Life Lessons & DIY ‘Watch & Make’ Session From Harry Potter Films For Kids

Watching movies and entertainment series online more frequently has become a part of the ‘new normal.’ Keeping up with the trend, teachers can encourage their students to watch children-friendly movies that can also bring some kind of information or a lesson to them.

Family-fantasy is a genre of shows/movies that explores the imagination of the viewers as well as entertains them. Children’s films made by, for example, Disney have some deep-rooted meaning to their scripts. Also, consider the Harry Potter franchise. The third movie in the series, Harry Potter And The Prisoner of Azkaban, has many interesting lesson points if read between the lines. 

Check them out here:

1. Make your own future: A character in the movie called professor Trelawney teaches young witches and wizards the art of predicting the future. At one point, they realise that even after predicting the future, it isn’t always accurate. This shows one shouldn't listen to what others say about their future. As teachers, you can explain to the students about how it's up to them to choose their ultimate path.
2. Focus on the good: When Harry (the protagonist) casts ‘The Patronus Charm’ to wad-off dementors (creatures of negative energy), he needs to think of his happiest/positive memory to conjure the charm. It shows how being positive or recalling good memories can change one’s mood because “happiness can be found in the darkest of times if one only remembers to turn on the light."
3. Keep an open mind: Don't believe everything you hear. During the film, we find out Sirius Black (the prisoner) isn't who Harry thought he was. Teachers can tell the children that there's always more than one side to a story and that they shouldn’t jump to conclusions or judgment until they've received all the facts.

Students could also be motivated to indulge in some DIY activities inspired by the Harry Potter franchise. Here's how:

1. Make a magic wand: One of the first few cool things about Harry Potter is the wands all witches and wizards use, and so can your students and you! Take a chopstick (wooden), a thread to ⅓ of the top and paint it a wood-brown colour. They could take inspirations from the different pictures of wands of the Potter franchise.
2. Talk about boggarts: A boggart is a shapeshifter that turns into your worst fear. Sit down and talk about fears with students, and to make it more fun, tell them to think about what their boggart would turn into after using a Riddikulus charm. Act it out or draw it if you want to have a good laugh. 
3. Platform 9 ¾: The King’s Cross Station in London is a magical portal to reach to platform 9 ¾ for the Hogwarts Express that takes you to the magic school Hogwarts. Take a large chart paper, dip a sponge (anything rectangular-shaped) in colour and print bricks on the chart. Cut the chart in the middle and write ‘Platform 9 ¾’ on it, for your own portal to Hogwarts Express!
4. Pumpkin juice: The characters mention pumpkin juice and are seen drinking it many times. Making your own Potter-special drink should be fun and, in fact, there are more dishes that can be inspired by these films. Make a tall glass of cold-coffee/shake (yellow/cream coloured) and put some whipped cream on it to make your pumpkin juice/shake!
5. Floating candles: The Hogwarts great hall ceiling is shown holding charmed candles that float in the air. Your students can have their own floating candles, too. Draw candles on a white chart paper, cut them out and paint the flames. Then thread a thin string from the flames and hang them.

There are many more ideas that can be checked on YouTube/Pinterest for your students to have a fun art lesson. This could be an interesting ‘Watch & Make’ session while learning a thing or two about the real world through a world of fiction which Author JK Rowling has so wonderfully penned down. In fact, her life story and achievements so far in this patriarchal world have their own lessons to inspire youngsters. 

Source Credit: https://www.chicagoparent.com/play/indoor-fun/watch-this-do-that-harry-potter-and-the-prisoner-of-azkaban/

Advertisement