Hey guys

sorry if this topic already exists but i didn't find it....

Have you ever read the Harry Potter books in school and written an essay about one of the books?
We did. In our german lesson we read the philosophers stone (german: Der Stein der Weisen)

I wrote the best essay of all *lol*

maybe that's because I'm the biggest HP freak in our class...

yea. we did a controversial issues essay in my english class, and i (of course!) chose the ever-controversial topis of Harry Potter for Christians. I love HP and I am also a Christian so that was pretty obvious. I had like a 97 on it, which made me really happy. But seriously, that was the first thign that came to mind. But I really enjoyed writing the paper. I found this one website that was hysterical.

I just remembered that (for the same class) I wrote an essay (in one day) about HP and the Prisomer of Azkaban (my fav!).

To be honest, I was about to write an essay which we had to talk about our inclusion into a certain community. My thoughts immediatley came to Harry Potter, but when I reread the directions it had more to do with a physical community...like a neighborhood.

Yes.. sort of...
I have gone to three different school. So far, I have done several things about it

The first thing I did was a short book report on the fourth book back befor OotP came out, it was only about a page.

Later that year I did a extra credit report with my friend on JK Rowling and her books, we went through two biographies, the teacher made us just sum it up after 10 minutes of presenting to the class...

Then, a few years later at a different school, I wrote my mystery book report on OotP, it is a mystery, along with being a fantasy, and many other things.

Finally, the book trivia competition had it for one of the books last year!

Oh, and one of my lifelong dreams is to get a college course started on HP!

I have done quite a bit, I guess...

yes i have and i got an A+ on the essay! oh, sorry if im too late for the converstion!

Hiya,
yes we had to do a project about Harry Potter and we went to the cinema to watch GoF right when it came out..we also done reviews and the teacher made everyone read it!

wow! don't get me started...every essay i do includes Harry Potter in some way! We had to do a book report..i did it on HBP (duh)..umm also a speech about an influential person...guess who??
We also had this debating competition about world economy and i HAD to include "the Harry Potter phenomenon taking the world by storm"!
umm...also for my french exam i had to do a compsiton on Un livre j'ai lu(a book i read) i did it on HBP and went way over the 200 word limit..i think i wrote like 400 words and my teacher cut off 4 marks for that!! it was all good coz i got 89% anywayz!

lol..so its all so good because some schools actually ban harry potter..woaah thats just dread.
When we had to do the project some people hated harry potter and actually stamped on a picture of HP! Glad there was no one there to see them do it...urghh

One of my elementary school teachers read the first book to us after we asked for about a month. That was pretty cool. This may not count, but one of my friends in eighth grade did a book report on JK Rowling and had to dress up and present it. The teachers didn't really like Harry Potter books in the school becaus eof the kids who can't read it ( I feel so sorry for them...), but a group of us brought our HP books anyway for SSR and didn't get in trouble.

We got OotP in our summer reading choices. I bet the whole school is going to read it. I don't know what exactly we are going to be doing on it, though. An essay or a project..

Ya. One day we had a project were if we had to only pic one book to read for the rest of our life, which would it be? I said the fourth harry potter, since it was sort of the "middle book" of the series, and I wouldb't be able to choose any other way. I don't think my teacher was very happy about that, since I didn't really explain it in any other way.

-Lucky

Well I read Harry Potter in school, and one day we had to write an essay on "The journey of the Hero" and I did it on Harry Potter! YES! We also had to explain the archtypes to. It was very boring, but it would have been a lot worse if I didn't do it on the Harry Potter books.

-H.S.

This is probably going to sound really pathetic, but two years ago in 6th grade they asked us to write an essay on an issue we cared about. I chose to write against banning HP in schools! I think a lot of people fell asleep when I read it in front of the class, but, hey, at least it's something I really care about!

yes i have...i was doing a report on **** and i wa comparing voldermort and his ideas to hitlers...i got top marks aswell because i used a teaching method (the assignment was to give a lecture about the topic and keep the kids interested aswell) it was really cool because i just spent all lesson in history for 4 weeks reading harry potter telling the teacher i was doing reasearch then i got up on the day and winged it lol! and i still got top marks...cant complain about that!

There are Harry Potter books in our school, but a few of the students (not many, thank goodness) think it's evil so they want them removed. Thankfully, the teachers are okay with having them and don't plan to remove them.

I was never required to read the books for a class. The closest I ever came was reading the books instead of paying attention. My time was well spent.

Unfortunately my school keeps the HP books locked away, not due to any particular complaint about their content, but because immature people with no life like to graffiti them.

I have never had to study the books but when I was an Amanuensis (scribe) for a disabled boy in his exams, his english exam required him to write a Harry Potter fanfiction. It was really good, I was so proud of him for being so creative and knowing Harry Potter in such depth and detail that he did. It was really canon too! I have to guiltily admit that he surprised me.

I take my personal Harry Potter books to school, so when I notice something I can scribble it in the margin or stick a post it note in the front cover.

They actually screened the GoF movie in the school! !But it was all part of testing our grammar in English.We all thought it was a miracle happenning since the school authrities would do this sort of thing.After the film finished they told us to write a summary of this film.Then we understood these are all for knowledge improvement!!.And mine was the best since I saw the film 4 times!!!

I've wondered if schools might have students read them in class in the future, you know when all of us are really old. They sometimes to that with extremely popular books, but they might not because of the people who think HP books are against God.

The school where I work has embraced Harry Potter full on. The children in year 6 (10-11 year olds) read the books and go on the Harry Potter Trail around Gloucester Cathedral.

There are numerous paperback copies of the books in the fiction library and the other day when I was looking for resouces in the literacy cupboard, I spotted a full set of hard backs. When I picked them up to look at, I noticed that two of the books are second editions. No wonder they are kept away from the kids!!

Harry Potter has wonderful links to our area, and I hope that the schools here continue to encourage the children to read these amazing stories.

wow you guys are so lucky! i love it when i can relate harry potter into my school discussions (there's always a way )... but i don't think i'd like to analyse a book incase it ruins it for me- i'd always see it as work when i re-read the book

BUT my sister did this great magazine article on voldie for psychology- saying how he could have turned out the way he is because of all his past issues, it was great!

In my old primary scholl they used to let us read them. But as i'm in secondary school know i don't know if they will.
But at primary school there used to be a big battle between me and another Harry Potter fan. As to who reaad it first.
Half Blood Prince i read quicker than him but it was the order of the phoniex that started the huge battle.
I was in Wales when OOTP came out on the saturday and he started reading it on the saturday, i started late Sunday. We both finished on the same day. Just he finished a little earlier. But offically i read it in a quicker time. Didn't i? Can someone please tell me i'm right.

I never did, but we had a Harry Potter day at school, only it was for the first years and by then I already was in my third year... I do know my cousin once wanted to do an essay on it but her teacher told her she couldn't because Harry Potter was to childish!!! bet she never read one, because she obviosley doesn't know anything about them!!!!!!!!!

this is so unfair!! i wish we acually studied harry potter books on my school....i'd ace every test thrown at me, and it'd acually make going to school that morning worth it
(JUST BARELY THOUGH)

I didnt get into the class, but actually my University is offering a HP philosophy course. And my little sisters elementary school has kids read the books and then they take tests on them and get points that add up over the year and they get stuff for them.

Oh that sucks that you didn't get in the class but it is awesome that they are offering it. I wish that one of my assignments for high school was related to Harry Potter I wouldn't care what class it would be just as long as it would be fun to do. I know I sound like a little kid but it would be awesome.

We don't have HP studyed at our school. It would be cool if it did though, because i'm the onyl one who would know what to write about!

I remember back in year 5, ourclass rooms were split into two classes-one on each said. The class opposite us were reading CoS, and our teacher actualy forgot what she was doing and stared listening to the story. In the end we just went over and read the story for the rest of the day!

I will always remember that.

This just happened really recently!!

I was in year 8 and our teacher asked us to do a book report of a book we'd read that we loved (obviously I did Harry Potter) she said we had to make it really interesting, dress up, make a video, posters, you know, the full shabang, so that it wasn't just a talk.

I started the day she set the assignment, I worked on it for 2 months, I thought it was a brilliant idea... I did a trial of severus snape, and the Dumbledore isn't dead theory. I had a courtroom official trial set up, I got a judges wig, a gavel, set everything up, and we were meant to perform our "speeches" in the last week of school, for the entire year.

But then our teacher had to go to hospital for a minor operation, so she wasn't back for several weeks towards the end of the year. We got a new teacher, and she kept telling us that we still had to do this book report, and I was sooooo super duper excited, I thought my idea was really original and stuff, I got my friends to be characters (my poor friend took a lot of convincing to be Snape! )

So, it was the second last week of school, and the teacher hadn't told us what days we were performing, so I asked her, she said she'd sort it out, and then I was asking all the people in my class whether they'd started their speeches... no-one had... not one person! And it was a week till it was due...

Well, our normal english teacher didn't recover properly, so we had a sub for the rest of term, and I never got to perform my speech, because 1) the teacher didn't know what to do and 2) no-one else had done theirs!... I was so upset! But I still have it saved on my computer... I keep thinking that we may eventually have to perform it...

*sob*

Awwww...that's so sad!! It sounds great!

All we do in our school is book reviews and obviously, i try to do Harry Potter. But last year in Design and technology, we had to make a small model room of a favourite book/movie for a small child. (we weren't allowed to copy anything from the book/movie) I did Harry Potter and made a really mad model, inspired by Hogwarts and Gryffindor. It's really good, it has a stone look-a-light wall, a sconce, a four poster bed, mini scrolls, mini book, a window, a wardrobe and heaps more. It all looks real and old.

I was so proud of my model and it was so fun making it - if i did a theme i wasn't passionate about i wouldn't have done such a great job! Harry Potter rules the school!!!

oh it's so cool that they let you read that in school! i once did a paper in high school about harry potter it was a great paper everyone said so anywho the teacher i had was an aweful little git and made me write it again he said harry potter wasn't an appropraite subject i asked if he had even read the book he said no, i asked him to at least read the paper he said no i got detention for calling him ignorant but it was worth it lol

That sounds awesome! I would really like to see a picture of it. Do you have a picture of it you could show me?

The last assignment I did related to HP was for 3D art we had to make a cube and put designs on it and paint it. Of course I put HP stuff on it.

My school doesnt really care either way.....
I always take my HP books and no one ever says anything..............
its actuallt kinda cool cause i know that some schools dont allow them.........

We've never really talked about HP in school, and even if we mention it, it's like:"Harry is an ordinary boy who finds out he's a wizard". For book 1. "Harry is an ordinary boy who finds out he's a wizard.This is his second year."For book 2. And that's mostly all.It's really depressing, no one understands the story, they all think it's just about how this black haired guy runs around in a cloak...but I don't mind, because every time any movie that is actually made by a book (not only HP) is on TV and I say, I like the book better, the reactions are:"Oh...it's a book?"
I hate that. So I just keep my enthusiasm to myself.

Me and my friend went to work on the PCs in a class of year 7s and their teacher was giving them a quiz on HBP. We did it too and got 15/10 (for adding extra info lol)

some people got like 2 and he said that whoever didnt read it had to do so that night. who on earth would skip that sort of homework?!?!?!?! reading harry potter!

two of my teachers say the books are written badly. wow they got a lecture...

teachers saying the books are written badly? what nonsense.

yeah, actually i am supposed to be writing a peruasive essay right now on the movie that's coming out. its for Johns Hopkins U. its a letter to my parents asking them to let me go to the 12 am showing of the OotP on July 13th. cool huh? yeah.

Seni...if I were you, i'd not keep my enthusiasm to myself. id make my friends read the books. And I do. But they still dont get the big picture, cuz they got bored at the middle of the 5th one and stopped. wonder why...

I have read the Harry Potter books in school. My 4th grade teacher read the first 3 books to us. To all of the parents/ adults who think the books should she banned are nuts!.

Well for my GCSE english language i am doing about harry potter spells The latin root and stuff like that :P

I think that Harry Potter books should be included in the school syllabus' because I think they are modern day classics and I think that is reason enough for them to be included. Book reviews are the closest thing to Harry potter that I have got to in school, other than discussing it in school. HARRY POTTER ALL THE WAY!

When i was in my primary school (6 years ago now) we read books one and two in class but when I was in year 7 we had to do reading logs in English and i obviously did the Harry Potter books. *Dementor* you are so lucky that you got to do a whole project on it and go to the cinema.

Yes I have. Lol. Last year I used OotP for wide-reading assignment and now this year I chose it again for wide-reading where we had to read a book either about war, teenagers, or written by an Australian author.

No one was surprised

Well, I'm not sure if this counts, but today I had to do a test were you had to think up a name. I picked Harry Potter. I puta different name first, but to make the scorers laugh I thought I'd put that. Sorry if this doesn't count.

I've never done a book report or an essay on the books, but we have had minute debates about them in class. Someone happens to bring it up and the class just goes wild.

We were discussing religion in one of my history classes and witches and such, and we got on the topic of Harry Potter. Some people veiw Harry Potter as being sacreligious, however, I disagree. (I'm sorry if there is already a topic where this would be more relevent, but this is the one I stumbled upon)

I am a Christian and I come from a Christian family, and I am also a huge Harry Potter fan. I know where I stand with my beliefs, and I don't give in when other people ask me how I can read the books and watch the movies and worship God at the same time. I can do it because I know the truth. Just because I read a book or watch a movie does not mean that I am not a Christian. I do not believe in witches and wizards but it is fun to read about them. The stories are wonderful and full of fantasy. Who doesn't want that?

It's not like I'm going to go out in my backyard with a twig and try to turn a squirrel into a teacup. I just don't understand why there is so much controversy surrounding these books. Some schools ban these books because parents complain that their kids are reading them. But I say look more into what children are listening to on the radio rather than what books they are reading. Be happy children are reading books and having fun doing so and stop complaining. Allow some culture in the world.

End of rant

Harry Potter pops up a suprising amount at school.

In Philosophy and Religion, there would be these random debates about it, and in History people are constantly drawing parallels between Stalin's Russia or Hitler's Germany and life under Voldemort.

It's a testament to the power of the books that they have penetrated so many people's consciesnous and can inspire such debate. I think really, that when a book starts doing this, it starts to become a genuine classic.

i read the first four in our reading lessons in the first year of high school
and wrote book reviews on all of them which my teacher found brilliant
Also ive just finished year 11 and a piece of my english literature coursework was to write a short story.
so i wrote my version of the ending of harry potter.
i wrote the like a final battle chapter and my english teacher loved it because it was different from everyone elses as theyd all made up just a normal short story.
my harry potter story was good!
except my english teacher used to tease me
he used to say what if harry died and reading all 7 was for nothing to wind me up
he was mean to me

Well, I go to a catholic school. I did a book report on one a couple years ago, before I knew they were 'sacreligous'. No one complained, but I was in fifth grade. They're in the library at school, but I saw someone give my friend a packet entitled "Harry Potter isn't God" so...

a english class in year 7 did PS and i was so jealous coz i was reading some realy lame book with my class

i was in my as level exam for english language and literature the other week and spotted PS as a set text
why couldnt i have done that instead of sherlock holmes at least i know what actually happens in that book:) ah well there is some lucky peeps out there that do HP for exams

i would actually enjoy revisng

I had to read and write an essay in 5th grade on the first four books because i said i was thebiggest fan in class. The teacher didn't like me too much, but i wrote like a whole notebook of all the summaries and plots.

Ha in my schools what they do every summer is that before schools over they give us a summer reading lis. Depending what grade level you are going, determines not only how many books you have to read but what kind of books. So when I was going to start 6th grade Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix was on the list, so I of course picked that book & I had to read it & write some summary or do a project I can't remember. Good times they were but now they no longer put Harry Potter books. I don't know why. I know it's not becuase they are banned. I guess they don't find them that good enough?? I don't know but whatever book they put down I can most definetley do!

& last year I did a research paper on Harry Potter in general. I had to pick an author & a book they wrote & of course I picked HP & you had to come up with your own topic. What about that bnook you wanted to write about. & I picked what are some of the biblical symbolism found in Harry Potter. & when I researched, boy did I learn alot!

See, you can learn from the Harry Potter series! And not like magic stuff, real symbolism, mythology, and religion. When you actually go looking for that kind of thing, you realize JK Rowling must either be the symbolism guru of the planet earth or have done more research than I have between third grade and now. And you learn some interesting stuff about mythology, too.