Day 118: 3/25/26 - Harry Potter Chapter 12 Lit. Circle Discussion

 Homeroom:

          Good Morning. Please sit at your house table &  use this time to get ready for your day.

Do Now:

1. Check that your homework is done
2. Make sure you have all your materials
3. Sharpen pencils

ELA Learning Target:    

Today we will participate in Lit Circle discussions about chapter 12, and compete in the 30 Second Claims & Evidence Challenge.

Do Now:

• Write Down the your homework
• Open your notebook to your job from chapter 12
• Discussion Directors - open your computer to my blog

Homework:

• Finish reading chapter 12 (if not already done)

Activity #1

Chapter 12 Lit Circle Discussions

The Rules for Lit. Circle Discussions:

1. The Discussion Director is the leader of the conversation. 
2. You will take turns sharing, and engaging the rest of your group in a discussion about your topic/job.
3. When you share it is your job to get the rest of the group involved. DO NOT READ! USE QUESTIONS TO ENGAGE THE REST OF YOUR GROUP MEMBERS! 

• Summarizer: 
• What happened in this chapter?
• What else happened?
• What would you include in a summary? Why? 
• What are the most relevant details/events in this chapter? Put the events in order.
• What's the main idea? (USE YOUR BOOK)
• Character Captain:
• What characters were in this chapter? 
• Pick an important character
• What did they do, say, think, feel, etc? 
• What did we learn about this character? 
• Who were the most important characters? 
• How did they impact the story? 
• Vocab Enricher:
• Pick a word. Take your group to the page. 
• Have someone read the sentence. 
• Ask, "What do you guys think this word means?" Then let them guess.
• After everyone takes a guess, share the definition at the end. REPEAT! 
• Conflict Evaluator:
• What conflicts were in this chapter? 
• Why was this a conflict? 
• Is it an internal or external conflict? 
• How does this conflict impact the story?
• Discussion Director:
• Read the questions that you have already prepared. 
• You can also ask the three questions below.
1. A Lightbulb Moment!!! - Did anything stand out to you?
2. A Question Mark - Is there anything you didn't understand? Perhaps something that you would want JK Rowling to explain?
3. A Connection - What did you learn (about yourself) from this chapter?

Mr. T's Discussion Questions:

• What does the sorting hat tell Harry?
• What happens to the bird in Dumbledore's office?
• What is special about Fawkes the Phoenix?
• Do you think Harry should tell Dumbledore about the voice? Explain?
• If you were Harry would you tell Dumbledore about the voice?
• Harry, Ron, and Hermione drink the Polyjuice potion on Christmas. How do you spend your Christmas?
• Who do Harry, Ron, and Hermione turn themselves into with the Polyjuice Potion?
• How long will they have before they turn back into themselves?
• What happens when they drink the potion?
• What do Harry and Ron learn from Malfoy?
• In the end what does the polyjuice potion do to Hermione?
• If you were Harry, Ron, or Hermione what would you do next?

Activity #2

The 30 Second "Claims & Evidence" Challenge?

Directions:

Based on the reading you need to pick a prompt and answer the question using a clear, specific claim. Then, support your claim with 3 pieces of evidence from the text. 

Prompt #1

 After Harry and Ron use the Polyjuice Potion to infiltrate the Slytherin common room, what can the reader infer about Draco Malfoy’s actual connection to the Chamber of Secrets? How does this contradict the trio's original theory? Provide three details from Chapter 12 to support your conclusion.

Prompt #2

During his visit to the Headmaster's office, Professor Dumbledore gives Harry a clear opportunity to confess anything that might be bothering him, yet Harry chooses to stay silent. What can be inferred about Harry's internal fears at this point in the story? Provide three details from Chapter 12 that contribute to his decision to keep secrets.

Scoring

Claim = 2pts

Piece of Evidence #1 = 2 pts

Piece of Evidence #2 = 2 pts

Piece of Evidence #3 = 2 pts

Total = 8 pts

Your answer should be about 4 sentences.

Use transition words, especially between your evidence.

When adding evidence try these phrases:

• In the text it says ...
• In the book ...
• In the novel ...
• In the story ...
• In the passage ...
• According to the story ...
• According to the book ...
• According to the novel ...
• According to the text ...
• According to the passage ...

Each house will then choose a representative to read their response out loud. The representatives from each house will have just 30 seconds to read. 

YOU WILL BE EXPECTED TO FOLOW THE RULES OF WRITING. 

• Indent the first sentence
• All other lines are lined up on the margin line
• Words go on the line
• Put spaces between your words
• Use proper capitalization & punctuation
• Spelling matters (You should not be spelling words from the book incorrectly, especially character's names)
• Neatness matters

Activity #3

Best Question

• When we play "Best Question" your classroom teacher acts as the judge. 
• Each house picks 1 representative to read the question they think is best, and then the student leads the discussion. 
• After all 3 houses have led the discussion for their question the teacher will award house points for the question they think is best.
• The points are entirely up to the teacher, and they may choose to award more or less points based on the strength of your questions.
• Some days all Houses will earn points, while other days only one house might earn points. It all depends on you and the quality of your efforts.