The popularity of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone makes it a joy to work with and gives you opportunities you wouldn’t have with other texts. Children who know the book will be keen to revisit it, and I use it in video slots of 20 minutes and link this to text work and also discussion work around different topics. The magic is still at work two decades later and children readily associate with the characters and this allows for comfortable entries to sometimes difficult discussions around PSHE related topics that I have to deal with.

Children will want to talk about Harry’s wizarding world and their own experiences there as readers. They express strong feelings about the characters – Harry and his friends seem real and children like to treat them as such. Their involvement is frequently expressed through play, making the book a natural and rewarding starting point for cross-curricular activities. I use it as a standalone resource for my work with children experiencing Social, Emotional & Behavioral Difficulties as it easily lends itself to discussions around , friends, bullying, home situations, making good choices etc.

This is a Unit of work that I always look forward to in my cycle of work that I undertake with the children I visit on Outreach and it lends itself very easily to a once weekly visit as it is easy to pick up from where we left off due to their familiarity with the story. I also use video a lot as this takes away any difficulties that could be encountered due to the disparity in reading ability between the children that I encounter over the course of a weeks outreach.

For more information on how I use it or indeed how you use Harry in your classroom drop me a message on the voice message facility.

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