Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. Why is it important to have a global community? What do you think a global community’s role should be? What would the world be like if countries did not work together? What problems should countries solve independently, and what should they collaborate on?

Teaching Suggestion: The introduction of the Department of Magical Cooperation in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire widens the scope of the wizarding world to include countries other than the United Kingdom. This question invites students to think about how different countries work together to better society, connecting to the theme International Community and Unity. Some students might be unfamiliar with the United Nations, so it could be helpful to create a Know Wonder Learn (KWL) chart to familiarize your students with the global community. These and similar resources might be helpful in addressing these topics.

• This page from Facing History & Ourselves provides an overview of the United Nations and offers additional connections for students.
• This article from National Geographic discusses many different types of international organizations and their functions.

2. What popular or classic stories deal with the idea of growing up? How do these stories present the challenges and difficulties of growing up?

Teaching Suggestion: It may be helpful to introduce the concept of a “Bildungsroman” as a coming-of-age story that deals with the challenges of growing up. After students answer the above prompt, you can have students examine how the protagonist changes as a result of the challenges they face. Consider having students compare the different stories based on the main obstacles that the protagonists face to see how the different characters overcome their challenges. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is considered a turning point in the series. Voldemort’s return in this book and Cedric Diggory’s death lead to Harry’s Loss of Innocence. Asking students to think of similar stories will help them understand this theme.

• This article explains what a Bildungsroman is and gives some examples in literature.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the novel.

Think of a time when someone whom you trusted betrayed you in some way. How did you feel in the moment and in the aftermath of the betrayal? Did you confront the person who betrayed you, or did you keep your feelings to yourself? How did the experience affect your ability to trust others in the future?

Teaching Suggestion: This question invites students to connect to the theme Trust and Betrayal by speaking about their own experience being betrayed. You may also challenge students by asking them to reflect on whether they have betrayed anyone and, if so, what their motivations were. An alternative might include analyzing betrayal as a topic or theme in a recently read novel.

Differentiation Suggestion: Students who benefit from additional processing time may find it helpful to write their answers in a journal before sharing with others. For visual learners, creating a drawing or an outline of their betrayal and the aftermath might be helpful.