• 8.

  Glue the cutout to the craft stick in the cube. Now you can wander around Hogwarts and no longer feel like a Muggle.

Benefits

• Students read a memorable book, fiction or nonfiction.
• Students concretize a natural process of reading comprehension.
• Students demonstrate an understanding of literary ideas through visual realization by creating a scene from a literary genre.

Adaptations

• Set up a Harry Potter trivia game show with different characters acting as the host. What could some of the questions and prizes be?
• Write an essay about the special qualities that you would bring to Hogwarts (or whatever your story setting). List your magical abilities. What weakness would you like to strengthen through your schooling there?
• Think about which characters would enjoy meeting characters from other books. Who would be good friends? Who would despise each other? Write a script describing these imaginary meetings. Where would they get together? What would happen?