Harry Potter Review Day!

To say I am a Harry Potter fan is a BIT of an understatement. My friends call me "fangirl", my students know me as a "superfan" but to me it's about keeping the excitement alive! 

Twice a year I host in my classroom something I call "Harry Potter Review Day!".  I have one  in the Fall and one in the Spring before our Mid-Term and our Final. There is a lot of prep work that goes into this so I'm going to talk about decoration first, then the organization, and finally the execution!

Decoration:

I divide my classroom into four long tables. And have table clothes on each table and then I hang it from the ceiling by tucking it into the ceiling tiles

I buy $2 table cloths from Party City.
I buy four different colors: Caribbean Blue, Festive Green,
Sunshine Yellow, and Red.  (2 OF EACH)

I put a slide on the screen stating the each house and corresponding color (Blue-Ravenclaw, Red-Gryffindor, Green-Slytherin, and Yellow-Hufflepuff).

I have a table at the front of the room with my iPod on it and it plays Music from the Sorcerer's Stone. This is USUALLY enough to create the environment. My students walk in feeling they've entered a magical world. 

Organization:

The night before (because thats the kind of planner I am) I go through my class rosters and "sort" the students. Now this you can do however you want. As teacher I like to be sure that EACH house has strong students, but as an HP fan, I KIND OF sort them. 

The "Slytherin" table is usually ALL boy. It's all my boys who tell me "Ms Puckett why can't we ever sit together?" I laugh and always tell them that its a lot easier for me to like them when they are separated. This is their chance though... needless to say by the end of the day Slytherin table cloth is the most picked at and has the fewest House Points. Disclaimer: I love the kids I put in Slytherin, its usually just the easiest group to put my boys at. 

I take out one copy of each test I've given so far (usually four or five) and each quiz (seven or eight). I will use these as a tool to ask the students questions. 

Each table has ONE white board and ONE Marker to answer questions with.

Dress:

I am a super nerd SO I have an authentic robe, tie and even scarf. I wear all of these with glasses, my hair in a bun, and a wand. However there are alternatives, white button down, black pants, charcoal/gray sweater, and a tie of one of the four houses colors.

Not mine - but you get the idea :-)

Execution:

1) As the students walk in I get their name and as I wave my wand at them I say/shout/cast their house at them (from the list I have previously made) Side Note: Hufflepuff is the funniest one to say-- the kids LOVE it!

2) I intro what the day will look like, it sounds something like this:

"Welcome, Welcome, to Professor Potter's History Review. Today you have been sorted into your houses. While you are here your house will be like your family, your triumphs will earn you points, any rule breaking, and you will lose points!" 

3) I ask questions in a FEW different formats

• Multiple Choice Questions
• Put in order
• List differences
• List the following characteristics
• Explain Why

Prior to asking the questions I tell them how I will select the winner and the number of points the question is worth.

• Fastest hands (first one to answer accurately wins)
• Best answer wins
• Correct Answer Wins 

4) I keep track of the House Points on my board for every class and have a winner for each class and then at the end of the day I have a house winner! The kids pop their heads in throughout the day to see how "their" house is doing. It's really cool :-)

5) I take away points when students are rude but ALWAYS give points for good sportsmanship. Note: I give points to the house that displayed good sportsmanship displayed first.

This day can be kind of emotionally exhausting because you have to be pretty much larger than life all day but it is SO much fun. At the end of the year when I poll my students they will usually count it as their FAVORITE moment of the year.