The Lord of the Rings

I´m a teacher of English in a secondary school in Spain. I try to make my students read books in English, but they are not fluent enough to read original versions, they have to read adaptations. However, I use fragments of novels both to introduce them to "real literature" and as a tool to improve writing or oral skills.
So, for example, I used a fragment of "The Lord of the Rings" to show how to make descriptions...they were really interested because the films were so popular at that moment.
You can listen to the recording of the text made by my colleague and friend Jenny Elliot.

ACTIVITY:
The Lord of the Rings

Suddenly as they were talking a single clear bell rang out.” That is the warning bell for the Council of Elrond,”cried Gandalf.”Come along now! Both you and Bilbo are wanted.”
Frodo and Bilbo followed the wizard quickly along the winding path back to the house; behind them, uninvited and for the moment forgotten, trotted Sam.
Gandalf led them to the porch where Frodo had found his friends the evening before. The light of the clear autumn morning was now glowing in the valley. The noise of bubbling waters came up from the foaming river-bed. Birds were singing, and a wholesome peace lay on the land. To Frodo his dangerous flight, and the rumours of the darkness growing in the world outside, already seemed only the memories of a troubled dream; but the faces that were turned to meet them as they entered were grave.
Elrond was there, and several others were seated in silence about him. Frodo saw Glorfindel and Glóin; and in a corner alone Strider was sitting, clad in his old travel-worn clothes again. Elrond drew Frodo to a seat by his side, and presented him to the company, saying:
“Here, my friends, is the hobbit, Frodo son of Drogo. Few have ever come hither through greater peril or on an errand more urgent.”
He then pointed out and named those whom Frodo had not met before. There was a younger dwarf at Glóin´s side: his son Gimli. Beside Glorfindel there were several other counselors of Elrond´s household, of whom Erestor was the chief; and with him was Galdor, an Elf from the Grey Havens who had come on an errand from Círdan the Shipwright. There was also a strange Elf clad in green and brown, Legolas, a messenger from his father, Thranduil, the King of the Elves of Northern Mirkwood. And seated a little apart was a tall man with a fair and noble face, dark-haired and grey-eyed, proud and stern of glance.
He was cloaked and booted as if for a journey on horseback; and indeed though his garments were rich, and his cloak was lined with fur, they were stained with long travel. He had a collar of silver in which a single white stone was set; his locks were shorn about his shoulders. On a baldric he wore a great horn tipped with silver that now was laid upon his knees. He gazed at Frodo and Bilbo with sudden wonder.
“Here,” said Elrond, turning to Gandalf, ”is Boromir, a man from the South. He arrived in the grey morning, and seeks for counsel. I have bidden him to be present, for here his questions will be answered.”

(A fragment of The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien)


BEFORE READING THE TEXT

1-ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

A-Have you read the book?
B-Have you seen any of the films based on the book?
C-Can you tell what the book is about?
D-Did you like it? Why? Why not?
E-Can you name the most important creatures in the story?

2- CLASSIFY THE ADJECTIVES BELOW :

broad-shouldered - clever - bossy - arrogant - long-legged - sensible - down-to-earth - sociable - reliable - stubborn - honest - quarrelsome - warm-hearted - easy-going -
good-tempered - wise - cruel - rude - sensitive


Character(positive meaning) Character( negative meaning) Physical appearance



-ADD ANY OTHER ADJECTIVE YOU KNOW.


READ THE TEXT.

AFTER READING.

1-UNDERLINE ALL THE ADJECTIVES AND EXPRESSIONS USED TO DESCRIBE A CHARACTER.


2-READ THE TEXT AGAIN.
-Boromir is the only character fully described in this fragment.
-Read again all the words you have underlined to describe Boromir.
-Make sure you understand the meaning.


GROUP WORK.

Ø Divide the class into groups .
Ø Give each group a creature , people ..( wizards, hobbits, elves..) from the book. Choose only the most important ones.
Ø Each group will look for information and describe the character given to the whole class.
Ø Each group will explain any new words they use in their speech.

Some notes on how to do the activity:

BEFORE READING THE TEXT

-Tell your students you are going to read a text, which is also a “pre-text” to describe a person or any other creature.
-Introduce the book and author.

1-ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

-Help the students with names such as ELF/ELVES , DWARF , WIZARD , ENT , ORC , HOBBIT , BLACK RIDER …


4-READ THE TEXT AGAIN.
If you prefer you can only read Boromir´s description. “And seated a little apart…… He gazed at Frodo and Bilbo with sudden wonder.”
Make the students aware of the fact that a person – almost any creature – can be also described through habits, likes and dislikes, clothes, tools and attitudes.

5- GROUP WORK.
If you have enough time , make the groups do a project work. They can do some writing work to display on walls along with drawings , photos, perhaps they can see some parts of the films…