International Cover Art for Harry Potter Lesson

Materials

• Printable versions or online access to slideshows:
  • Book Covers from Around the World: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
  • Book Covers from Around the World: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
  • Book Covers from Around the World: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
  • Book Covers from Around the World: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
  • Book Covers from Around the World: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
  • Book Covers from Around the World: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
    
  • Analyzing a Book Cover
• Pencils
• White paper
• Markers or crayons

Procedures

1. Distribute all of the handouts.
2. Break students into small groups.
3. Assign each group a particular book cover to analyze.
4. Ask each student to write the name of the country from which the cover art originated at the top of the Analyzing a Book Cover handout.
5. Instruct each student to silently make and record their own observations on the chart.
6. Give each group time to share and consolidate their observations into one list that they will present to the class.
7. Tell each group to share their observations with the class.
8. Once all of the observations have been shared, have a class discussion using the following questions:
   • Did the book cover reflect anything about the country from which it came?
   • Why do you think that might be?
   • Whose cover was the most accurate?
   • Whose was the most inaccurate?
   • Why were the adult covers so different?
   • If you knew nothing about Harry Potter, what impression would you get if you could only look at these book covers?
9. Ask students to create their own book covers for a Harry Potter book.