The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien - English Literature (Flex Class)

This class is designed to cover The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien. In order to understand the material, the student needs to be able to read at an 8th-grade level and write complete sentences. 
Students need to purchase their own copy of the book. Any format (paper, digital, or audio) is acceptable. However, students will need to be able to quote from the text, so an audio version might make that a bit challenging. 

Students will receive digital copies of all the activity sheets they need. Assignments will include reading (between 30 and 70 pages each week), learning vocabulary, vocabulary and comprehension quizzes, discussions via the message board, character analysis, and an essay project. There will also be some optional podcast episodes for the students to listen to. Students who submit this work will be given a grade for each assignment they complete. 

Material will be posted each Monday by 6:00 AM Chicago time. 

Course syllabus:
week 1: book 1 chapters 1-2
week 2: book 1 chapters 3-4
week 3: book 1 chapters 5-6
week 4: book 1 chapters 7-8
week 5: book 1 chapters 9-10
week 6: book 1 chapters 11-12
week 7: book 2 chapters 1-2
week 8: book 2 chapters 3-4
week 9: book 2 chapters 5-6
week 10: book 2 chapters 7-8
week 11: book 2 chapter 9
week 12: book 2 chapter 10

Course expectations:
This is a flexible schedule course, meaning that there are no live meetings. Each week, you will listen to the assigned portions, watch the videos, read the material provided, and work on your creative project. There will also be weekly discussion questions for you to answer. There will be a weekly thread where you can post videos or photos or messages asking for help with the assignments. Students are encouraged to help each other, and the instructor will check in regularly to answer questions as well. You should be working through the assignments each week in order to get the most benefit out of the course. 

The instructor will always be available via message and will typically reply within 12 to 24 hours. I am also willing to set up office hours via Zoom video chat if they are requested by a section of the class.