Skip to Main Content

Fantasy Play

Some book settings—such as Hogwarts in the Harry Potter series—are unforgettable. Transport yourself to a favorite story scene with this project.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

Gather all the supplies needed to bring your craft ideas to life! From paints and markers to glue and scissors, our crafts section has everything to spark creativity and make every project truly special.

  • Craft Sticks
  • Recycled Materials

Steps

  • Step 1

    Reading a terrific book instantly puts us in the middle of the action. Ask students to identify some of their favorite books. Surely everyone who has read a Harry Potter book has been transported to a place where owls carry messages and school feasts appear before one's eyes. Were you sitting in that boat floating in the dark as Hogwarts comes into view for the first time? Do you ever wonder how you would respond when confronted with an ogre in the bathroom? Or snobbery at the lunch table? Students find out by putting themselves at Hogwarts (or another favorite book setting)!

  • Step 2

    With Crayola® Scissors, cut a large square from a recycled file folder. Fold the square in half two times by matching up the points. Cut one of these folds to the center. Slide the two pieces on either side of the cut together to create a standing triarama.

  • Step 3

    To decorate the backdrop of the Hogwarts' scene, unfold the triarama and color its two walls and floor with Crayola Construction Paper Crayons. You may also cut colored construction paper and glue it to the walls or floor with a Crayola Glue Stick.

  • Step 4

    After the surroundings are finished, glue the two file folder pieces that form the floor together to create the standing triarama with Crayola School Glue. Air dry.

  • Step 5

    On white paper or a file folder, draw the outline of Hogwarts with Crayola Erasable Colored Pencils. Color in the castle. Erase sections for highlights or to add mortar colors between stones, for example. Use Crayola Metallic FX Crayons to add magical flourishes. Cut out the castle and glue it into the triarama. Suggest students make a moat around the castle.

  • Step 6

    With a small piece of Crayola Model Magic, form a cube to act as the base for the form. Stick a craft stick in the cube as the armature for the cutout. Air dry overnight.

  • Step 7

    Students cut out small photos of their heads (1 for each student). On another piece of file folder, students draw and decorate their figures with colored pencils and crayons. Remind students to make sure that their bodies are proportional to their heads. Attach them with glue. Air dry flat.

  • Step 8

    Glue the cutout to the craft stick in the cube. Now students can wander around Hogwarts and no longer feel like Muggles.

Standards

LA: Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

LA: Compare and contrast two or more characters settings, or events in a story or drama, drawing on specific details n the text (e.g., how characters interact).,

LA: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade level topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

LA: Participate in shared research and writing projects.

MATH: Understand that attributes belonging to a category of two-dimensional figures also belong to all subcategories of that category.

MATH: Classify two-dimensional figures in a hierarchy based on properties.

VA: Select media, techniques, an processes; analyze what makes them effective or not effective in communicating ideas; and reflect upon the effectiveness of choices.

VA: Intentionally take advantage of the qualities and characteristics of art media, techniques, and processes to enhance communication of experiences and ideas.

Adaptations

Students collaborate to compose an essay about the special qualities that they would bring to Hogwarts (or self-selected story setting). Students include a list of magical abilities they compose. Students consider what weaknesses they would like to strengthen through schooling at Hogwarts.

Students work in teams of two to blend characters from several authors/books. Think about which characters that you have encountered in your reading experiences that would enjoy meeting or benefit from meeting characters from other books. Who would be friends? Who would not? What might the two have in common? Student teams write a short story that includes both characters. Create a sketch of a significant scene in the short story. Post both in a public place in the classroom for viewing.

Students create an original triorama that includes the main characters in the scene. Swap trioramas with a classmate. Write a short story using the classmate's triorama as motivation.