discussion guide - bloomsbury publishing

DISCUSSION GUIDE

and the Chamber of Secrets

DISCUSSION GUIDE

Visit harrypotterforteachers.com for more Harry Potter discussion guides and reward certificates 2

ABOUT THE HARRY POTTER BOOKS AND THIS GUIDE

J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books are among the most popular and acclaimed of all time.

Published in the UK between 1997 and 2007 and beginning with Harry Potter and the

Philosopher’s Stone, the seven books are epic stories of Harry Potter and his friends as they

attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Crossing genres including fantasy,

thriller and mystery, and at turns exhilarating, humorous and sad, the stories explore

universal human values, longings and choices.

The Harry Potter books are compelling reading for children and adults alike; they have

met phenomenal success around the world and have been translated into 77 languages.

A whole generation of children grew up awaiting the publication of each book in the

series with eager anticipation, and they still remain enormously popular.

The Harry Potter books make excellent starting points for discussion. These guides outline

a host of ideas for discussions and other activities that can be used in the classroom, in

a reading group or at home. They cover some of the main themes of the series, many of

which, while set in an imaginary world, deal with universal issues of growing up that are

familiar to all children. You will also find references to key moments on pottermore.com,

where you can discover more about the world of Harry Potter. These guides are aimed at

stimulating lively discussion and encouraging close engagement with books and reading.

We hope you will use the ideas in this guide as a basis for educational and enjoyable work –

and we think your group will be glad you did!

http://www.harrypotterforteachers.com/

https://www.pottermore.com


DISCUSSION GUIDE


INTRODUCTION TO HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS

Harry escapes from a dismal summer with his relatives when

Ron Weasley and his twin brothers, George and Fred, fly their

father’s bewitched Ford Anglia to the Dursleys’ and take Harry

back to their home, The Burrow. When Harry and Ron are

unable to get through the barrier at platform nine and three-

quarters, they use the magic car to fly them to school. Crashing

into the Whomping Willow in the school grounds, they start

the term in trouble for breaking school rules.

Soon Harry, Ron and Hermione become involved in larger

problems. Harry hears a sinister voice in the corridors while

students, especially those with Muggle blood, are being attacked. Writing on a wall

declares that the Chamber of Secrets has been opened and the heir of Slytherin is

responsible for the attacks. Hermione is rendered Petrified, but not before she is able to

leave clues to help Harry and Ron find the hidden chamber.

A mysterious diary, tales about past troubles at Hogwarts involving Hagrid

and another student named Tom Riddle, a giant spider in the

Forbidden Forest, and the disappearance of Ron’s younger

sister Ginny all lead to a stunning climax. Harry and

Ron discover the entrance to the Chamber of

Secrets, but Harry alone must rescue Ginny

and confront the evil force that lurks

there.



DISCUSSION GUIDE


DISCUSSION POINTS FOR HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS

1. Dobby the house-elf appears in Harry’s bedroom in Privet Drive in Chapter 2,

‘Dobby’s Warning’, and tries to stop him returning to Hogwarts. Why? What is

Dobby’s role in this story? Discuss the humorous aspects of his nature too.

2. Should Ron and Harry have taken the car to Hogwarts in Chapter 5, ‘The

Whomping Willow’? Was there no other way they could have got back to school?

3. Why is it important for students to know the legends, as well as the history, of

Hogwarts? Discuss Hermione’s question to Professor Binns: ‘Please, sir, don’t

legends always have a basis in fact?’ (Chapter 9, ‘The Writing on the Wall’, p. 158)

How does knowing the history of the founding of Hogwarts help the students

understand the present?

4. What does Hermione do in this book that seems out of character

for her? Why is she willing to risk getting caught breaking

the rules? What strengths does she contribute

to solving the mystery of the Chamber of

Secrets?

5. When Draco conjures a snake

in Chapter 11, ‘The Duelling

UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT

Pottermore Tie-In: Moment 1, Chapter 2. Go to www.pottermore.com




DISCUSSION GUIDE



Club’, Harry is revealed as a Parselmouth. Why do you think Harry is able to

understand and speak Parseltongue? Why doesn’t he know when he is speaking

this language?

6. When they are in Dumbledore’s office in Chapter 12, ‘The Polyjuice Potion’, and

Dumbledore asks Harry if he wants to tell him anything, Harry says no, even

though many things are bothering him. Would you have told the Headmaster

your concerns and asked for his advice? Why is Harry reluctant to ask for help?

7. Who is Tom Riddle? Why did he keep a diary? How is he able to make Ginny

Weasley do what he wants her to do?

8. When Lucius Malfoy announces Dumbledore’s suspension as Headmaster in

Chapter 14, ‘Cornelius Fudge’, Dumbledore replies: ‘You will find that I will only

truly have left this school when none here are loyal to me. You will also

find that help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for

it.’ (p. 279) What does he mean by these two sentences?

9. Aragog is a fearsome spider but Harry and Ron

discover in Chapter 15 that Hagrid has

made a friend of this monster. What

did Hagrid do to make Aragog so

faithful to him?




DISCUSSION GUIDE



10. In the first book we learned that both Harry’s and Voldemort’s wands each

contain a phoenix feather from the same bird. What further connections

between Harry and Voldemort do we learn about in Harry Potter and the Chamber

of Secrets? What are the important differences between Harry and Riddle?

IN DEPTH

1. NEW CHARACTERS

Rowling introduces new characters in this second book and Gilderoy Lockhart is

one of them. Why do most of the teachers dislike him? Why is losing his memory

a fitting punishment for Lockhart? His character is the source of many comic

moments in this book. How does he add humour to the book? Discuss some of the

scenes which seem particularly funny to you.

Which of the other new characters introduced are the most interesting and the

most entertaining? How are they introduced and how quickly do readers

get a sense of their characteristics? Does the name fit the character?

2. DECISION-MAKING

Dumbledore tells Harry, ‘It is our choices, Harry,

that show what we truly are, far more than

our abilities.’ (Chapter 18, ‘Dobby’s

Reward’, p. 352) Do you agree?

Discuss some of the choices that

Harry and his friends have faced in



DISCUSSION GUIDE



this book. What do these things show about them as characters? Can you think of

any examples where you have had to make important decisions in your life? What

do you think those decisions reveal about your character?

3. LEGENDARY CREATURES

The Basilisk and the phoenix are two legendary creatures that appear in this story.

What do we learn about each of them? What is the significance of each of them in

the plot of this second book? For example, why is Fawkes the phoenix so important

to Dumbledore; what does the name ‘Fawkes’ refer to?

4. SECRETS

Secrets are a recurring theme in this book and in the entire series. Ginny uses Tom

Riddle’s diary to write down her secrets and he gains power over her and makes

her open the Chamber of Secrets. What other secrets are revealed in this novel?

Are all secrets as dangerous as Ginny’s prove to be? Have you ever kept a secret?

Did it have a positive or negative effect on your situation?



DISCUSSION GUIDE


ACTIVITY AND PROJECT IDEAS

WORD PLAYOBJECTIVE

To understand the power of wordplay and invented language in reading and writing

UK CURRICULUM AREAS

English

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Practise spelling and defining words and develop better awareness of the creative power

of language in storytelling

START POINT

Discuss the incredibly inventive use of language in the Harry Potter books. All seven

stories feature dozens of evocative newly created words, and there are several examples

of invented languages – like Parseltongue in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. What

do you think is the role of these words and languages? How do they reinforce the sense

of other-worldliness in the stories? Are they fun to read?

MAIN ACTIVITY

Divide the lesson into these two short strands, all revolving around the

creative use of language.

REAL WORD SPELLINGS AND MEANINGS Choose five real but uncommon words from

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and

ask children to spell and write a short

real-world definition for each. Choose



DISCUSSION GUIDE



whichever words you like, or ask the children to suggest their own, but you could try

the following: petrified, mandrake, phoenix, basilisk and heir. After spelling the words,

and if they are finding definitions tricky, dictionaries can be used.

INVENTED WORDS Discuss some of the made-up words in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and how

J.K. Rowling might have invented them. Many are recognisably close to real words, or

amalgamations of two words, which therefore partly convey their meanings. Where

might ‘Muggles’ have come from, and what does the word suggest to children in

their imaginations? What about ‘Mudbloods’, ‘Bludger’, ‘Quidditch’, ‘Polyjuice’ and

‘Whomping Willow’? Next challenge children to invent three words each of their own,

for an imaginary object or character that might fit into their own story.

WRAP-UP

Widen the discussion to other books that feature made-up language. Can children

name other examples of authors who invent words? Mention Roald Dahl and

J.R.R. Tolkien if they need hints. Should this kind of made-up language appear in

dictionaries? Are there any words from the Harry Potter series that your group

would add to the Oxford English Dictionary?

1. GUESS THE CHARACTER

Divide children into small groups and

ask them each to choose a character

from Harry Potter and the Chamber

FOUR MORE ACTIVITIES



DISCUSSION GUIDE



of Secrets. The idea of the game is for the group to guess the character each child

is thinking of in turn by asking up to ten ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ questions. The child who is

asked the most questions before the group works out the character wins.

2. ENCHANTED OBJECTS

In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, readers learn that Ron Weasley’s dad

secretly owns an enchanted Muggle car that can fly! Ask your group if they could

enchant an everyday object to give it a special ability or feature, what would they

choose? Ask them to write a short essay identifying the object they would like

to enchant, what magical properties they would bestow upon it, and what might

happen as a result!

3. DRAW A BASILISK

Based on the descriptions in the book, get children to draw their vision of the

Basilisk creature. Be as imaginative as possible about its features. Compare and

contrast the drawings that children produce.

4. TRANSFORM YOURSELF

In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Harry, Ron and Hermione

drink Polyjuice Potion to transform into somebody else. In the real

world if you could become anyone else for a few hours, who

would you become? What would you do? Where

would you go? Write a short essay about the

experience.


discussion guide - bloomsbury publishing

Documents