From the pages of Potter

NORFOLK, Va. â€”  When the students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry fly off on broomsticks, most Harry Potter fans think “magic.â€� Charlene Haviland thinks “aerodynamics.â€�

And when Professor Albus Dumbledore snaps his fingers to turn on the lights, the middle school teacher gets excited -- at the prospect of explaining how a remote control works.

Haviland will get her chance this fall, when she teaches an after-school remedial program for eighth-graders that will combine reading with the study of science in the Harry Potter books. She will use one book per quarter, so the students won’t get to the latest -- the sixth in the series, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,� which is due out July 16.

The program at the urban school is being funded by an $82,000 American Honda Foundation grant awarded to Haviland and George Plitnik, a physics professor at Frostburg State University in Maryland.

Haviland sought the grant, which includes enough money for lab equipment, after she was unable to find a model for a middle-school class of this type. She asked for Plitnik’s help because he was familiar with the topic.

He has taught the science in the Harry Potter books for two years, first as a small honors class and last school year as a course that attracted 90 students in both the fall and spring semesters.

“There’s a lot of science that looks like magic,� said Plitnik, who has been known to show up for class in a wizard’s costume.

With the after-school science program, Haviland, 35, has an additional challenge: improving her students’ reading and writing scores on state standardized tests. She chose the Harry Potter books because they have made page turners of children who don’t usually like to read.

“Find some books that they like to read,� she said. “And say, ‘Do you think this could actually happen in the real world? Well, here it is.’ �

For a discussion on the flying broomsticks used in the game of Quidditch, Haviland said, “We can even go into Bernoulli’s principle and explore how we can take that from flying on a broom to ... how airplanes work ... and why some fly better than others.�

While she initially wanted to use only Harry Potter, Haviland broadened the program to include other books in hopes of avoiding criticism from conservative Christian groups and others that believe J.K. Rowling’s series promotes sorcery.