Resources for teachers

In this section:

Is Tolkien worth Teaching?

If you love Tolkien, then your enthusiasm is going to make learning with Tolkien a pleasure for your students. Tolkien has a wide appeal. Students who would not normally read for pleasure are reading The Lord of the Rings. We are putting together a page to help with special needs.

Putting on a performance

Creating and staging a play or musical based on one of Tolkien's stories can be a great way to involve children in Tolkien's work. Do remember that all of J R R Tolkien's works are still in copyright and that adapting works, and performing or staging adaptations requires permission under copyright law (in the UK there is a small exception to this for educational establishments if there are no public performances NB parents count as the public!). In the UK see sections 21, 34 and 76 of Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Schools or amateur groups that want to seek permission should contact permissions@harpercollins.co.uk, posted to the Permissions Department, HarperCollins Publishers 77-85 Fulham Palace Road, Hammersmith, London W6 8JB, or faxed to 020 8307 4753. If you are in the USA or Canada you should first contact Houghton Mifflin, if you are adapting a translation of one of Tolkien's works you should first contact the publisher of that translation.

Resources for students

We have a page for students which you may wish to give to students.

Resources for teachers

Our current resources are mainly aimed at teachers of the English National Curriculum. If you can adapt them to other systems, please let us know!

Personal Development

Tolkien's books (like anyone else's) can be used as a means of exploring. For example, one can ask questions such as 'who is my favourite character?' and reflect on the answer. Maria Gonzalez of Granada University (Spain) has made a comparative study of Spanish and British reactions, which may be helpful ("The Lord of the Rings: A Myth for Englishmen?" Mallorn 36, 1998).

A Catholic priest has told me that he finds The Lord of the Rings particularly useful when working with young people, because the situations and characters are simultaneously removed from and connected to their lives. The removal gives the reader space in which he or she can make judgements with more comfort. But the facilitator can draw out the links which exist between the book and the current situation.

Tolkien's "smaller work" is a rich source, and is likely to be new to readers. I have personally found that Leaf by Niggle is a particularly deep well.

Note: I don't facilitate personal development myself, although I am a reflective learner - these are notes I've made after talking to people who are using Tolkien as part of their practice.

Pat Reynolds