J. R. R. Tolkien
Lesson plans for The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings

| Biography and Background | | The Hobbit | | Lord of the Rings |

Biography and Background

Alphabet Soup: Exploring the World's Different Alphabets
This lesson plan asks students to read a New York Times article about a man who converts the world's alphabets to computer Unicode. After reading it, students research the alphabets of the world.

Sarehole as the inspiration for the Shire in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings
As a child, Tolkien lived in Sarehole. Photo and additional information.

J. R. R. Tolkien
The author's biography at Wikipedia.

The Tolkien Society Education Page
Teaching ideas. This page has a few ideas and is interested in hearing yours.

Waving His Wand at Beowulf
This article from the New York Times explores the controversy behind J. R. R. Tolkien's translation of the epic.

The Hobbit

Click here to go to the updated page for these lesson plans.

Lord of the Rings

Character and Society in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings
Focus on characters by creating a new hobbit, dwarf, or elf or by choosing an existing character an working through a detailed analysis.

Lord of the Rings Word Search
An online, interactive word search for character names. A good activity for elementary students.

Screen Play
In this standards-based lesson, "students examine The New York Times' review of the film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's 'The Lord of the Rings' as a starting point for learning about the basic elements of scriptwriting. They then act as scriptwriters to adapt scenes from literature into scripts, following a conventional screenplay style and format" (from the site)."

The Sorcerers Shown: Comparing Similar Character Genres in Literature and Film
Designed for grades 6-12, this lesson draws heavily from U. S. popular culture. Students read an article from the New York Times (available at the site) and analyze the relative strengths of various characters.

Teacher's Guide for The Lord of the Rings
Separate guides for The Fellowship of the Ring , The Two Towers , and The Return of the King .