Teaching Harry Potter: Speaking Activities

Many of my students come to me specifically to improve their speaking skills, for fluency, pronunciation, confidence, or for particular scenarios. I particularly like working with literature as students can speak about characters and events outside their own experience, this helps many students who lack confidence in speaking about themselves.

Here are some of my favourite ideas:

1. Character Hot Seats

The characters are so distinct, with clear motivations, personalities, and emotions that it’s easy to create a roleplay scenario for students.

Activity Idea:

• Hot Seat: One student takes on the role of a character (e.g., Harry, Hermione, or Hagrid) while others ask questions. The student in the “hot seat” must respond as if they were the character.
• Variation: Pair this activity with a scene from the book. For example, after reading about Harry’s time at the Dursleys, students can take on the roles of family members and answer questions about their feelings, motivations, or actions.

Classroom Tip: Encourage students to stay in character and use the context of the book to make their responses richer.

2. Debates and Discussions

Harry Potter is full of moral dilemmas and complex situations that can spark debates and discussions. These activities encourage students to articulate opinions, defend arguments, and consider different perspectives.

Activity Ideas:

• Moral Debate: Present a moral dilemma, such as, “Was it fair for Harry to be punished for something he didn’t do?” or “Should wizards intervene in Muggle affairs?” Students take sides and debate their points of view.
• Role-Based Discussion: Assign each student a character and ask them to discuss an issue from the chapter as their assigned character. For example, they could debate whether Hogwarts should allow Muggle-born students, with each character offering their unique perspective.

Classroom Tip: For larger classes, break students into smaller debate teams and let them come up with arguments before presenting them to the whole group.

3. Reenactments and Role Plays

Students can practice conversational English, fluency, and intonation while acting out the characters.

Activity Ideas:

• Scene Reenactment: Choose a memorable scene (e.g., when Hagrid tells Harry he’s a wizard) and have students act it out. Simplify or adapt the dialogue to suit their language level.
• What Happens Next?: After reading a scene, have students improvise what might happen next. For instance, “What would Harry say to Hagrid after learning about Hogwarts?” or “How would Dudley describe the trip to the zoo?”

Classroom Tip: Use improvisation to give students the chance to add their own dialogue.

4. Problem-Solving Tasks

Problem-solving tasks are good for encouraging collaboration and negotiation, as students must work together to come to a consensus. These activities are also highly engaging and relevant to real-world situations.

Activity Ideas:

• Magical School Supply List: Students work in groups to create a shopping list for Harry’s first trip to Diagon Alley. They must discuss the importance of each item and prioritize the essentials within a budget.
• Design a Spell: In groups, students create their own magical spell, deciding on its purpose, the incantation, and any side effects. They then present their spell to the class and explain its usefulness.

Classroom Tip: Set clear goals to keep the conversation focused and productive.

5. Storytelling and Alternate Endings

Storytelling activities  boost students’ creative thinking, help them practice narrative skills and expand their vocabulary.

Activity Ideas:

• Alternate Endings: Ask students to imagine an alternate ending to a key event in the story. For example, “What would have happened if Harry hadn’t received his letter from Hogwarts?”
• Backstories: Students invent a backstory for a minor character or magical object. For example, “What’s the history of Hagrid’s umbrella wand?”

Classroom Tip: After students share their alternate endings or backstories, allow the class to ask questions, to encourage deeper thinking and language practice.

6. Comparing and Contrasting

Comparing elements from the wizarding world with real life is a great way to build vocabulary and critical thinking. This activity also encourages students to make detailed descriptions and express their opinions.

Activity Ideas:

• Life at Hogwarts vs. Life at a Real School: Students discuss how Hogwarts compares to their own school experience, from uniforms to subjects and teachers.
• Wizarding World vs. Real World: Ask students to compare magical creatures, transportation, or food with their real-world counterparts. For example, “How is the Knight Bus different from a normal bus?”

Classroom Tip: Keep the discussions lighthearted but ask students to justify their opinions with specific examples from the book and real life.

7. Advanced-Level Speaking Activities

For more advanced students, speaking activities can go beyond basic conversation and involve more complex critical thinking, analysis, and creativity. These activities can challenge students to articulate sophisticated ideas and opinions while using higher-level language skills.

Activity Ideas:

• Debating Literary Themes: Have students debate complex themes from Harry Potter (e.g., “Is power always corrupting?” or “Can the end justify the means?”). Students must present arguments based on the book’s themes and defend their positions using specific examples from the story.
• Character Analysis Discussions: Ask students to discuss a character’s motivations, development, and moral dilemmas throughout the series. For example, “How does Snape’s character evolve? Do his actions align with his moral beliefs?” This encourages students to use critical thinking while expressing nuanced opinions.
• Creating a New Character: Students can create an entirely new character to add to the Harry Potter universe. They will need to explain the character’s background, personality, role in the story, and how they would interact with existing characters. This task encourages fluency as students describe complex ideas and justify their choices.
• Imagining Alternative Scenarios: Students work in groups to imagine alternative scenarios or endings to key plot points. For example, “What if Voldemort had never returned?” or “What if Harry had joined Slytherin?” Students must explain how the plot would change and how other characters would react to these alternative realities.

Classroom Tip: Encourage students to use a variety of tenses and connect ideas with sophisticated discourse markers to express cause, contrast, and consequence.

 

I’d love to hear how these activities work in your classroom! Have you tried any Harry Potter-inspired speaking tasks with your students?