Lesson Plans The Hobbit

As the course progresses, the student should be able to: To help you and your students meet these objectives, we have furnished each unit with eight elements: The heart of any given unit resides in the discussion topics and the suggested activities. In each case, the first several topics and projects connect most directly to the learning goals. The remaining ideas partake more of enrichment, but feel free to mix and match these materials to fit your specific curriculum needs.

Beyond the preliminary quizzes, the primary evaluation tool is the student's own writing. Each class member should keep a daily journal, either in a notebook or on-line, to record questions about the readings, reactions to the discussions, and responses to the activities. Introduction to the novel. Share a little bit about the background of the novel. Without this story there would not be the fanciful stories that we have today.

Also connect this to the 'Lord of the Rings' movies that students are most likely familiar with.

For students who like watching films that are based off of novels let them know that this novel is being adapted into a live-action film version and that we might take some time to watch portions of the cartoon version from Explain to students the style that is used by Tolkien in his writing. The next Wednesday Gandalf returns for tea, bringing with him a party of thirteen dwarves led by Thorin Oakenshield.

How many dwarves come to tea? What does Thorin wear to distinguish himself from the other dwarves? What two things does Gandalf give Thorin? How did the dwarves lose their treasure and kingdom? The possibilities include rabbit , hobby, Babbit, habit, and hob. When you finish the book, ask yourself if he still reminds you of one. What is an adventure? Is it something that happens, or is it the way we react to what happens? Can we live without adventures? Return to these questions as the book progresses. Explain all the meanings of good morning pp. What causes his Baggins side to reemerge pp.

Even this early in the book, we can see some of the characteristics of dwarves, wizards, and dragons. Begin generating a list of the characteristics—both physical and character traits—of each of the magical creatures in The Hobbit. Entering a Fantasy World A fantasy novel must offer two things: What readers find attractive is a matter of personal taste, but they are likely to discard a fantasy as irrelevant unless they can find a common perspective from which to assess the attractiveness. In general, these common perspectives are established in one of three ways: American teenagers will not automatically identify with a fussy English country squire like Bilbo, so the success of The Hobbit depends on a tension between familiar and exotic things, which must be established in the first few pages.

But the next paragraphs belie this initial reaction. Hobbits love comfort in much the same way we do: By the fourth paragraph hobbits seem normal, and other folk—dwarves, fairies, and Big People—are strange. We share not only his sense of wonder, but also the values that make him love his home. Initially things go well, but on the first rainy night they seek shelter and blunder into three trolls.

Bilbo and the dwarves are captured by the trolls, but Gandalf outwits them and they turn to stone at daybreak. Do you think they are fair terms? How does Bilbo know that the three people are trolls? How is Bilbo caught? How does Gandalf rescue Bilbo and the dwarves? Why is it important that Gandalf is not present when the expedition meets the trolls? Myths, legends, and folktales often reflect the values of a given culture.

• Stevie Ray Vaughan Songbook: Guitar Play-Along Volume 49!
• The Hobbit (Movie Tie-in Edition) Teacher’s Guide.
• Murder chez Proust: A Mystery.
• Tolkien's Middle-earth: Lesson Plans for Secondary School Educators.

At this point in the story, what can you infer about the character traits that Tolkien considers positive? What character traits are viewed in a negative light? What is more important at this point: Like most quest heroes, Bilbo begins the story ignorant and untried, and he undergoes a series of preliminary adventures, which help him in two ways. First, they give him the opportunity to learn about the world and the extent and proper use of his own powers. Second, they bring him the friends and talismans that he will need to prevail in his greatest adventure: Because in a well-constructed quest story the development of wisdom and self-restraint is equally as important as the growth of physical prowess, the quest story as Bettelheim points out in The Uses of Enchantment is often concerned with maturation, and the lessons it teaches are those of adulthood.

The specific moral of an individual quest story can usually be found by examining two areas: In part this is because he accepts the fact that he is too small to become a warrior, but more importantly it is because he deplores violence and lacks ambition for power.

www.newyorkethnicfood.com | The Hobbit

Who are the enemies of the elves? What values are important to the elves? Elrond plays a significant role in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. How does the way that Tolkien introduces him help set up his importance in later stories? Research the tradition of naming weapons in classical myths and legends. Why might it be significant for Tolkien to have given the elves named swords?

What message do you think is conveyed by the names given to the swords? There Gandalf rescues them and slays the Great Goblin, but as they flee from the goblins, Bilbo is knocked unconscious. What do goblins usually do with their prisoners? Why do you think he does not give specific details about their appearance? Discuss what you think goblins look like, and explain which details in the book give you that idea. Discuss the role that music plays in the development of the different magical beings.

Compare the songs sung by the dwarves pp. How do the songs differ in tone, content, and structure? What do the tone, content, and structure of their songs reveal about the creatures that sing them? Consider the following quote: Can you take this statement seriously? What commentary is he making about the use of military technology? He finds a ring and puts it in his pocket. Then he encounters Gollum, a loathsome but pathetic creature. They play a riddle-game to determine if Gollum will show Bilbo the way out or eat him instead. Bilbo wins the contest, but Gollum then realizes that Bilbo has his ring, which confers invisibility.

Bilbo follows Gollum to the surface and evades the goblins guarding the gate. Why is it good that Bilbo lost his matches? How does Gollum guess that Bilbo has his ring? How do the goblins know that someone is at the gate? Which of the dwarves is the most surprised to see Bilbo? Can you call Gollum evil? Discuss the concept that Gollum is the negative side of Bilbo, with which Bilbo must come to terms before he can achieve his identity. What effect did the ring seem to have on Gollum? How did the loss of the ring affect him?

If so, you may choose to discuss how the events of this chapter foreshadow the role the ring eventually plays. What skills does Bilbo show in dealing with Gollum? Should Gollum be considered a sympathetic character? First, he finds the ring, his second and greatest talisman. Slowly he shakes off his initial self-pity and despair, regains his common sense which includes realizing that his customary means of self-comfort, such as smoking, are inappropriate for this situation , and finally is comforted by the presence of his first talisman, the elvish sword.

In Chapter 4, Bilbo is as imprudent as the dwarves and once more must be rescued by Gandalf and protected by the swords Beater and Biter; in Chapter 8, he is never captured, rescues the dwarves single-handedly, and names his own sword Sting. His decision to go down the tunnel the third time p. These varied experiences prepare Bilbo to deal with increasingly complex moral issues. West of the mountains, Bilbo encounters beings that are purely good Elrond or purely evil goblins and trolls.

East of the mountains, the characters are more complicated: Beorn is good but brutish, and the Elvenking is good but overly harsh. The larger plot structure of The Hobbit is, much like traditional fantasy, cyclical. As the subtitle There and Back Again suggests, the most common structure for a developmental fantasy is for the hero to begin at home, develop skills during the course of a journey, fulfill his quest, and return home with his understanding increased by his adventures.

Bilbo and his group flee down the mountainside but are overtaken at night by goblins and Wargs and trapped in five fir trees in a clearing. The goblins set fire to the trees, but the Eagles of the Misty Mountains rescue the expedition, although as usual Bilbo is almost left behind. What is the proverb that Bilbo invents? Why does the Lord of the Eagles notice the expedition? If not, who is? Explain what might motivate his actions. Would they try to rescue him? What does this suggest about the character traits of dwarves? Do you consider this lying? What would you have done in the same situation?

What do you think might have happened if he had told them about the ring? At this point in the story, how much of an asset does Gandalf seem to be? Do his actions seem consistent with the way you think wizards operate? Are his powers limited, or is he intentionally refraining from using them? From there the expedition heads to the house of Beorn, a skin-changer fierce toward his enemies but gentle with animals. At the forest-gate, Gandalf leaves the expedition.

What does Beorn eat p. How does Gandalf get Beorn to shelter thirteen dwarves? Do you think this advice will be followed? While both hosts have to be cajoled into accepting the arrival of the travelling party, it is for very different reasons. What are his virtues?

The Hobbit

Why is he suspicious of strangers? What about him seems vicious? In what ways is he gentle? How does Bilbo come to understand him? Compare the descriptions of Beorn and his house with various classic versions of the story of Beauty and the Beast. How is Beorn similar to this archetype? How is he different? Why is it necessary to the story that Gandalf leave the expedition? The expedition runs low on food, water, and hope.

About the Book

Bombur falls into the enchanted stream and sleeps for four days. When Balin sees firelight off the path, the dwarves and Bilbo go toward it. They are scattered when they interrupt the elven feast. Giant spiders capture the dwarves. Bilbo rescues them and slays many spiders, but Thorin is captured by the Wood-elves. What does Bombur dream of? What does Bilbo name his sword? How does Bilbo rescue the dwarves?

Do you think the forest is evil? Discuss the enchanted stream. Does it remind you of objects in other myths, legends, or folktales? Why are they to be avoided? Why do characters tend to fall victim to the objects in spite of being warned against them?

• True Freedom: Spinozas Practical Philosophy.
• Dolphins - Learn about Dolphins with amazing photos (Curious Kids Press Book 3)!
• Wahrnehmungsförderung nach Félicié Affolter aus heilpädagogischer Sicht (German Edition);
• Washington, D.C. (Geschichten aus dem Liebesleben 8) (German Edition).
• Custom Reading Lists.
• The Hobbit | Teaching Ideas;
• Lesson Plans | Hobbit.

What symbolic purpose do you think these sorts of enchanted objects might serve? After Gandalf leaves, who becomes the leader of the expedition?