Process

Task 1: Who is Harry Potter?


This question may seem obvious, but who was he?


Let's first get a basic understanding of who Harry Potter is (and the book series named after him). For the first task, you will create a power point about some of the vital characters; Harry, Ron, Hermione, Draco, Voldemort, Snape, and Dumbledore. 


For each character, you will create a slide including:

• A picture of the character
• Whether they are an antagonist or protagonist
• Which house they are in
• What you view as their greatest accomplishment

Task 2: If you went to Hogwarts


So now that you know more about the series, where would your place in the wizarding world be?
For this task, you will write a persuasive paragraph on which house you would be in if you were to attend Hogwarts. Tell about the skills that you believe you have in common with that house, and include examples. Debate why you would be in that specific house, and why you wouldn't be in the other houses. 

Task 3:About the Author


We now have a fair background of wizarding and Harry Potter. What about the person who wrote this series?


For this task, you will watch an interview with J.K.Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series. Then you will answer some questions about her.

Now answer some questions about J.K. Rowling(not all answers were found in the interview).

• What is J.K. Rowling's full name?
• When and where was she born?
• What was her first story?
• Where did she go to college?
• Where did she get the idea for Harry Potter?
• How long did it take her to finish all 7 books?
• What were her circumstances like before she wrote Harry Potter?
• What are her circumstances like now?

Task 4:Harry Potter in Hollywood


Now that we know a little bit about the Harry Potter books and their author, let's take a look at  the Harry Potter books and Hollywood.

• First of all, who starred as the main characters in the Harry Potter films?(Harry, Ron, Hermione) 
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• How old were they when they were given their parts?
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• How much money did each of them make on the Harry Potter films?
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• What major awards did the Harry Potter films receive?(Academy Awards, etc.)
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• What was the budget for the first Harry Potter film?(Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone)
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• What was the budget for the last Harry Potter film?(Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2)
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• Roughly how many people showed up at the opening night premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2?

Task 5: Harry Potter's Affect on our Wallets


Harry Potter may have had an impact on Hollywood, but even more so he made an impact in our wallets. 


For this task, you will create an Excel document to figure out the total gross of the Harry Potter films and books. It will include the total gross of every Harry Potter book and every Harry Potter movie. I have shown an example of what the first row will look like to get you started. Include total cost at the bottom. 



Harry Potter's Income
Movie Title                     Movie Gross(Worldwide)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone $974,755,371



Ok, now you finish it! Don't forget to do the books as well!



Task 6: The First Wizard


Although Harry Potter might be the most famous wizard of all time, he was most definitely not the first wizard of all time.  


So who was?

The answer is actually mentioned a few times in the Harry Potter series. Although we have no proof that he is the oldest wizard of all time, he is the oldest known wizard, and his name is actually quite popular. He is known as Merlin, and he was a legend in the tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. 


You will write a three-paragraph word document. The first paragraph will be a simple introduction to Merlin(Who, What, When, Where, Why, How.) In the second paragraph you will talk about Merlin in modern-day media: movies, books, etc. In the third you will compare Merlin to Harry Potter and emphasize the differences and similarities. What have you discovered? Are they more similar or different?




Task 7: The Fans

          Fans flocking Borders book store to get a copy of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Ok, we have established the fact that Harry Potter made a significant impact on us. But we have not yet adressed the HUGE fandom that followed the Harry Potter Series. 

Your job for this task is to figure out just how huge the Harry Potter fandom is. So, lets gather some numbers together. Answer the following(as of 2012):

• Approximately how many fan sites have been created for Harry Potter?
• How much money has been made off of Harry Potter costumes?
• How many Harry Potter-themed amusement park rides are there in the world?
• How many copies of Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone have been sold(ever)?
• How many fan conventions have been held for HP since the book's release?
• What is the largest real-life Quidditch team?
• What is "wizard rock"?
• What percentage of the total American population over the age of 18 has read the series?

Now that you've answered those questions, you might be quite shocked at just how famous Harry really is. 


Task 8: Harry Potter's future


We've been through many things about the history of Harry Potter. The books still stay popular today. But will they always? For your last task, you will write a paragraph on the future of Harry Potter. Where will it go? Think out of the box.