Muggle version of Platform 9-3/4

PLATFORM 9-3/4 REALLY EXISTS

Here’s a magical picture from the muggle world.

This picture was taken at the real-life King’s Cross station in London, England.

Harry Potter fans will recognize Platform 9-3/4 as the magical spot in the wall Hogwarts students must pass through to reach the Hogwarts Express train that takes them to school.

A cast-iron 9-3/4 sign has been put up on the wall between platforms 9 and 10. And a luggage trolley seems to be halfway in and halfway out of the wall, just as if someone were about to make the jump to the magical world from the muggle one.

There’s often a traffic jam at this spot in King’s Cross station, as tourists and Harry Potter fans stop to take pictures of this wonderful tribute to the series.

The latest Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I is playing in movie theatres now. Part II will be released this June.

Click here for the official movie website, including the trailer for Part I.

Image: Wikipedia, By SoxFan.

Writing/Discussion Prompt
If you were going to make a monument or a statue celebrating a book, which book would you choose? Which character would you have made into a statue? Is there a certain moment in the story you would want to have on display?

Curriculum Prompt
Does knowing about the Harry Potter series help a reader understand today’s article? How does thinking about what we know already help us when we read something new?

Primary
Identify a variety of reading comprehension strategies and use them appropriately before, during, and after reading to understand texts (e.g., activate prior knowledge through brainstorming and/or developing mind maps; ask questions to focus reading and clarify understanding; use visualization to clarify details about such things as homes and clothing of early settlers; use pictures to confirm understanding of printed text) (OME, Reading: 1.3)

Junior
Identify a variety of reading comprehension strategies and use them appropriately before, during, and after reading to understand texts (e.g., activate prior knowledge through asking questions about or discussing a topic; develop mind maps to explore ideas; ask questions to focus reading; use visualization to clarify details of a character, scene, or concept in a text; make predictions about a text based on reasoning and related reading; reread to confirm or clarify meaning) (OME, Reading: 1.3)

Grammar Feature: Hyphen
In today’s article, hyphens are used in two sentences. In both of these sentences the hyphen is used in the forming of compund words. When used this way, the hyphen tells the reader that there is a relationship between the words that make up the compound.

“This picture was taken at the real-life King’s Cross station in London, England.”

“A cast-iron 9-3/4 sign has been put up on the wall between platforms 9 and 10.”

Check out this guy!

Dr. Anthony Hutchison is a
former gang member who
traded guns for a guitar.

ON NOV. 3, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO CHECK THIS GUY OUT. LITERALLY.

His name is Dr. Anthony Hutchison, and he’s part of the Toronto Public Library’s “human library event.”

Hutchison is one of 60 “human books” you can check out, just like you would a book from the library. The “books” will be signed out for a 30-minute conversation in a quiet area of the library.

All of the human “books” have very striking life experiences, and thus very interesting stories to tell.

The idea behind the human library is to expand our understanding of people, by getting to meet and talk with them about their lives—lives which may be very different from our own. The concept begin in Copenhagen in the early 1990s to combat prejudice. Countries all over the world now hold human libraries and some even have permanent collections.

Dr. Hutchison, for instance, is a former gang member, illiterate and unhappy. Today, he is a doctor who works with at-risk youth.

“At the age of 15, in 1983, I put down my two guns and my gang colours for a guitar,” he says. “The resources to help me put my life back on track mainly came from a local community public library.”

How did he manage that life transformation? You have an opportunity to check him out for 30 minutes on Nov. 3 and find out.

Other human "books" include:

Rosa, a gay teen; journalist Barbara Turnbull and her service dog Bella; anti-poverty activist Michael Creek, who was homeless; Tibetan Buddhist Monk Tenzin Kalsang; and "Raging Granny" Phyllis Creighton.

Five libraries in Toronto will participate in the one-day pilot project:
Toronto Reference Library (Yonge and Bloor)
North York Central Library (North of Yonge and Sheppard)
Bloor Gladstone Branch (Bloor and Dufferin)
Lillian H. Smith Branch (College and Spadina)
Malvern Branch (Sheppard and Neilson)

Curriculum Connection
“Does anything in this story remind you of anything you’ve seen or heard of?”

“What do you think about this library program?”

“What conclusions can you draw from the events or information presented in the text?”

Primary
Express personal opinions about ideas presented in texts (e.g., identify traits they admire in the characters; comment on actions taken by characters (OME, Reading: 1.8).

Junior
Make judgements and draw conclusions about ideas in texts and cite stated or implied evidence from the text to support their views (OME, Reading: 1.8)

Grammar Feature
Bullet point. Bullet points are a text feature designed to help readers gain information quickly and efficiently. With your students, highlight the bullet points and discuss why an author would use bullet points. As well, use metacognitive strategies to illustrate the effectiveness of bullet points.
Extensions
The idea behind the “human book” program is to “expand our understanding of people, by getting to meet and talk with them about their lives—lives which may be very different from our own.” Why do you think it is important to meet and talk with different people? Is there a danger or problem that arises when people stop meeting new people?

Rowlings hints at possible new HP book

ANOTHER HARRY POTTER ADVENTURE?

Might Harry Potter be called into service again, to keep the wizarding (and Muggle) world safe from the likes of Voldemort and his accomplices?

The answer is: "maybe."

It's not much, but as anyone who's ever asked his parents for a new video game knows, it's better than "no."

Author J. K. Rowlings is open to the possibility that she may write another Harry Potter book. Or maybe even a few more.

That's what she told talk show host Oprah Winfrey in an interview recently.

The characters are still in her head, Rowlings said, and she "could definitely" write more books in the series.

The Harry Potter series, beginning with Harry Potter and the Philospher's Stone and ending with the seventh novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, brought Rowling international fame. More than 400 million books have been sold worldwide. The series also made her one of the richest women in Britain, according to Forbes magazine.

With wealth have also come pressures, such as reporters searching through her trash and constant pestering from the paparazzi.

So will we see another Harry Potter novel in the very near future? Probably not very soon. Rowling says she's moved on to a new phase in her writing.

In the meantime, kids can always close their eyes, wave a wand... and make a wish.

Curriculum Connection
Today’s article contains several words and names that may be difficult for a young speller to pronounce. Identify and examine these words.

Primary and Junior
Predict the meaning of and rapidly solve unfamiliar words using different types of cues, including: semantic cues, syntactic cues, and graphophonic cues (OME, Reading: 3.2).

Grammar Feature
Alert students to the quotations around one and two word statements. Why does the author do this? What affect does it have?

"maybe."

"no."

"could definitely"

Extensions
Primary
The Harry Potter series is very famous. The author of this series has made a lot of money making these books and they have helped her become famous. After writing seven books, J.K. Rowling decided to stop writing these books.
If you are a fan of these books, what would you tell her to convince her to keep writing them?
If you do not like the Harry Potter series, what would you tell her to convince her that she should be writing different types of books?
Lastly, if you are unfamiliar with these books, why do you think someone would stop doing something that they are very good at?