I asked this question on the GB, but thought I would ask here in case any of you don't read the GB forum. I am getting ready to develop a lit yr based on LOTR for my rising 9th grader. We will be using LLfLOTR, but this particular child is an advanced student that loves to analyze literature and language (she actually sees herself as a linguist one day). She has asked that we go beyond LL and learn about how Tolkien created LOTR and the works that influenced him. Since I am not a serious Tolkien fan at this kind of level (I am a fan, but a reading fan, but not a "tackling all things Tolkien" type fan), I was hoping that maybe someone on here might have some insight. I have already read and own, Kreeft's Philosophy of Tolkien and Pearce's Tolkien: Man and Myth. So those we will read, but that is not what she is asking for. I am wondering if the History of LOTR http://www.amazon.co...=A2M4Z83ZJUHG3D would be what she wants? Or Letters of Tolkien http://www.amazon.co...d=ATVPDKIKX0DER She also wants to incorporate The Silmarilliion and some of the Unfinished Tales. This part gets my head spinning b/c I don't know what order we should read things in. And, do we read the Unfinished Tales or should we read Children of Hurin or The Book of Lost Tales, etc? Any insight that may be offered would be appreciated. She really wants to understand the process that he went through as an author to create the work he did. Thanks!

Are there additional readings suggested with this? Reading the Tolkien books sounds fantastic, but are other books scheduled in there too, to make a wider variety and heftier list for the year? Or do you have to schedule those yourself, and if so, is that pretty doable, or does it make it really difficult to fit all the Tolkien components plus additional readings in? I'm envisioning doing this in ninth or tenth grade, whenever DD studies medieval history (it'll be ninth if I line her up with the younger students so we can all enjoy some family medieval excitement, tenth if I keep her on her own rotation, which would have ancients in ninth, but I'm not opposed to moving it to tenth or even twelfth), but there are other things I want her to read to go with medieval history too. Second, would it work well to use LLfLOTR along with one of the Writing With Skill books (either 2 or 3, depending on how the schedule falls)? It sounds like LLfLOTR has writing assignments but not a lot of writing instruction. I could easily make it two credits of English, or 1.5, depending on how many hours it all actually takes. I'm looking for the balance between sufficient and overkill, kwim?