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THE
PHILOSOPHER'S
STONE
ETEC 531
MEGHAN MCMILLEN
MEAGAN VANDEKERCKHOVE
MEDIA
STUDY GUIDE
Plot Summary
Harry Potter thinks he is just a regular boy whose parents died when he was an infant. He lives with
his Aunt, Uncle, and cousin Dudley Dursley at 12 Privet Drive in a room under the stairs. On his 11th
birthday Harry receives a visit from Hagrid, the gamekeeper at Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and
Wizardry. Harry is in fact a wizard, and a famous one at that. Against the wishes of the Dursley's, Harry
attends Hogwarts to learn his craft and more about his parents.
After always feeling as though he didn't belong, Harry finally has a home he loves. He meets Ron
Weasley and Hermione Granger who become Harry's best friends. During their first year at Hogwarts,
the friends are involved in adventures, all while navigating a new school and classmates. During this
time, Harry learns more about his past and discovers the value of true friendships. At first glance, the
movie appears to be a simple story of a boy's entry into an unknown world of magic, but turns into a
search for identity, a battle between good and evil, a jumble of challenging decisions, the search for
belonging and lasting relationships (Beach & Willner, 2002).
Learning Outcomes
After working through this study guide, students (we) will be able to:
Explore stories to help us understand ourselves, and to make connections with others and the
world.
Question what we hear, and view contributes to our ability to be educated and engaged citizens.
Respond to text (multimedia in personal, creative, and critical ways).
Use digital technology to identify and define authentic problems and significant questions for
investigation.
Create knowledge representations (e.g. mind maps, diagrams) using digital media.
Explore and describe how personal identities adapt and change in different settings and
situations. (BC Ministry of Education, 2016)
Key Concepts
Pre-Viewing Questions
Before watching the film, have a look at the movie trailer
here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKSB0gXl9dw. Breaking into small groups and look
at the following questions. Each group will be responsible for discussing one and then
reporting back to class.
1. Have you ever been in a situation where you felt you didn’t belong?
2. Is there a member of your family you wish you could have a closer relationship with?
3. What qualities and strengths do you value in your own relationships?
4. What makes someone a hero?
5. What are the things in your life that bring you the most happiness?
As a class watch the film. While watching the movie, keep a list of key words that
come to mind as they relate to the themes of the movie. You may write the same word
multiple times, this is okay. After the movie type your words into a word cloud
generator (if you weren't already typing them in as you watched).
After creating word clouds, gather as a class, or in small groups, and compare
which words showed up bigger. Were they the same? Different? Which word/theme
was viewed as most important based on the word clouds?
After watching the movie as a class and creating your word cloud, break into small
groups and answer the following discussion questions:
How does Harry’s experience with his own family build his character?
Ron and Harry do not immediately like Hermione, but they do come to like her. Has this
ever happened to you? How did your relationship with the person change?
What magical subject would you be most excited to study at Hogwarts? Why?
The three friends form a strong bond. What qualities and strengths bring to their shared
adventures?
If you looked into the Mirror of Erised, what would you see? What do you think Dumbledore
actually saw when he looked into the Mirror?
If you could be a teacher at Hogwart’s, what would you teach? What would your Professor
name be? Why?
How would Harry be different if Dumbledore decided that he should be raised in the magical
world, instead of with the Dursleys? Who would he have lived with? Did Dumbledore make
the right decision?
What character in the movie did you connect with most? Why?
As a group, students will select one question to respond to in depth in a format of
their choosing. Format ideas include: essay, journal, poster, comic strip, vlog, video, etc.
The commercial could be a radio ad, TV commercial, video blog, or social media post. Make
sure that you include: the benefits of belonging to your house, what kinds of fun activities you
might do, character trait your house is most known for.
Option A: Option B:
The Sorting Hat ceremony from Draco Harry stays with Dursley's and never attends
Malfoy's perspective. Hogwarts
When Neville tries to stop Ron, Harry, and Hermione gets placed in Ravenclaw instead of
Hermione from Neville's perspective. Gryffindor
The quidditch match from Snape's Ron Weasley does not attend Hogwarts with
perspective. Harry
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Hermione's perspective when she overhears Harry is placed in Slytherin House
Ron and Harry talking about her.
Professor Snape is invaded by Voldemort
Hagrid's perspective when he loses the instead of Professor Quirrell
dragon and has to take Ron, Harry,
Hermione, and Draco into the forest. Neville Longbottom is the hero of the Gryffindor
quidditch team
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1. Potions Class - students do an experiment and create their own "potion" - connect
back with Harry Potter by giving potion a name and identifying possible uses.
https://www.pottermore.com/features/tracing-the-myths-and-legends-in-
philosophers-stone
3. Compare and Contrast - Harry Potter with another popular film series. Create a class
mind map linking themes and characters from both films.
Films to consider: Divergent, Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, Mortal Instruments,
Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
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Sources Consulted
Black, S. (2003). The Magic of Harry Potter: symbols and heroes of Fantasy. Children’s
Literature in Education. 34(3), 237-247.
Rowling, J.K. (2000) Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (6th ed). Vancouver, Raincoast
Books
Scholastic, (n.d.) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Discussion Guide. Retrieved
from: https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plans/teaching-content/harry-
potter- and-sorcerers-stone-discussion-guide/
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