Hobbit Activities to develop understanding and appreciation of literary texts (Literature 4 )

These activities can help children identify how character and setting are created, and how plot, narrative structure and themes are developed. This is KS2, En2 4c. Other elements of the national curriculum framework are also covered, and are highlighted at the end of each activity.

Costume Making

Any items of old clothing can be decorated, and large pieces of fabric used for cloaks or drapes. Fabric paints and glitter are relatively cheap and can be applied to most fabrics. Templates of stars, mooncrests, suns, trees, and dwarvish runes are effective designs, or children can design their own.

Shiny card can be used for making crowns, and be decorated with foil, glitter, fabric shapes, etc. Costume jewellery of brooches, necklaces and rings make effective finishing touches.

Smaug Costume

This takes the form of the traditional Chinese festival dragon. A large sheet is needed, and again the children can decorate this with fabric paints, sequins, etc. and sew tassels.

For the head, this can be made with 4 sheets of paper, roughly A4 size (270mmm x 297mm), preferably 2 red and 2 gold/yellow. Each piece is concertinaed into a fan, folding longways. Squeeze one end tight and staple to the squeezed end of a second sheet, so that when opened out the two sheets form a semi-circle with the staples at the centre. Then add the third and then the fourth sheet to the centre. Finally staple the edges of each sheet to hold the four sections in a circle. Facial features can be drawn, cut out and stuck onto the face. Attach a stick to the back for the leader to hold while the children under the sheet create a dance!

This activity can be expanded to cover KS2, EN2, 4h: "respond imaginatively, drawing on the whole text and other reading" by reading reports of the activities of the Tolkien Society at www.tolkiensociety.org, which include costume making.

Rôle Play

I did this selecting extracts from The Hobbit into a mini-script. Extracts I found particularly suitable were

Ask the children to consider what voices and body language would be appropriate for their character and setting.

Music

Ideal to coincide with the Rôle play, children can use instruments like bells, tambourines, etc. to create sound effects and atmospheres. These can be made with everyday materials. Polythene is good for a rustling sound, drums can be made from tins. Rice, paperclips, etc. can be sealed in tubes and tins for shakers to make stormy effects, and so on.

Creative Writing 1

After reading some of the poems, the children may like to write their own ones about the characters and places. This can be done with the riddles, where a budding Gollum can try to catch his friends out!

A Hobbit Meal

The children might enjoy a traditional Hobbit meal that Bilbo hastily prepared for his unexpected party!

Note to all: are any of these things unrecognisable outside the UK - can we put a link in to recipes?

Through the use of recipe books, this activity can be expanded to cover KS2, EN2, 4h: "respond imaginatively, drawing on the whole text and other reading"

A Hobbit Display

Hobbit poster

This is an example of artwork produced by a class of 7 to 8 year olds.

This was a display I coordinated with the children, and is a map of the journey with Bilbo's hole on the left working through to Smaug on the right. Keeping it as simple as possible, each part was made as follows:

Sky: tissue paper overlapped from light blue, dark blue, purple and black

Hobbit hole: a card hill-side template with a hole for the door. The children cut up different green fabrics for the grass, gluing them to the template.

Misty Mountains: Templates of three wavy sections cut out on blue, purple and white card to make each one three-tone (as the original cover). These were stapled with the card bending in the middle for a 3- D effect.

Mirkwood Forest: The children drew their own tree shapes on light green card, and then dabbed dark green paint on with a sponge.

Lake: We tie-dyed a white sheet into a mixture of blue paint and water, once dried and untied, it made a great water effect.

Buildings: A hut silhouette in light brown paper. The children cut out small strips of dark paper, sticking them on the outline to give a timber effect.

Smaug: A dragon template was made, and the children cut out card diamonds in red and gold, sticking them to form a tessellating pattern.

Hobbit Quiz

Children split into teams such as 'The Trolls' versus 'The Elves' to answer questions on Tolkien's work they are acquainted with.

Questions:

  1. Who is the author of The Hobbit?
  2. When was the book written?
  3. Who is the main character?
  4. Where is the story set?
  5. What is Gandalf's job?
  6. Where does Gandalf want Bilbo to go?
  7. Who is Thorin?
  8. What are the colours worn by Bilbo?
  9. How many dwarves are there?
  10. What is Smaug and where can he be found?
  11. How does Bilbo reply to the dwarves' greeting? (Answer: 'At your service')
  12. Can Dragons fly?
  13. What are 'runes'?
  14. Thorin's grandfather was King under the M..........?
  15. What does 'guard your plunder' mean?
  16. Bilbo is given a job, what is it?
  17. Where do the dwarves leave the note written for Bilbo?
  18. Who are the first creatures the dwarves encounter?
  19. What signal must Bilbo give the dwarves to show that he is in trouble?
  20. How do the dwarves defeat the trolls?
  21. What can be found in the troll's cave?
  22. Bilbo helps himself to something: what is it, and what does Bilbo eventually call it?
  23. The journey then proceeds to Rivendell, who lives here?
  24. Are the inhabitants of Rivendell friendly?
  25. Who lives in the last homely house?
  26. Why is Durin's day important? (Clue: Runes)
  27. Gandalf has a magic staff. How does he get it to work?
  28. Are the goblins friend or foe?
  29. Suddenly, Bilbo finds himself alone. What does he uncover on the floor of the cave?
  30. Who refers to himself as 'my precious'?
  31. How does this creature talk?
  32. What sounds tell you that you are in an underground lake?
  33. How does Bilbo escape?

Map Plotting

[MAP] On the map, the children have to draw a line from the character to the point(s) in the journey at which they are encountered. This can then be coloured in.

Creative Writing 2

[KEY TO RUNES] Using this sheet, the children can decode the ancient dwarvish runes in the map in The Hobbit, and write secret messages of their own for each other to decode.

This section is under development. The information is still being collected. Please send us your ideas, lesson plans, scans of your students' work to the education co-ordinator via e-mail