Do you think Harry potter is a suitable film to show yr3 on last day of term?

[nowwearefour]

I definitely do not but my dd is v young for her year. Thankfully she is aware that it might be being shown. I will go and collect her if this is the choice. She hasn't read the books yet and for a reason- they are brilliant but quite dark and scary and she isn't ready for them quite yet. Anyway they are talking of showing the 4th one which could ruin the first three!
What do others think ?

The first one is fine, yes

clam, DS's teacher used it for stories involving flashbacks [As an aside, he had to ask me about one of my childhood memories to use in the 'flashback' sequences in his own story. Which would have been fine except for the fact that the additional details as to clothing and setting implied that he believed me to have been a child in the Victorian era...]

When my dd was in Year 3 they spent about a term on Harry Potter and read the books, acted it out, wrote their own wizard stories. As part of that we were asked for our permission to watch the films. It was fine and dd July baby. They even went to a wizardy centre nearby.

Ah yes! That was it, flashbacks!

It has never occurred to me to put these films on for my dd, but then I have never watched them either. I don't think I would mind as such if it were shown in school, but I know she would mind as it wouldn't interest her at all!

thanks for thoughts. still no word as to waht has been chosen. i am trying not to be like a dog wth a bone!

Ha, hadnt spotted this was your thread! I'd be thrilled if my children were only to watch one DVD this week - it has been every day at our school. Even this afternoon after they got back from a trip to the panto!

I wouldn't want my kids to watch it, not so much because of age but because I think films and music are a lot more powerful than meets the eye. If this were about some mainstream religion they probably wouldn't be watching it but tbh it has a religion of it's own. Paganism and witchcraft. Why is it ok to be teaching kids about these things and not about other religions?
I am not a regular church goer, nor a pent up party pooping religious fanatic, but I can see beyond the hype of a load of books and films which teaches kids to aspire to becoming magicians and to encourage getting involved in occult activity. There - I said it ! Bring it on!

You do realise that the children will have had weekly (should be daily but a lot of schools don't bother) Christian religious worship in assembly for 3 and a third years by this point pig? If all that hasn't sold them on mainstream religion then I'm not sure that one ninety minute film will make them all go off and convert to Wicca.

In what schools Its? Certainly not where I live unless you go to a C of E or catholic! Even in those schools the parents whinge about the fact that they have some religious influence!!

If it comes to that, speckledpig, the HP books "teach" kids very specifically that they can't become magicians or get involved in occult activity unless they happen to have been born to it and get an official letter to that effect -- so unless you're going to object to Paddington Bear encouraging children to become members of the family Ursidae that's a bit of a weak objection.

And I don't know about others but my Y3 DS (the age group we're talking about here) has had regular religious exposure at school and in addition to general Christian stuff has already been taught about Sikhism (with visit to a gurdwara) and Islam (with visit to a mosque), along with some coverage of Hinduism (although without any trips involved) and Judaism (I think they are visiting a synagogue or a temple at some point this year). So your "why is it OK to be teaching kids about these things and not about other religions?" doesn't describe a world that any of the rest of us recognise.

It's the law that they should be doing it agt all state schools, sp, under the 1944 Education Act. So if they aren't doing it perhaps take it up with them rather than taking it out on Harry Potter?

Think it depends if the children have older siblings as to whether they've inadvertently been hardened to the HP series. DD has been watching them since she was very little because she has a big brother. But I'm pretty sure DS was watching HP films by the time he was 8/9.

And I don't know that many Christians that haven't let their children read the books/watch the films, unless they are real fundamentalists. In fact we have Catholic-raised DNs who are obsessed. I am not sure it is really going to turn anyone onto magic seriously ? It's fantasy in the same way that Dr Who and Merlin are....

Hi nowwearefour

I'm not sure how but at some point DH stumbled across Common Sense Media - which reviews movies in terms of children viewing it.

Link for Harry Potter films here: www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-lists/harry-potter-movie-series - just click the particular film for the class.

What I like about this website is it sets out a synopsis of what the film is about, whether it is appropriate for all children, or children over a certain age and has a quick bullet point list of good/ bad points about film.

Nice little section at the end which has things you can discuss as a family.

By the way Harry Potter & Sorcerer's Stone rated for age 7 and above (so would be o.k. for Y3).

HTH

My dd is at catholic school and they spent a term on Hp in Year 3. No complaints from the parents here.

thanks past. v v v helpful

I don't think children should be watching films at school even at the end of term. I never did at my school. We watched a historical series called How We Used To Live but never commercial films. I think that's for home and up to the parents, as many children do get scared by films that another child might not, and so many children seem to have nightmares from Potter. We had books read to us and played games but didnt give the teachers 2 hours off watching films. My DS's school regularly shows them films if the teachers are busy doing something like getting ready for parents evening ( i just hope they are u ratings) and let's them play games on computers ( like angry birds) if it's too wet for playtime and I think it's lazy and not on but I know it's just the way of most state schools now so don't complain but think it's very different to my experience of education.

i think they do it v v occasionally at my dd's school for a treat- once one the very last day on 21 DEc seems ok to me but there are tehse issues re which films as you say london. all v tricky. in the end it turned out to be nativity which was fine! but now i need see if she would like to start to read the books i think so this doesnt happen on another occasion!

DD1 is in Y3 and, if her class had been reading HP as a class novel or using it for part of their Literacy learning then I wouldn't mind it being shown on the last day of term. However, I would be less impressed if it was shown without any reason beyond it being the last day of term.

In my Y4 class chocolate has been the topic for the last term (we follow the International Primary Curriculum) so Charlie and the chocolate factory has been the class novel. On the last day of term my class started watching the film of the book whilst I mounted a load of work for display. I rarely show films at the end of term (or at any time really) unless there is a strong link with the learning from that term. I've shown a Y4 class 'How to train your dragon' at the end of a term on the Vikings - the children had written their own 'films' of 'Hiccup, the Viking who was seasick' - and have shown 'Holes' to a Y6 class as part of a Y6-Y7 transition unit.

I also prefer to have read a book before watching another person's interpretation of it and encourage my own DCs and those in my class to do the same.