Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
by J.K. Rowling
Grades 5-8; Genre - Fantasy; GRL V; AR pts: 14.0
When Harry and his best friends go back for their third year at Hogwarts, an escaped mass murderer is on the loose, and the sinister prison guards of Azkaban have been called in to guard the school. The plot contains profanity.
Comprehension Questions
Chapter 1
- Find the simile on page five that the author
used to describe how the Dursleys treated Harry now that he’s back home with
them again. “back to being treated
like a dog that had rolled in something smelly” - How was Harry spending his birthday? Doing
chores and in his room, making no noise and pretending he doesn’t exist
p.6 - How did Dudley get Harry in trouble? He
taunted him about not getting any cards on his birthday and asked if he had any
friends at his school p.9
Chapter 2
- Describe Dobby and the message he gave to
Harry. Small creature with bat-like ears and bulging green eyes the size of
tennis balls, a house elf; he warned Harry not to go back to Hogwarts because
he’ll be in mortal danger p.12 - Why did Dobby come to warn him? Because Harry
escaped Lord Voldemort twice, Dobby thinks Harry’s too great and too good to
lose p.16 - What did Uncle Vernon do to punish Harry for
ruining his deal and for not telling them that he couldn’t use magic outside of
school? Put bars on his windows, locked him in his room, put food through a
cat door, only let him out in the morning and evening for the bathroom, and
told Harry he was never going back to school p.21
Chapter 3
- How did Harry become free from his room and the
Durleys? Ron and his older twin brothers came to find out why Harry hadn’t
written him all summer and broke him out of his room, ripping the bars from his
window with their flying car p.25 - Why did they think Draco Malfoy could have sent
the house elf to Harry? It wouldn’t surprise them if Draco wanted to stop
Harry from going to school p.28 - What softened Mrs. Weasley’s anger when the boys
arrived home with Harry? George told her the Dursleys were starving Harry
p.34 - How did the boys get rid of the gnomes? They
twirled them in the air to make them dizzy, then threw them over the wall p.37
Chapter 4
- Who was the author of the majority of the books
Harry needed to purchase for his school year? Gilderoy Lockhart p.44 - Where did Harry land when using the Floo powder
and who did he see? In a wizard’s shop on Knockturn Alley; Draco Malfoy and
his father selling illegal items p.49 - Who did Harry see in Knockturn Alley? Hagrid
p.54 - Who’s the new Defense Against the Dark Arts
teacher at Hogwarts? Gilderoy Lockhart p.60
Chapter 5
- When Ron and Harry missed the train, how did
they get to Hagwarts? Mr. Weasley’s flying car p.69 - What attacked the car after the boys crashed? The
tree they hit into p.75 - What is Ron’s and Harry’s consequence for being
seen in the flying car and crashing into the Whomping Willow? They had to
miss the feast and detention p.81 - How did the other boys treat Ron and Harry after
learning about the flying car? They cheered them on like they’d just won a marathon
p.84
Chapter 6
- Explain what type of letter Ron received. It’s
called a Howler and is a punishment letter; when you open it, the messenger is
yelling at you and after the message is given, it burns up p.87 - What did Colin and Harry have in common? They
both came from muggle homes and didn’t know how they could do the odd things
they did. Hogwarts sent a letter to them both inviting them to wizardry school
p.96 - What does Professor Lockhart think Harry’s doing
when he arrives in a flying car and learns Colin wants a photo with him? Thinks
he’s trying to publicize himself p.98 - What did Ron and Harry think about Professor
Lockhart as he ran out of the room and left the three friends to take care of
the pixies? That he doesn’t know what he’s doing p.103
Chapter 7
- Why was Wood so determined to win the Quidditch
Cup this year? Because they lost it last year since Harry was in the
hospital and they were short a player p.109 - Why did the kids go to Hagrid’s home? They
needed help; because of Ron’s broken wand, he accidentally cast a slug spell on
himself p.113 - Why were Hagrid’s pumpkins so large? He’d
been putting an engorgement spell on them p.118 - What did Harry hear while in detention with
Professor Lockhart and who do you think said it? “Come…come to me…Let me rip
you…Let me tear you…Let me kill you…; listen to your child’s answers p.120
Chapter 8
- Why was Harry in Mr. Filch’s office and what did
he read while waiting for Mr. Filch? He was in trouble for wearing his muddy
and dripping wet robes into the building; a letter on Kwikspell to learn magic
p.126 - Why does Hermione avoid the girls’ bathroom on
the first floor? A ghost named Moaning Myrtle haunts one of the toilets,
throws tantrums and causes the bathroom to flood p.132 - What did the kids find as Harry listened to the
voice and climbed the stairs? Writing on the wall that said, “the Chamber of
Secrets has been opened, enemies of the heir, beware,” and Mrs. Norris, the
cat, looking dead, hanging by its tail p.138
Chapter 9
- After analyzing the cat, what conclusion did
Dumbledore come to? It’s not dead, but is petrified p.142 - Explain what a Squib is. It’s a person born
into a wizarding family, but they themselves don’t have any magic powers p.145 - How did Professor Binns feel about the
Chamber of Secrets? That it’s a myth and that there’s no truth to it p.152 - What’s Hermione’s idea of getting into Slytherin
to question Draco Malfoy? Use the Polyjuice Potion to change their
appearance to look like Draco’s friends p.159
Chapter 10
- What was the problem with the Bludger during the
Quidditch match? Instead of going toward all players, it only went after
Harry p.168 - How did Harry win the game for Gryffindor? He
got the snitch p.171 - Who made the Bludger focus on Harry during the
match and why? Dobby; so Harry would get hurt and be sent home p.177 - What happened to Colin Creevey? He was
petrified on his way to visit Harry p.179
Chapter 11
- Why did the students trade talismans,
amulets, and other protective devices? To protect themselves from the
creature in the Chamber of Secrets p.185 - What distraction did Harry cause to help
Hermione sneak into Snape’s office? Lit a firework to land in a cauldron; Snape
had to help those that got hurt p.187 - What did Harry do to stop the snake from
attacking Justin? Told the snake to “leave him alone” p.194 - What did Harry trip over in the dark passage? Justin
and Nearly Headless Nick who were both petrified p.202
Chapter 12
- Why was Harry happy most people were leaving
for the Christmas holiday? He was tired of people skirting around him in the
corridors and from hearing their hissing, pointing, and muttering p.209 - How were Ron and Harry supposed to get a bit
of Crabbe and Goyle, as well as keep them out of the way while they talked
Malfoy? Hermione filled two chocolate cakes with a sleeping potion p.213 - What did the boys learn when they interrogated Malfoy?
That Malfoy didn’t do it and where his father’s hidden chamber was p.222 - What happened to Hermione and why couldn’t she
go with the boys to the Slytherin common room? Her potion turned her into a
cat p.225
Chapter 13
- Why was Moaning Myrtle so upset when Harry
and Ron came into talk to her? Someone had thrown a book at her p.230 - What was the book and who did it belong to? A
journal; Tom M. Riddle p.231 - What was odd about the journal? There wasn’t
any writing in it. When Harry wrote in it, the ink disappeared, but reappeared onto
the pages as Tom wrote back to him p.239 - What did Harry learn after following Tom Riddle
in the book? That Tom turned in Hagrid for opening the Chamber of Secrets 50
years before p.245
Chapter 14
- Why doesn’t Harry want to report the stolen
journal? He didn’t want to expose Hagrid being expelled as a youth p.254 - Why was Harry more worried about what the voice
said this time? He was worried someone would die p.255 - Why was the Quidditch cup match cancelled? Two
students had been petrified, one of them being Hermione p.257 - What message did Dumbledore and Hagrid give the
boys before they were accompanied off the school property? That Hogwarts
will help anyone who comes asking for it; to follow the spiders and to feed
Fang p.264
Chapter 15
- What made Ernie apologize to Harry? He
realized Harry would never hurt Hermione p.268 - Where did the spiders lead Harry and Ron? Into
the Forbidden Forest, p,272 - What did Harry and Ron find in the forest that
had been lost? Ron’s family’s car p.274 - What saved Harry, Ron and Fang after Aragog was
finished talking to them? Ron’s car p.279
Chapter 16
- Why did Harry want to speak with Moaning Myrtle?
She might be the child that was killed the first time the Chamber of Secrets
was opened p.287 - What did Harry see in Hermione’s hand? A
paper torn out of an old book about a basilisk p.290 - Why do you think it was good that Harry and Ron
found the paper before going to talk to Moaning Myrtle? They now knew what
the monster was and how to get to it p.292 - How did Harry get the sink to open? By saying
“open up” in Parseltongue p.300
Chapter 17
- Who did Harry see in the Chamber of Secrets? Ginny
and Tom Riddle who is Lord Voldemort p.307 - Who opened the Chamber of Secrets and how? Ginny
Weasley; Tom Riddle had her in his power p.310 - How did Fawkes and the Sorting Hat help Harry
defeat the basilisk and Tom? The phoenix poked out the basilisk’s eyes, the Sorting
Hat gave Harry a sword to pierce the basilisk, the phoenix healed Harry with his
tears, Fawkes dropped the diary in Harry’s lap and healed Harry p.319 - How did the children and Lockhart get back up to
the bathroom? They all held onto each other and Fawkes flew/lifted them
p.325
Chapter 18
- Why did the phoenix come to help Harry? He
showed loyalty to Dumbledore p.332 - Why can Harry speak Parseltongue? Voldemort
transferred some of his own power into Harry the night he gave him the scar
p.333 - What did Harry do to show he belongs in the
Gryffindor House? He chose to be there and wielded the sword from Godric
Gryffindor p.333 - How did Harry free Dobby? Harry put the diary
in his sock and gave it to Lucius Malfoy, Malfoy threw the sock and Dobby
caught it p.338