Revised presentation for SD57 Board of Education. Using diverse sources such as fantasy fiction, regional environments, and work created or chosen by students, Middle Earth 12 is a Quest for deep connections to people, places and ideas, and powerful skills to interpret and respond to what we discover along the way.

1. MIDDLE EARTH 12
Senior Humanities Elective Course - a personalized approach
to the study of language and landscape, self and the world
Glen Thielmann • D.P. Todd Secondary
SD57 Prince George • Board Authorized Course Proposal

2. BACKGROUND
part of an effort to try new
ideas & develop new
programs at our school
need for students to develop a
personal & authentic approach
to learning and creating
need to field test the BCED Plan (photo source: Rhea Woolgar 2012)
room for a challenging senior elective in the Humanities
other rationale... note the links and further reading

3. OVERVIEW
try what Tolkien did
survey literary and
environmental themes
from diverse sources
critical thinking and
decoding skills
self-assessment and
narrative skills
historical, geographic, and “fantastic” exemplars
cross-curricular learning -- inquiry from many disciplines

4. CURRICULUM
Organizer - A. The Shape of Our Thoughts
It is expected that students will:
1. become familiar with benchmarks of thought in different disciplines (e.g. Benchmarks of
Geographic Inquiry)
2. develop a personal approach or synthesis of thought and craft (a “pattern language”) from the
study of language, literature, and landscape (e.g. how individual students read, view, work in
a group, what they look for in a story, leverage their skill sets for research and presentation)
3. understand how themes connect creative works (like literature) and establish relevance for a
various audiences (e.g. identify exemplars of innocence vs experience, the cycle of life, the nature
of heroism)
4. understand the need for and develop a thoughtful web presence and semi-public representation
of identity (e.g. decide on ethical and creative criteria for a digital portfolio)

5. CURRICULUM
Organizer - B. Sense and Purpose
It is expected that students will:
1. recognize the different history of British, American, Canadian, and World English (e.g.
research background of peculiar “Canadianisms”)
2. compare basic characteristics of real languages (e.g. English, French, Gaelic), invented
languages (e.g. Quenya, Sindarin, Khuzdul), and jargons (e.g. Chinook)
3. develop ability to study language and cultural origins through etymology (e.g.trace the path
backwards of Old English and Norman French in our modern English)
4. compare representational writing systems or alphabets (e.g. Hieroglyphics, Celtic Runes,
Tengwar, and The Cirth)
5. use graphic and non-written analysis of and response to creative works through artwork and
digital media (e.g. express ecological relationships through watercolour painting of a landscape
sketch)

6. CURRICULUM
Organizer - C. Landscapes Around Us
It is expected that students will:
1. recognize common landform features and processes (e.g. geomorphology associated with rivers
and glaciers)
2. compare landform features processes in British Columbia and Tolkien’s Middle Earth (e.g.
Rocky Mountains and Misty Mountains)
3. find parallels of landform processes in exemplars submitted by students from other works of
fiction (e.g. gauge the accuracy of C.S. Lewis’s description of deserts in The Horse and His Boy)
4. analyze ecosystem processes in real and imagined locales (e.g. examine why Tolkien’s forests
such as Fangorn and Mirkwood area concentration of magical processes, examine processes in
real ecosystems that are still mysterious to scientists)

7. CURRICULUM
Organizer - D. Landscapes We Imagine
It is expected that students will:
1. develop listening & story-telling skills through study of oral and epic traditions (e.g. scan
through the kinds and purposed of tales told at Rivendell)
2. recognize and apply correct language conventions in a variety of genres (e.g. use peer editing to
polish written entries in student portfolios)
3. establish and identify voice of “self” and “other” in works of fantasy and historical fiction (e.g.
take a position and defend it on which characters’ personas drive the story-telling in Lord of the
Rings)
4. apply a personal approach to interpreting myth and allegory in a variety of genres, especially
fantasy and historical fiction (e.g. apply a Personal Pattern Language to two selected legends)
5. apply a personal approach to reading, analyzing, writing, and responding to creative works in a
variety of genres such as poetry and short fiction (e.g. apply a Personal Pattern Language to three
selected works)

8. CURRICULUM
Organizer - E. Culture Adapts to Change
It is expected that students will:
1. understand multiple perspectives on resource and sustainability issues on land, air, and water
(e.g. habitat loss for owls, ents, and oliphants, fouling of waterways: Great Lakes vs Dead
Marshes, resource issues in literature, current events, and social media)
2. relate the story of soil and the challenge of soil conservation (e.g. see Sam’s gift of earth from
Galadriel as an indication of the importance of soil management, modern issues and efforts at
conservation)
3. become familiar with climate change science, literature, impact on culture, and possible responses
(e.g. find Tolkien’s references to industrial landscapes and fumes polluting the atmosphere)
4. apply a personal approach to self expression and inquiry through digital media such as blogs,
social media, and digital portfolios (e.g. take on an issue or problem and build a digital
response based on research, connection, and creativity)
5. develop skills to create, edit, revise, and publish for an audience (e.g. share a project publicly with
parents, peers, and/or an online community)

9. LEARNING RESOURCES
works (and creative model)
of J.R.R. Tolkien
local/BC landscapes & writing
works & exemplars submitted by
students - start with the spark
existing learning resources where
they benefit
http://www.amazon.com/Ents-Elves-Eriador-Environmental-Tolkien/dp/0813124182/

10. AMBITIONS
What if...? If only we could...
new paths for students to
explore their “sparks”
leverage Learning Commons
project- and problem-based
learning
assessment based on “capacity”
cross-curricular & blended learning
new methods and audiences for student learning

11. FULL STORY
Course blog:
http://
middleearth12.blogspot.ca
Middle Earth 12
documentation:
http://db.tt/Uziz9EBU

12. PROGRAM OPTIONS
Grade 11 Students Grade 12 Students
2 blocks, 8 grad credits 1 block, 4 grad credits
complete English 11 and complete BAA course
Geography 12 Middle Earth 12
shared learning environment
different learning outcomes