Classroom Culture: Harry Potter Style
Do you love teaching? Do you love Harry Potter? Do you believe in creating a strong classroom culture? Then, you have come to the right place!
For two years, I have incorporated everyone's favorite witches and wizards into my classroom with the goal of creating student camaraderie, teamwork building skills, and adding a little magic to our learning process. Every so often I tweak my approach and design, but overall, it has been a huge success with my students.
As most people know, the Harry Potter series is about a young wizard who goes to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry where he encounters adventure after adventure. Students get sorted into one of four Houses based on their characteristics - Gryffindor for bravery and daring, Ravenclaw for intelligence and knowledge, Hufflepuff for loyalty and hard work, and Slytherin for cunning and ambition. Students spend their seven years at Hogwarts in their Houses, earning and losing points with their classmates to win the House Cup at the end of the year.
In my classroom, I try to do much the same.
Setting Up
For a middle or high school setting where you have multiple classes throughout the day, I decided to assign each class a Hogwarts House. Ironically, I had four main English classes so the setup worked seamlessly. At the beginning of the year, I assigned each class its own House. If you have more than four classes, then you can add the Ilvermony Houses from the American Wizarding School or create a new House. I create the Hogwarts Alumni House for my seniors, but you can get very creative!
Now, being a House means that you have your own House colors and crests as well. I found this extremely useful from a teacher's perspective. I live for organization and now, everything can be color-coded according to each House.
I splurged my first year and bought the House banners off Amazon, and they were a lot bigger than I thought so I decided to dedicate a whole wall of my classroom to House Stations. Underneath each banner, I have their homework bin and their points counter. I try to also have a set of supplies near each House Station, including a stapler, glue stick, and tape dispenser. It makes it easier to keep track of supplies and if students are abusing said supplies.
I also chose to color-code file folders for each House. I organized it so every student could find their missing work by House and then by what day they were absent. However, you could also organize folders like this by giving students in your class numbers.
If you have Google Classroom at your school, you can design your classes to be House colors or have their House crest. You can name them after each House (although I always put what period they are in parentheses since sometimes I forget!)
Points
In the Harry Potter series, students can earn and lose points for their House with the goal of having the most points in order to win the House Cup at the end of the year. When trying to incorporate this idea into my classroom, I ventured into a craft store and cycled through about a thousand ideas.
Eventually, I decided on using colored marbles to represent points as they looked similar to the ones in the movies. For the points counters, I found a wooden treasure box with clear panes and I painted each one the appropriate color. I wanted students to have the experience of dropping in marbles instead of having to unlatch the lid all the time, so I took out one of the side panes, glued colored felt at the bottom, and stood each box vertical.
It took me a while to decide what actions and achievements deserved regular points, but I came up with a list. Here is the Harry Potter explanation for my classes that they receive in their syllabus.
I find that leaving the door open for point opportunities gets students more motivated. I've given points out to students for helping clean up messes in the classroom, lending students their pencils, coming after school for extra help - the possibilities are endless! I also created House Pride Days where students wear their House color and they can get points for that.
Every week, I update students on their new totals and that is always exciting for the students! Half the time they ask to count again before the week is over.
Typically, the House competition is supposed to last a full year at Hogwarts. Instead of one full year though, I broke it down by marking period - it gives all the classes four chances to win the House Cup. I also felt this kept students interested in the competition; a full year of waiting makes for some very bored children. When everything is counted, the winners are allowed to place the House Cup underneath their banner and they receive a Hogwarts Feast. I have the students each bring a dish or drink in for the class, and the students get a small party as a reward for their hard work. You can adjust what the reward is depending on what suits you best and what school rules you have to follow. Personally, I find that food is always the best motivator for teenagers, but you can also offer a Free Day, Homework Passes, Extra Credit, etc.
Once you've decided on the major issues for your Harry Potter classroom, you can decorate! I had managed to pick up a few things over the years and spruced up my room to make it a bit more magical. Here's a few pictures of what I have now. Every year, I plan to add more and more!
Student Benefits
Overall, I find creating a classroom culture like the one I've shown to be extremely beneficial for the students. I observe that students like the competition, encouraging them to work together with other students in the classroom. I have designed a few team activities where students can compete against the other Houses directly and the drive to win amazes me sometimes
I also find the system gives students an incentive to work more diligently. Tasks that might have been cumbersome (in the eyes of a teenager!) can be encouraged along with the promise of House points. Receiving House points gives students visual and verbal recognition of their hard work - something some students might need to get them motivated. I have seen students that are shy and quiet participate more in order to help their House. Just the other day, during a public speaking mini-lesson, one of my quietest students volunteered to participate in speaking in front of the class to earn a House point. The points are temporary rewards, but the skills students learn by becoming more involved in class is permanently valuable. That quiet student might be more willing to participate in non-point activities now that they have spoken in front of class and can see they were able to do it.
Teacher Benefits
One of the most visible benefits from this system is the organization and classroom management. Having Google Classroom classes, homework bins, homework notices, missing work bins, and such help keep the classroom running smoothly and seamlessly. There are no questions of where things should go or where to find them.
Another teacher benefit is the bonding that happens between the students as well as between the teacher and the students. As silly as it may seem, having your interests incorporated in the classroom allows students to feel more welcome and comfortable - they feel like they know a little more about you! A blank and empty classroom has never made me feel positive about a class, both in middle and high school.
Lastly, what you choose to create your classroom culture with can affect how students view your and your classroom. Harry Potter is known for its inclusiveness and acceptance. Its core message is about the power of love and friendship. Having a culture associated with positive messages can encourage students that your room is a safe space. If you were to create a classroom culture around Edgar Allan Poe (though I do love him!), it might not send the same positive message as his stories are more of a darker nature. Though some students might enjoy that type of atmosphere, it's wise to think of what effect it will have on the students as a whole.
Overall, creating a classroom culture is a wonderful strategy for teaching. Use it well.
