Philosopher's Stone joins A-Levels set text reading
The Daily Mail is reporting this evening that Philosopher's Stone, the first book in the Potter series, is now a choice for A-Levels in the United Kingdom. For those who don't know, A-Levels are academic placement tests similar to the SATs taken in the United States.Pupils taking the English language and literature A-level next year will study Rowling's first Potter volume – the 12th best-selling book of all time and the basis for a Hollywood film – along with one other book for the module Themes in Language and Literature.
They will have to write a 1,200 to 1,500-word piece of coursework comparing the "approaches" of J.K. Rowling and the other writer.
Examiners will mark students on how they relate story lines and the activities of Harry Potter and his friends to the context of the times.
And students will have to show an understanding of J.K. Rowling's use of language, described recently as gibberish by a High Court judge. They will also have to write their own 500 to 800-word story inspired by the book.
To read more, including quotes from critics who believe that this just following today's pop culture. click here. Thanks to Sean for the tip!
Posted by Andrew on Apr 26th |
116 Comments
Visitor Comments
Today in english we got a prject we have to do on our favorite book and I asked ym teacher Ms. K acutally my friend kelly asked her what reading level Harry Potter is on and my teacher said it was on a 2nd grade reading level!! And me being well me starts saying it wasn't but apparently its simply worded and isnt complex!! AH What reading level is it on anyway.. Does anyone know. And if you do can you post proof (like a website URL) So i can email it to her and rub it in her face!
so wait a minute...... kids have to read harry potter and write an essay about it and a peice of fan fiction for an SAT- equivalant test?! now that, my friends, is what i call "LUCKY"!
omg....soooo unfair im a college student and i wis i had tht... i totally wouldve aced it... grrrrr
That's not fair... why can't we have that in America.... I wish i was in England. That would be an easy A+ for me and everyone esle that is obessessed with HP. IT'S NOT FAIR>>>>!!!!!!!
Harry Potter (and especially the first book) should definitely not be read by A Level students who I'd assume would be 16 or 17. Philosopher's Stone is a book aimed at 11-12 year olds, no matter how many older folks like it (myself included) and does not have the depth needed for a book studied at that level; I mean, what happened to having to read Conrad and Shakespeare and Bronte and other challenging things for advanced classes? I'd say this isn't exactly good for teaching kids literary criticism. And to those who protest that nobody could ever find Harry Potter boring like that stuffy old crap by old British people (like say, Shakespeare), note that many people do find Harry Potter boring, and that in 15th century England, Shakespeare's plays were performed to a rowdy crowd who might throw lots of lovely things at you if they were not entertained- Shakespeare's plays were darn entertaining for them (and for me). In 500 or even 200 years, if Harry Potter is still read, it is likely that kids will be consistently complaining about having to read the series.
Terrible choice imo. Harry Potter is one of the greatest stories ever told. For me that's hands down, but it doesn't belong with Dickens, Austin, the Bronte sisters, Shelley and the like. I know for a fact my old teacher would have refused to teach it. I love Harry Potter, but the themes are so open and direct. The classics are on a completely different intellectual level. Just as Lord of the Rings has never been acceptable test material, so do I believe that Harry Potter should stay in the strictly fantasy realm as well.
This is awful. The series is amazing, and I love it to bits and pieces, but forcing them on 17-18 year olds is just not on. The same reason most of my American counterparts hate 'To Kill A Mockingbird': Because they're forced to read it. I on the other hand, find it very interesting. Also, like someone said above me, Harry Potter is great literary work, but it's not on the same level of mastery as Shakespeare or Dickens. To understand those masterpieces requires an understanding of English that Harry Potter cannot provide, as great as it is. Looks to me like they're trying to dilute the courses.... again.
I'm doing the As next year. Why can't I have that chance?! -whine-
Yes! I'm taking English Lit & Lang next year as one of my A-Levels!! This is seriously cool news=D WooHoo!!!
i'll be picking A Levels this year so i'll be picking english now even though i don't like it. ha!!
gsdoautferojdsklfj why cant we do that on the SATs?? maybe i woulnt have completely FAILED my essay portion.
Hey Everyone Harry Potter day is may 23 so show your Support by wearing your Harry Potter gear tell a friend
Wow... this is only just in the Daily Mail?? I studied the Philosopher's Stone for A Level English four years ago!! Wow... still can't read that book without thinking about linguistic change and how the attitudes and values are represented through the characters
Huh. When I did my A Levels, the English Lang/Lit (you could do them as separate subjects or both combined) class had to study PS. It made me wish I'd taken the Lang/Lit option instead of just Lang. And now this makes me want to take English Lit because then I'd have an actual reason to write fanfiction ;) I would so get an A!
That is awesome! I wish I was taking A Level instead of CAPE. =(
Harry Potter's been on the list for over a year. Our school only does lang & lit, but I don't really want to study Harry Potter - I think I know it pretty well already...
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