Harry Potter and the Latin Legacy

Transcription

1 Harry Potter and the Latin Legacy by Susan Roth Rose We know that our students are mesmerized by the continuing adventures of their favorite introspective magical hero Harry Potter. J. K. Rowling gives us an opportunity to tap into our students interests and passions, especially when we can give them unusual tools with which to explore the richness of Rowling s enchanting world. The following suggestions and materials will work with any upper elementary or middle school students who are motivated to read Harry Potter books, or more likely, have already memorized the first five and can tirelessly debate any discrepancies between the books, the movies, and the video games. I have had success with fifth through seventh graders with the activities provided. Keep em Reading Lesson : The Roots of Harry Potter s Universe Time Required: 0 minutes Objectives: Students understand the role of mythology in J. K. Rowling s Harry Potter books. Students make independent connections between mythological figures and Harry Potter characters. Materials: complete set of Harry Potter series D Aulaires Book of Greek Myths by Ingri and Edgar D Aulaire (Random House, 96) Mythology (Eyewitness Book series; DK Publishing, 005) Warm-up: Does anyone know what J. K. Rowling and I have in common? (Hopefully someone will know that Rowling is a former teacher; if not, wow your students with this information.) Did she get all of her ideas out of her own head? What may have influenced her? Procedure:. Brainstorm possible influences on Rowling s creativity and imagination. Some students may have a background in mythology, most may not. Use their knowledge to forward connections.. Using D Aulaires Book of Greek Myths, set up connections between certain characters and their mythological origins. October 006 Web Resources LibrarySparks

2 Argus Filch (caretaker of Hogwarts) = Argus, hundred-eyed servant of the goddess Hera Basilisk (monster in Chamber of Secrets whose gazed turned to stone) = Medusa, horrible Gorgon whose snake hair turned all to stone Fluffy (three headed pet of Hagrid in Sorcerer s Stone) = Cerberus, three headed watchdog at the gate of Hades, the Underworld Sphinx (creature in Goblet of Fire maze who asked Harry a riddle) = Sphinx in Oedipus myth, who asked Oedipus the riddle, What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three at twilight? Significance of names: Minerva McGonagle (Transfiguration instructor) = Minerva, Roman goddess of wisdom Sybil Trelawney (Divination instructor) = Sybil, the prophetess of the Oracle of Delphi, who prophesies in riddles and whose meaning is clear in hindsight Lesson : The Roots of Harry Potter s Universe: What s in a Word? Time Required: two 0-minute sessions Objectives: Students understand the influence of the Latin language in Harry Potter books. Students reinforce and hone their dictionary skills. Students use Latin prefixes and roots to gain more understanding of Harry Potter and way, way beyond. Materials: complete set of Harry Potter series D Aulaires Book of Greek Myths by Ingri and Edgar D Aulaire (Random House, 96) several Latin/English dictionaries, enough so that four to five students can share Warm-up: Solicit from students: What do we remember about some of the influences in literature and culture that may have inspired Rowling in her writing? Do you think there were other influences that may have helped her create such an interesting universe? Procedure:. Solicit from students any spells, curses, or charms that they might remember from their favorite Harry Potter novel. You will hear Expelliarmus!, Stupefy!, and Wingardium Leviosa (the last will be complete with wand movement, courtesy of the first movie). Ask them: did Rowling invent these terms or did she have help or inspiration?. After discussion, reveal that Ms. Rowling received a classical English education and studied Latin as part of her schooling. Explain to the students that they are going to understand Harry Potter in a way that no one else does!. Have students break into small groups (either assigned or voluntary), then hand out Latin dictionaries, one per group.. Hand out the worksheets on pages 8, each group should receive one worksheet. Explain the assignment to the students. LibrarySparks October 006 Web Resources

3 a) Each worksheet has four words from the Harry Potter books. b) For each word, look up the Latin root in the provided dictionary. Students may need to be creative they may not find an exact match, they might have to choose a prefix, rather than a whole word or they may find something that is close but not exact. Approximations are okay. c) Students should try to define the word and explain if they think it is a spell, charm, curse, object, etc. e) Extra points if students remember what book it was used in and what the significance was. (It may have been used in more than one book ) 5. Advise students to assign jobs within the group (word searcher, recorder, Hogwarts history expert, etc.) to help complete the worksheet. This assignment may take more than one period. If it does, collect worksheets and dictionaries and remind group members to put their names on their worksheets. After students have finished, share the glossary with them and give them the Web site references. Your students may find these sites very enlightening and they may not be aware that they are learning linguistics! What Harry Potter exercise is complete without a dementor antidote? As a finale, ask the students Harry Potter trivia questions and for every correct answer, give them chocolate! Also, don t forget the power of chocolate as a consolation prize! E E E Susan Rose is a school librarian at the Northern Lincoln Elementary School and Northern Lincoln Early Center in Manville, Rhode Island. Feel free to share your Harry Potter lesson inspirations with her at roses@lincolnps.org. October 006 Web Resources LibrarySparks

4 Harry Potter Universe. Look up the Latin root (you may have to be creative).. Try to define the word.. Do you think this is a spell? A charm? A curse? An object?. Extra points: Do you remember what book this was used in and what it really did in that book? Accio Veritaserum Cruciatus Stupefy LibrarySparks October 006 Web Resources

5 Harry Potter Universe Keep em Reading. Look up the Latin root (you may have to be creative).. Try to define the word.. Do you think this is a spell? A charm? A curse? An object?. Extra points: Do you remember what book this was used in and what it really did in that book? Diffindo Sonorus Expelliarmus Reparo October 006 Web Resources LibrarySparks

6 Harry Potter Universe. Look up the Latin root (you may have to be creative).. Try to define the word.. Do you think this is a spell? A charm? A curse? An object?. Extra points: Do you remember what book this was used in and what it really did in that book? Impedimenta Reductor Imperius Patronus LibrarySparks October 006 Web Resources

7 Harry Potter Universe Keep em Reading. Look up the Latin root (you may have to be creative).. Try to define the word.. Do you think this is a spell? A charm? A curse? An object?. Extra points: Do you remember what book this was used in and what it really did in that book? Impervius Reducio Incarcerous Occlumency October 006 Web Resources LibrarySparks

8 Harry Potter Universe. Look up the Latin root (you may have to be creative).. Try to define the word.. Do you think this is a spell? A charm? A curse? An object?. Extra points: Do you remember what book this was used in and what it really did in that book? Incendio Obliviate Lumos Nox LibrarySparks October 006 Web Resources

9 Harry Potter Latin Roots Glossary Accio: summoning charm Cruciatus curse: the victim experiences extreme pain one of the unforgiveable curses, used in torture Crucio, which is the spell word, is Latin for to torture. Diffindo: causes Cedric s bag to rip open Diffundo is Latin for scatter or pour forth, which is what happened to the stuff in Cedric s bookbag in Goblet of Fire. Expelliarmus: disarming charm Combination of expel (to force or drive out; eject forcefully) and arma (weapons [Latin]). Impedimenta: used for obstructing persuers Impedio is Latin for to hinder. Imperius curse: gives a wizard complete control over his/her victim Impero is Latin for to command, and imperium is Latin for absolute rule. Impervius: spell used by Hermione to repel water from Harry s glasses in Prisoner of Azkaban Impervius means incapable of being penetrated or affected. Incarcerous: spell used by Umbridge to bind the centaur Magorian Incarcerate means to put in prison or subject to confinement. Incendio: spell to start a fire Incendo is Latin for to set fire to. Lumos: spell to send a beam of light from the end of a wand, like a torch (flashlight) the counterspell is Nox Lumen is Latin for light, and luminous can mean giving off light. Mobiliarbus: spell used by Hermione to move a tree in Three Broomsticks mobile capable of movement arbor tree (Latin) Mobilicorpus: spell used by Black to move Snape when he was unconsious mobile capable of movement corpus body Nox: turns off the beam of light from a wand from the lumos spell Nox is Latin for darkness or night. Obliviate: memory charm Oblivio is Latin for forgetfulness. Oblivious can mean lacking all memory. Occlumency: the method of blocking Legilimency From Latin occludo (to close, shut up, close off) and mens (the mind). Patronus: defense against dementors Patronus is Latin for protector. Reducio: counteracts an enlargement charm Reduce means to bring down in extent, amount or degree; diminish, and comes from Latin reducere, which means to bring back; return. Reductor curse: blasts solid objects out of one s path Reducere is Latin for to bring back. Reparo: repairs broken or damaged objects Reparo is Latin for to restore, renew, make good. Sonorus: spell used to magnify one s voice Sono is Latin for to make a sound. Stupefy: stunning spell Stupere is Latin for to be stunned. Stupefy in English means to dull the senses of; daze. Veritaserum: truth potion Veritas is Latin for truth. A serum is a potion. Web Lexicon Sources The Harry Potter Lexicon: Encyclopedia of Spells A fabulous treasure trove of Harry Potter information! Harry Potter Glossary parentingteens.about.com/library/sp/harry/ glossary/blglossaryah.htm Informative glossary. October 006 Web Resources LibrarySparks