This section of the Tolkien Society site is for teachers, lecturers and other facilitators of learning.

I am teaching LOTR in my Sunday School class and would like to search for and contribute strategies for engaging 9-12 learners in critical thinking.

A church group or Sunday School could listen to excerpts from the BBC adaptation or Rob Inglis' reading, or read sections out loud together, or read them between classes. They could then look at the moral issues which are involved. This can be driven by the class - for example 'A Long Expected Party' could lead to discussion on joy, community, moral courage, gluttony, etc. etc.

It can be illuminating to read the book 'in real time' - that is, matching dates in the book to real-world dates, as there are some nice coincidences between important LotR dates and church dates - no, not coincidences - planned intersections.

Ideas for Library Events and for teaching Citizenship, particularly at Key Stage 4, could also be used.

Please remember to let us know what has worked well with your church group so we can expand this page!