Welcome to the
Adventure of
You want your kids to really love The Hobbit. Maybe you loved the
book yourself, and you want to pass its joys along to them. You
probably want your kids to love all great books – books that will stay
with them for the rest of their lives. We do too! That’s why we
founded LitWits.
In our popular workshops, we share sensory objects and experiences
straight from the story. Kids get into the characters’ world from the
inside out, sharing its sights, tastes, textures, smells and sounds. By
engaging with a great book in hands-on, enjoyable, memorable
ways, kids learn without trying. Most importantly, they want to
read more.
LitWits Kits are the product of our workshop planning, but you don’t have to hold a workshop. There’s enough
here to keep your learners busy for a whole day or a few weeks, depending on your own needs and goals. This
expanded edition provides sensory prop suggestions, detailed project and activity ideas, discussion Q&A,
academic handouts with keys, and workshop preparation tips. Decide what works best for your classroom or
family! Your quest is to make great books fun and memorable for kids – so they’ll want to read more.
The adventure, though, is up to you. Off you go!
Jenny & Becky
LitWits Workshops
Santa Cruz, California
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elves requires great courage on his part, and later, looking back, he takes great pride in his small role.
What does he do during the battle?
He puts on the ring to become invisible, then watches from Ravenhill. He realizes that his friends’ lives are far
more valuable to him than the treasure they are fighting for. When the eagles appear he gives the alert; then a
stone hits him on the head and he passes out for the rest of the battle.
Why did Tolkien remove Bilbo from the action? Why not have him do
something physically heroic in the battle?
For one thing, Bilbo just isn’t physically fit to be a war hero, and it wouldn’t
have been very believable to make him one. He had made his noble
gesture when he offered the Arkenstone to the Elvenking and Bard as a
bargaining tool for peace.
StoryLines
We’ll use a drop of goblin blood on #11 to symbolize the terrible events
that Bilbo (mostly) missed, and how they helped him decide what really
matters. (Walk around with the vial of “blood” from the display table, and
let the kids use a paintbrush to get their own drop. Somehow the act of
reaching into the vial greatly adds to the ick factor!)
RESOLUTION:
The battle comes to a close, and Bilbo is reunited with Gandalf andThorin. The dwarf chief,
who has been mortally wounded, takes back his harsh words at the
Gate and calls Bilbo a courageous, wise hobbit.
When Thorin dies, what is buried with him?
The Arkenstone is placed on his chest – which Bilbo, after all, had
found.
Prop: Take the “Arkenstone” from the display table and pass it
around, while asking the kids to think of their own greatest treasure,
and how much it means to them.
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Great Explorations
Contextual Discussion Points
About the Author
There’s always a little bit of the author in every story, and sometimes more than a little. Looking for connections
between the author and his or her story helps us understand why the book was written, why the characters do
what they do, and what the author is trying to get us to understand. See our Pinterest board and Resources page
for information and audiovisuals that support this discussion.
 All fans of J.R.R. Tolkien should know that his initials stand for John Ronald Reuel, and his last name is
pronounced Tol-keen. Tolkien is German for “foolishly brave.”
Can you see any connection between his last name and the character of Bilbo Baggins?
Bilbo had some “Took” in him, which was the brave part of him that wanted to trade his walking stick for a
sword. That sounds something like Tolkien. Also, Bilbo really was foolishly brave – especially in the
beginning! (Remember his run-in with the trolls?)
 The author’s parents moved from England to South Africa before he was born in 1892. He lived there until
he was four, and during that time he had a bad experience with a large hairy spider.
Where did that experience as a toddler enter into The Hobbit?
In Bilbo’s battle with the spiders!
 When Tolkien was four, his father died of rheumatic fever. Little Ronald (s John Ronald was known) and his
brother moved back to the West Midlands region of England, by Wales, with their mother. Little Ronald
used to watch the trains from South Wales roar by, covered with Welsh place names: Nantyglo,
Penrhiwceiber, Senghenydd.
What do those words make you think of? Do they sound like a place where only boring things happen? Do
they sound modern? How would you describe them?
These magical-sounding names had a great effect on Tolkien. He began to care about the way words
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Creations II
Craft Project
MOON RUNES & RIDDLES
We took our own twist on magic runes and Gollum’s
riddles, combining the two into a fun take-home surprise.
(If you’d like, you can do this craft as a group instead; if so,
have the kids make the riddles for each other, and then
trade.)
Inspiration from the book
On midsummer’s eve, as the band of travelers prepares to
leave Rivendell, Elrond asks to see their map. After holding
it up to the light of the crescent moon, he discovers hidden moon-runes written beside the more obvious ones. He
explains that since moon-letters can only be seen in the same light and season in which they were written, these
letters must have been written on a mid-summer’s eve, under a crescent moon. (95; Ch. 3)
Supplies
•
One copy of the Riddles that follow this page (print as many riddles as you need)
•
Dwarf Runes key handout (Appendix) also used for the Elvish Sword project – one per child
•
Riddles answer key (page 40 – one per child if doing as a craft together)
•
Lemon juice
•
Q-tip® or quill tip to write with
•
Scissors
•
Sealing wax and stamp (or ribbon, twine, leather strips, etc.)
•
An iron, if you intend to reveal the answers during the workshop
Getting Started
Cut the riddles apart. Using the Q-tip® dipped in lemon juice and the Riddles key, copy the answers in rune
below each riddle. Let dry completely. Fold the papers and seal them closed with wax, roll and tie with
leather/twine etc. When it’s time to reveal the answer, a hot iron will expose the magic runes.
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LitWits Workshops
Name
Brave New Words
The Hobbit | J.R.R. Tolkien
Vocabulary & Creative Writing
The Power of Problems
The narrator in The Hobbit makes a very good point about storytelling when talking about the peace of
Rivendell. He points out that when things are going well and everyone has what they need, there isn’t much of a
story – that it’s discomfort, excitement, and even violence that make for a long and fascinating tale. (93; Ch. 3)
The success of this book has everything to do with the problems presented to the characters, and the powerful
language used to describe what happened. If nothing went wrong, it would have been a short, boring story that
could be told in a page or two. Bilbo would never have risen to his potential. (Remember that potent in that
word means power, and you can’t show power without a problem to solve.)
Read this short, boring scene and think about ways to make something – or lots of things – go terribly wrong:
Mary’s tenth birthday party was at the park on Saturday. The weather was warm and sunny.
Her two polite big brothers, her sweet little sister, and her best friend Sally came. Everyone
played games and ate cake. Mary opened her presents and thanked everyone for giving her
such wonderful gifts. It was a perfect party!
On the next page, rewrite this scene to give Mary PROBLEMS! She’s ten already – she needs to start rising to
her potential! Have fun with this! Use at least two of these six potent verbs (action words) below, from The
Hobbit. You can use these verbs in any form (for instance blunder, blunders, blundered, blundering. )
blunder (-s, -ed, -ing)
to do something without direction, or to make a big mistake
fortify (-ies, -ied, -ing)
to protect something or to make it stronger
resist (-s, -ed, -ing)
to work against something or someone
cringe (-s, -ed, -ing)
to shrink away in fear or disgust
lament (-s, -ed, -ing)
to express sadness or regret about a situation
scuttle (-s, -ed, -ing)
to move quickly for a short distance
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About the Authors
The authors are sisters, best friends, and partners in LitWits Workshops, LLC.
Jenny Clendenen Walicek has a BA in English literature and is completing her MFA in creative writing.
She’s been a teacher and tutor, and her essays, poetry, and scholarship have appeared in various journals.
Becky Clendenen Kimball is a literature-based homeschool teacher, a journalism major who spent four
years as newspaper staff writer, and the creator of a study skills curriculum.
Terms of Use
You are granted exclusive use of our products in download or print version as follows: You have the right of reproduction that is limited to your
use only in whatever quantity is necessary to meet your needs and those of your student participants. This right is unlimited and extends for as
long as you need the materials during which time they cannot be given to or shared with any other person(s) through any means of delivery,
materially or digitally via the Internet. As such you have the right to store the product(s) on the hard drive of your computer or as hard copy in
your resource file. Any misuse of these rights is in violation of copyright law. LitWits® is a registered trademark of LitWits Workshops, LLC.
The LitWits® Kit Expanded Edition for The Hobbit
© Copyright 2012 by LitWits Workshops, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
NOTE: The authors have taken care to honor the copyright restrictions of the JRR Tolkien Estate by paraphrasing and severely limiting quoted
material in this kit. To read the indicated passages in Tolkien’s own words, see the parenthetical page numbers in the 2002 annotated edition of
The Hobbit. 2
2
Tolkien, J R. R, and Douglas A. Anderson. The Annotated Hobbit: The Hobbit, Or, There and Back Again. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002. Print.