Read on for tips on starting and enjoying a Harry Potter Book Club at your school!
Check out the information on reading Harry Potter aloud to your class here.
Book Club Meeting Schedule Structure
As I thought about the different ways I could structure an after school Harry Potter Book Club, I thought the best way to set it up for me would be to stick with just the fifth graders at my elementary school (My elementary school is Kindergarten through Fifth Grade). This way, I could cover each book over the course of the year, focusing on one book per month and wrap up with a final book club meeting at the end of the year reviewing the entire series.
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The schedule looks like:
September: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
October: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
November: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
December– No Meetings due to holiday obligations and overall desire to survive the month
January: Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire
February: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
March: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
April: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
May: Harry Potter Book Club Entire Series Wrap Up
After school book club has worked well so far. Meeting for an hour and a half once a month to discuss a new book keeps it feeling fresh and enjoyable.
Update- For this school year I have switched to a lunchtime book club. I was hesitant to do this as I have typically had no breaks/specials in the afternoon. This year I was lucky to have Library schedule on Friday afternoons! Having HP Bookclub at lunch and then immediately sending my class to library has worked wonderfully this year. I don’t know if I will be as lucky with my schedule next year, but book club at lunch has gone pretty well. I did find that I had more students sign up when I offered book club at lunch instead of before or after school.
Setting Up Book Club
There are a few things I need to do to get book club going each school year.
- Get book club approved by my principal in order to get paid for my time.
- Check after school dates to make sure the book club dates overlap with after school band and orchestra practices (Many Harry Potter fans seem to play an instrument which limits participation)
- Send out Book Club letter/permission slip to all 5th grade students.
- Collect Permission slips for the next week (Students are welcome to join at any point of the year if they ask, but this gives me an idea of how many snacks to buy and how many kids to expect).
- Email parents contact information as well as meeting dates.
- Prepare and plan for the first Harry Potter Meeting!
- Email parents a reminder a week before and then again two days before each book club meeting. I will also remind students the day before as well. Usually the kids ask me when the next meeting is though.
Here is the wording of the letter I share with students:
Come discuss the most magical series ever! Whether this is your first adventure with Harry or you can already name the twelve uses of dragon’s blood, this book club is for you!
We will start at the beginning with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and work our way through all seven books this school year. Students in 5th grade are invited to enjoy a thoughtful discussion with trivia questions, crafts and activities.
The Harry Potter Book Club will meet on the dates below after school.
Pick up will be in the front by the office at 5:00 PM.
We will focus on the book listed next to each date. Please try to have read the complete book by the discussion date.
September 29th- Sorcerer’s Stone
October 13th- Chamber of Secrets
November 10th- Prisoner of Azkaban
January 24th- Goblet of Fire
February 21st- Order of the Phoenix
March 14th- Half Blood-Prince
April 18th- Deathly Hallows
May 9th- Series wrap up
Please return this permission slip to ________ by Friday, September 9th.
My child, ___________________________________, has my permission to participate in the Harry Potter Book Club.
_________________________ _______________________________
Parent/Guardian Signature Parent/Guardian email and cell phone
For extra pizzaz check out this Book Club Requirements I don’t have any requirements. I let the students know that we will be talking about each book in its entirety so they shouldn’t be upset if anything is spoiled for them. I encourage a reading of the books, but don’t quiz them. To me, if a student is willing to stay an extra 90 minutes longer at school, I will take that as a win in itself. Kids are going to read the books or they are not going to read the books. I am hopeful that if they haven’t read them before the club, that they are encouraged to read them after book club. Each meeting I provide the students with a water bottle, a bag of Smart Popcorn and a couple of Oreo cookies. My school district has a pre-approved food list due to allergies and these items make the cut. The students are always happy and appreciative to get a snack. I get reimbursed for the snack from my principal. I just have to turn in a receipt. If I wasn’t reimbursed I would email the parents of the book club to see if they were will to donate gift cards to purchase snacks. Asking for volunteers to drop off snacks the day of the club would add a layer of complexity that I would not want to deal with on a monthly basis. While the students have a snack, I review some of the main plot points of the book, share a related YouTube video on an important theme or part of the book, play a group game of Kahoot related to the book being discussed and pass out a Harry Potter Word search/crossword. When planning for each book club I try to have extra activities ready to to in case we finish early. I will add extra YouTube videos to have on hand, but usually only show one 10 minute video. If there is extra time at the end, then I might show the additional video. Students join a Harry Potter Google Classroom. This is the page where I share various links for YouTube videos, crafts, Kahoot & Blooket quizzes and other things related to Harry Potter.Plans for Each Harry Potter Book Club Meeting
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Book Club Plans & Google Slides
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets & Google Slides
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban & Google Slides
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire & Google Slides
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Whole Harry Potter Series Wrap Up
Harry Potter Teacher Extras
Harry Potter Teacher Clothes
I like to use book club days to wear my Harry Potter fashions. It is fun to showcase a variety of shirts as well as advertise that it is a book club day.
Harry Potter Ghost Halloween T-Shirt
Hagrid’s Pumpkin Farm Sweatshirt
I solemnly swear I am up to no good T-shirt
Fun Harry Potter Games and Activities I like to add a variety of fun games and coloring pages for the students to enjoy throughout the year. Check out these posts- Flashback Should Be Taught Before Foreshadowing When Teaching Reading Teaching Narrator and Point of View How to Find Good Independent Reading Books for Students Teach Students to Abandon Books They Don’t Enjoy Executive Functioning and Teaching Reading in the Classroom You Need to Do a Teacher Read Aloud Have you started a Harry Potter Book Club? What works and what are some challenges? Good luck!Looking For More Resources for Teaching Reading?
What about you?
These are such good ideas. Thank you for this.