Assignment 1: The Letters From No One

Assignment 1: The Letters From No One 

You are about to embark on a Harry Potter adventure.  Within the next few days, the class will begin reading J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the first book in the Harry Potter series.  These coming-of-age novels, including this first one, capture the maturation of an orphan who begins life with a neglectful aunt and uncle but learns on his eleventh birthday that he is actually a wizard eligible to attend Hogwarts, a school of magic.  While in attendance at this school, Harry discovers the truth about his parents’ deaths, the cause they died for so Harry could live and the destiny he must fulfill as a result.  Through these trials toward self-discovery, Harry learns to value love, family, friendship and the need for others in order to achieve his future success.

As you read Harry Potter, you will find much of the correspondence between characters relies on letters, as demonstrated in chapter three of the first book, The Letters From No One.  We will update this form of communication with e-mails.  Before we begin reading the novel, you are asked to write a conversational e-mail to your parents.  Your e-mail will examine the following:

·         What does family mean to you?

·         What fond memories or personal experiences illustrate the importance of family?

·         What would life be like without family?

Once you have written your e-mail, you will participate in a peer editing activity.  Then your final copy will be e-mailed to your parents, who will be encouraged to respond.  While I will be reading your e-mail to improve writing and communication skills, your parents’ e-mail to you will remain private. 

This assignment should help you draw on personal connections in order to relate to Harry Potter’s situation and the predominate themes of love, family and friendship in the series.  This assignment also will help you build effective communication and technology skills.  Links to the letter about the assignment I sent to your parents, a sample e-mail I have written to my parents, the rubric and the peer edit hand-out are all below for further information about this project.  You are highly encouraged to view these links before starting your e-mail.  Also, note the important due dates below. 

Important Links: 

Letter to Your Parents

Sample E-mail

Rubric (Coming soon)

Peer Edit Hand-out (Coming soon)

Dates to Know: