“The road goes ever on and on, out from the door where it began. Now far ahead the road has gone. Let others follow, if they can! Let then a journey new begin. But I at last with weary feet will turn towards the lighted inn. My evening-rest and sleep to meet.” Today marked the […]
Today was a momentous occasion in my classroom, as my 13 limited English proficient dwarves completed the mission they set out to achieve in February. In three and a half short months, these pre-adolescent students have read the entire Lord of the Rings and we have all loved every minute of it. Rather than tell […]
Mere days away from completing our goal, my students are ecstatic to finish. Along with our reading and viewing today, the senior members of our Traveling Party (Bombur, Dwalin, Kili, and Bilbo) recorded their speeches. These students are a little more sentimental about coming to the end of our journey because this is their last […]
With only six chapters remaining in Return of the King, the taste of victory is tangible for my students. They are so proud of their accomplishments and have been reading and viewing up a storm to make sure we finish Lord of the Rings by the end of school this week. While their devotion to […]
Today my students and I had a tough decision to make. Faced with the reality that our celebration picnic, which my students have been looking forward to for weeks, might not be attended by the majority of their families; we decided to call it off. Many of their parents hold down multiple jobs, which require […]
As my students and I have now made it to Return of the King, their interest in all things Tolkien continues to thrive. The clear arrival of summer weather is allowing us to enjoy reading in the great outdoors. While the lack of four walls is allowing my students to have a sense of no […]
As my students are finishing up Two Towers this week, they now know the end is in sight and we will complete our journey. While the pressure is on to make sure we read our required number of chapters each day, we have begun to focus on preparing for the end of our journey. Plans for […]
For the last two weeks, I have enjoyed daily “lunch bunches” (which is the term used at my school for when students dine with teachers instead of in the cafeteria) with my band of dwarves, while we have been watching Two Towers together. Although I’m up for a Peter Jackson film anytime, it has been really […]
“That, I guess is the language of the Rohirrim for it is like to this land itself; rich and rolling in part, and else hard and stern as the mountains. But I cannot guess what it means, save that it is laden with the sadness of Mortal Men.” The subject of today’s post owes its […]
With four weeks left until the end of the school year, I am reminded of how tired we teachers get as we drag ourselves to the finish line. Much as weary Frodo felt as the ring become heavier along the journey, I am also beginning to feel the burden. While our reading journey has been a blast, […]
