Introduction
Joanne (JK) Rowling was born on July 31st, 1965 at Yate General Hospital in South Gloucestershire, England. As a child, she grew up in Chepstow, Gwent and attended Wyedean Comprehensive. She attended Exeter University and earned a degree in French and Classics. Rowling, struggling economically at the time as a single mother, was waiting for a train from Manchester to King’s Cross Station in London, England when she began to imagine the plot of Harry Potter of the Sorcerer’s Stone, claiming that the main character of the series, Harry Potter, just popped into her head complete and ready to be penned down. The first book of her seven book Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, was completed in 1995 and was published in 1997 by Bloomsbury Children’s Books in the UK and Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic Press in 1998 in the United States. Rowling’s books are known all over the world and have been produced into eight of the highest grossing films in history. She has been awarded over twelve different awards, including James Joyce Award and Hans Christian Andersen Award. Rowling has stated that many of her characters embody her own characteristics or struggles that she has faced in her life.
For more information about J.K. Rowling, please visit the following websites:
http://www.jkrowling.com/en_US/#/
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/contributor/j-k-rowling
Task
Please watch the following video about J.K. Rowling and answer the questions below:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ewmYoYhutE4
1. When was J.K. Rowling born?
2. When did she begin to write Harry Potter?
3. What happened to J.K. Rowling's mother?
4. Where did Rowling finish writing the first Harry Potter book?
5. Why did Rowling use a pseudonym?
6. Which book was the fastest selling book in the history of publishing?
7. What were some challenges that Rowling had to face with her books?
8. When was the last book published?
Process
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Evaluation
Making Your Character Bag!
Remember! Your Character Bags are due February 15th! We will be folding them together in class and you will finish decorating them at home.
Remember that you must select items, draw pictures, or place things into the bag that accurately depicts your assigned character!
Your Books!
The guidelines for the final assignment are as follows:
-create an original main character. This character must be similar to you, the author, in some way.
-create a world that the character lives in. Use a lot of details, be creative!
-create a problem that the character encounters that relates to something you, the author, has faced personally.
Ex: Harry battled with Dementors in the series because they wanted to take away his joy. This was based off of Rowling’s battle with depression.
We will be working on these books for three weeks. Your final collection of drawings and pictures must be turned in (in order) to me by March 25th!
Parents/Guardians: If you have any questions about the Student Treasures books, please visit the website, or contact me!
Credits
This webquest/webpage contains links from the following websites in order to optimize learning. Please see this tab as a reference for the websites we will be using in class also.
Our Original Books: http://www.studentreasures.com
Harry Potter series interactive books, trivia, and more: http://harrypotter.scholastic.com
Rita Skeeter clip for Listen Here, Rita Skeeter! activity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJl96LYFGC8
Teacher Page
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Students and parents,
As we go through this unit, please see this page as a contact reference. Below, I have listed several ways to contact me if you have any questions about the unit, the books, the assignments, or anything else that you may need.
-Ms. Smith
Phone: ext. 1 (555)555-5555
Email: t.eacher@schoolemail.k12.