English/ESL Stage 4 unit
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
Overheads
Type
Title
OHT 1
OHT 2
OHT 3
OHT 4
OHT 5
OHT 6a
OHT 6b
OHT 6c
Table of magical terms
Reading log pro forma
Focus on vocabulary: Teacher’s notes
Finding out about characters in a text
Comparing characters in the novel and film
Features of a brochure
Features of a brochure: layout and graphics
Features of a brochure: language
No
pages
1
1
5
1
2
1
1
1
NSW Department of Education and Training November 2004
Page 1 of 14
Curriculum K-12 Directorate
http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au
OHT 1
Table of magical terms
Complete the table with examples. The first one has been done for you.
Clothes and
equipment
Cloaks
Magical
creatures
Unicorns
Symbols
Stars
Powers
The ability to
change
people into
animals.
Words
Shazam!
NSW Department of Education and Training November 2004
Page 2 of 14
Curriculum K-12 Directorate
http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au
OHT 2
Reading log pro forma
As you read the book, keep a record of the main events and characters you meet or
learn about in each chapter. You could also record your comments (predictions about
the plot, your responses to characters’ thoughts and actions). It’s also a good idea to
record new words you have learnt.
Use the following headings in your reading log:
Chapter:
Main events:
Characters:
Your comments:
New words:
NSW Department of Education and Training November 2004
Page 3 of 14
Curriculum K-12 Directorate
http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au
OHT 3
Focus on vocabulary: Teacher’s notes
When you read a new text, you may find words that you do not understand. It can be
very tiring and time-consuming trying to understand the text, especially if you stop to
look up all of the new words in the dictionary. Below are some helpful strategies and
exercises to help you to deal with new words while reading the novel.
Possible strategies:
1. Ignore the word.
This is a good strategy if you can still understand most of the meaning of the
sentence.
2. Guess the meaning of the word.
This is a good strategy to use all the time to improve your reading skills and
expand your vocabulary.
3. Ask a friend what the word means.
This is a good strategy if you don’t have much time and you think your friend will
know.
4. Look up the new word in the dictionary.
This is a good strategy for important or key words that you must know. You can
also use the dictionary if you want to check if your guess was correct.
A closer look at strategy two – guessing the meaning
You can guess the meanings of words by looking at the following features:
1. The context of the word in the sentence or paragraph that you read or hear it in.
The ideas in the paragraph or sentence can give you clues about what the word
means.
Example sentence:
Cats are fastidious animals that can often be seen cleaning their coats with their
tongues.
The word ‘fastidious’ is written in the context of a sentence about cats. The other
information that we learn from the sentence is that fastidious cats clean
themselves a lot.
2. We can also guess the meaning of words by considering the form of the word.
Example sentence:
Cats are fastidious animals that can often be seen cleaning their hairy coats with
their tongues.
The word ‘fastidious’ ends in ‘ious’ like the words ‘delicious’ or ‘suspicious’ so it is
probably the same kind of word as these words. We know that ‘fastidious’
NSW Department of Education and Training November 2004
Page 4 of 14
Curriculum K-12 Directorate
http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au
describes the noun ‘animals’. From this we know that ‘fastidious’ is a describing
word or adjective. From the context we know that it describes something that
cleans itself a lot.
So, what does the word ‘fastidious’ mean?
3. Sometimes you can guess a word because you know the meaning of part of
the word.
Example sentence:
It was an eventful day.
The word eventful contains the root word ‘event’ which is something that
happens, such as a party or a meeting. Therefore an eventful day is probably a
day when several important or interesting things happen.
A closer look at strategy four – looking the words up in the dictionary
Go to the section of your dictionary with words starting with ‘f’. Find ‘fateful’ in the
entries.
Fateful: adj. involving momentous consequences or decisively important
You may notice that there are other similar words in the dictionary, such as, ‘fated’ and
‘fate’. These are related words. Sometimes if you cannot find the word you are looking
for, you need to look at the meaning of its root word instead. In the case of the word
‘fateful’, the root word is ‘fate’.
Discuss as a class:
 Does the meaning that we guessed for ‘fateful’ match the meaning in the
dictionary?
 What are some of the problems connected with using a dictionary?
Student exercise:
There are eight sentences below from chapter two of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s
Stone. Work with a partner to try to guess the meaning of the words in bold. When you
have guessed all ten words, swap your answers with another pair and check the
meaning in the dictionary to see if the guesses were correct.

His Aunt Petunia was awake and it was her shrill voice which made the first
noise of the day.
Up! Get up! Now!
p.19, paragraph 2
Pair guess: ______________________________________________________
NSW Department of Education and Training November 2004
Page 5 of 14
Curriculum K-12 Directorate
http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au
________________________________________________________________
Dictionary meaning: ______________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

…Harry had always been small and skinny for his age. He looked even smaller
and skinnier than he really was because all he had to wear were old clothes of
Dudley’s and Dudley was about four times bigger than he was. Harry had a thin
face, knobbly knees, black hair and bright green eyes.
p. 20, paragraph 4
Pair guess: ______________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Dictionary meaning: ______________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

Harry, who could see a huge Dudley tantrum coming on, began wolfing down
his bacon as fast as possible in case Dudley turned the table over.
p. 21, para.6
Pair guess: ______________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Dictionary meaning: ______________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

‘Now what?’ said Aunt Petunia, looking furiously at Harry as though he’d
planned this.
p. 22, para. 2
Pair guess: ______________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Dictionary meaning: ______________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
NSW Department of Education and Training November 2004
Page 6 of 14
Curriculum K-12 Directorate
http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au

Another time, Aunt Petunia had been trying to force him into a revolting old
jumper of Dudley’s (brown with orange bobbles).
p.23, para. 6
Pair guess: ______________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Dictionary meaning: ______________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

They ate in the zoo restaurant and when Dudley had a tantrum because his
knickerbocker glory wasn’t big enough, Uncle Vernon bought him another one
and Harry was allowed to finish the first.
p. 24 last paragraph
Pair guess: ______________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Dictionary meaning: ______________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

‘Make it move,’ he whined at his father. Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass, but
the snake didn’t budge.
p.25, para. 4
Pair guess: ______________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Dictionary meaning: ______________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

Harry moved in front of the tank and looked intently at the snake. He wouldn’t
have been surprised if it had died of boredom itself – no company except stupid
people drumming their finders on the glass trying to disturb it all day long.
p. 25,
para. 7
Pair guess: ______________________________________________________
NSW Department of Education and Training November 2004
Page 7 of 14
Curriculum K-12 Directorate
http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au
________________________________________________________________
Dictionary meaning: ______________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
NSW Department of Education and Training November 2004
Page 8 of 14
Curriculum K-12 Directorate
http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au
OHT 4
Their words:
 In dialogue
 In reported
speech.
The way a character
interacts with other
characters.
A character’s
thoughts.
What other
characters say
about them.
Their behaviour and
actions in the novel/film
– especially in difficult
or dangerous situations.
Figurative language
that describes them
e.g. similes and
metaphors.
The reader can find out about
characters in a text from:
In a novel,
adjectives
describing their
appearance; in a
film, costuming
and make-up.
Adverbs and descriptive
verbs that tell us how a
character speaks or
behaves.
NSW Department of Education and Training November 2004
Page 9 of 14
Curriculum K-12 Directorate
http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au
OHT 5
Comparing the way characters are represented in the novel and
film
While you are viewing the film, make point form notes on how elements of visual design are
used to tell us about THREE of the Harry Potter characters. Use the table below to record
your observations. Then look back at the information we gathered from the novel about each
character. Complete the table.
Character:
Text
Visual
text:
*
Film
*
Elements of visual design
Why? What do they show us?
Language
Why? What does it tell us?
*
*
*
*
*
Written
text:
*
Novel
*
*
*
*
NSW Department of Education and Training November 2004
Page 10 of 14
Curriculum K-12 Directorate
http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au
List the main similarities and differences between the way this character is represented in the
book and in the film
Similarities
Both the novel and the film …
Differences
In the novel this character is represented as …..
In contrast, in the film s/he is depicted as …
Discuss the similarities and differences between the way this character is represented in the
two different texts. Explain (say WHY) these differences might exist.
How do the different representations affect the way you think about the character? Which
representation do you prefer and why?
NSW Department of Education and Training November 2004
Page 11 of 14
Curriculum K-12 Directorate
http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au
OHT 6a
Features of a brochure
What is a brochure?
A brochure is a form of advertising. It usually comes in the form of
a folded piece of paper with written information and graphics.
What is the purpose of
The purpose of a brochure is to persuade the readers to act or
a brochure?
think in a certain way. There are two main types of brochures:
1. Commercial – trying to sell a product or service
2. Informative – trying to increase public awareness and
change public behaviour or attitudes.
What makes a good or
A brochure is effective if it achieves its purpose. The criteria below
effective brochure?
can help us judge the effectiveness of a brochure:
1. It gives information which is relevant and of interest to the
reader.
2. The language used is appealing to the audience and
persuades them to respond to the brochure.
3. The visual elements, such as the graphics and layout, are
appealing and eye-catching.
4. The information is easy to understand.
NSW Department of Education and Training November 2004
Page 12 of 14
Curriculum K-12 Directorate
http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au
OHT 6b
Features of a brochure: layout and graphics
Brochures must be visually appealing to catch people’s attention and easy to read to keep
people’s interest. Below is a list of some of the common visual features of a brochure.
Term
Use
Images
Attractive or shocking pictures are often used to
catch the audience’s eye.
Font
Different types and sizes of font are used, including
bold and underlined text.
Colour
Different colours attract the audience’s eye and can
be used to convey meaning and symbolise ideas.
Diagrams
Diagrams communicate information quickly and
easily.
Cartoons, logos,
symbols
These can be associated with the product or service
as a memory aid.
Bullet points or
number points
This technique makes the information easy to
access.
Spacing
Well-spaced words mean the brochure can be read
quickly and easily. Information is often organised
into columns with headings and sub-headings.
NSW Department of Education and Training November 2004
Page 13 of 14
Curriculum K-12 Directorate
http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au
OHT 6c
Features of a brochure: language
The purpose of a brochure is to persuade, so the language of brochures is usually
persuasive. Below is a list of some common persuasive language techniques used in
brochures.
Term
Explanation
Example
Persuasive
adjectives
Words that describe the product, service or
idea positively.
Wonderful,
fantastic, quality
Slogans
Many of the adjectives used are what are
called superlatives. These are the strongest
positive or negative describing words.
A slogan is a catchy phrase that sends a
message. Slogans are usually easy to
remember and use poetic techniques, such
as, rhyme, alliteration and puns.
best, safest,
most exciting,
wonderful
Slip, Slop, Slap.
Do the right
thing.
Oh, what a
feeling..!
Do you deserve
the best?
Want the holiday
of a life- time?
Buy now!
Don’t get ripped
off!
Rhetorical
questions
These are questions that do not need an
answer and are often used to attract the
reader’s attention.
Commands
These are often used to tell the reader or
viewer what to do.
Questions
and answers
Repetition
These are used to rganize information
clearly and make the brochure easy to read.
Using the same word or synonyms for a
word several times. Repetition helps readers
to get the main idea and remember the
message.
Every day, informal language. It can make
the text seem more personal and friendly
and directly appeal to the reader. It can also
make the brochure seem more honest and
trustworthy.
Colloquial
language
NSW Department of Education and Training November 2004
Page 14 of 14
Curriculum K-12 Directorate
http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au