by: Brian Fong

Q. I think that Harry Potter provides an excellent learning opportunity for my kids. How can I take advantage of his popularity to teach my children something?

A. You're on the right track here I think. A Harry Potter quiz would be an outstanding vehicle to teach your children logic. You don't necessarily have to focus on particular scenes from any of the books or movies, you can use a Harry Potter quiz as a foothold into a wider learning experience.

For example, you could devise a Harry Potter quiz that sets up a scenario where Harry Potter is faced with a problem that needs to be solved. He can use 1/3 magic, 1/3 math, and 1/3 logic to solve the problem.

For example: You could create a Harry Potter quiz question that says:

"Harry Potter is lost in the Forbidden Forrest. He has forgotten his magic wand and his spell book. All he has is his watch, a telescope, and one spell that lets him understand what animals are saying but doesn't let them understand him. Help Harry Potter get back to Hogwarts."

Let me just say that I'm not sure that this particular Harry potter quiz question can even be answered. It's your job to write the quiz, I'm only here to give you ideas.

What you want to make sure is that you don't just go for the easy answer and create a Harry Potter trivia quiz. That won't do anything for your goal of creating a Harry Potter quiz that will teach your children something. Be creative and imaginative. The results of a well-crafted Harry Potter quiz will be magical if you do it right.