Aliya Kurmanova is an English teacher from Kazakhstan, working with young EFL learners. She enjoys using stories, visuals, and creative tasks to support inclusive and descriptive writing. Her current interests include differentiated instruction and building confidence in mixed-ability classrooms. Email: alika1534@gmail.com

 

Introduction

Descriptive writing is one of the most challenging skills for young EFL learners. My students (ages 8–11) often manage short narratives, but when it comes to describing settings, characters, or emotions, they tend to write short, basic sentences: “The forest is big.” “She is nice.” They struggle to bring scenes or actions to life on the page.

To help them, I decided to use short excerpts from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. While the full novel is far too difficult for young EFL learners, Tolkien’s descriptive language is rich, rhythmic, and inspiring—even in small doses. I carefully selected scenes that describe fireworks, forests, journeys, or dramatic events, and built simple, engaging activities around them.

This article shares a series of those classroom-tested activities, each focused on one short excerpt and one writing goal. The results were more than just better sentences. My students began to see that description isn’t just a grammar task, it’s a way of telling a story.

 

Why Tolkien? Why description?

Tolkien may seem like an unusual choice for EFL learners, but his language offers many teaching advantages:

• Vivid scenes that fire the imagination
• Strong sensory detail—sight, sound, smell, movement
• Clear moods: calm, tense, mysterious, magical
• Powerful verbs and figurative language, which students can imitate

Descriptive writing is often taught with adjectives and lists, but Tolkien models a deeper kind of description—one that creates atmosphere, sets pace, and draws the reader in. Even with limited vocabulary, students can begin to understand how description works when it’s tied to a strong image or moment.

 

How I chose and used the texts

I selected short paragraphs that could stand on their own. I read the texts aloud while students followed with visuals. Then we broke down what they heard: What do you see? What colors, movements, or feelings can you name?

Each activity was designed to:

• Focus on one passage
• Highlight one or two writing skills
• Include drawing, discussion, and simple sentence-building
• Be accessible even to lower-level learners

I used simple tools: picture cards, sentence frames, shared word banks. The goal was not to understand every word, but to experience what strong description feels like—and then try to use it ourselves.

 

Activity Sets from Tolkien’s Texts

Activity Set 1: The Firework Garden

Scene: Bilbo’s birthday party fireworks
Focus: Figurative language, color, movement, sensory description

“There were green trees with trunks of dark smoke; their leaves opened like a whole spring unfolding in a moment… There was a red thunderstorm and a shower of yellow rain… fountains of butterflies that flew glittering into the trees.” (Tolkien 2009, Chapter 1)

Activities:
• Match adjective+noun cards to drawn fireworks
• Draw and label “magic fireworks” using colors and movement
• Sentence starters: “It looked like…”, “It flew like…”
• Group sound effects for each firework type

Even shy students become expressive when describing their own imagined fireworks.

 

Activity Set 2: The Misty Hills (Setting the Scene)

Scene: A quiet walk before sunrise
Focus: Mood, setting, movement verbs

“The night was clear, cool, and starry… Thin-clad birches, swaying in a light wind… The road went rolling up and down, fading grey into the darkness ahead.” (Tolkien 2009, Chapter 3)

Activities:
• Create mood boards (images or words like pale, quiet, cool)
• Draw the scene and label features using a word bank
• Sentence frames: “The sky was… The trees were… The road…”

Students begin to describe peaceful moments, not just action.

 

Activity Set 3: Rain in the Shire (Weather and Movement)

Scene: A rainy walk that turns sunny
Focus: Weather verbs, transition, tone

“The wind died away and the rain came streaming down… They trudged along… The sun was now shining brightly again.” (Tolkien, 2009, Chapter 4)

Activities:
• Act out weather verbs (e.g. trickle, trudge, stream)
• Sequence weather events using drawings or sentence strips
• Write contrast sentences: “First, it rained. Then, the sun came out.”

Perfect for discussing how nature can show change and emotion.

 

Activity Set 4: Forest Shadows and Surprise (Contrast in Descriptions)

Scene: Leaving the dark forest, entering a clearing
Focus: Contrast, nature words, emotional tone

“The trees became taller, darker, and thicker… Then they came to a wide circular space. There was sky above them, blue and clear… The leaves were thicker and greener at the edges.” (Tolkien, 2009, Chapter 6)

Activities:
• Adjective sort: dark forest vs clear glade
• Label student drawings of both scenes
• Compare/contrast frame: “In the forest it was… In the clearing it was…”

Students discover how description changes depending on setting and emotion.

 

Activity Set 5: Riders at the Ford (Building Tension)

Scene: Frodo’s escape at the river
Focus: Suspense, action verbs, emotion

“A breath of deadly cold pierced him like a spear… A plumed cavalry of waves came down… The Riders were overwhelmed, buried under angry foam.” (Tolkien, 2009, Chapter 12)

Activities:
• Identify action verbs (pierced, surged, overwhelmed)
• Emotion sort: afraid, brave, weak, angry
• Act out dramatic dialogue: “Go back!” / “To Mordor we will take you!”
• Guided writing: “I saw… I felt… I heard…”

Even reluctant writers want to describe this action-packed scene.

 

Classroom Reflections

Students responded with more energy, more curiosity, and more willingness to write. The use of literature—just short excerpts—added excitement and a sense of “real English” that textbook exercises often lack.

Even students with limited vocabulary could draw, label, and speak about what they saw in the scene. Those with stronger skills took more risks, adding adjectives and metaphors.

Over time, I noticed:
• Students used stronger verbs and more descriptive nouns
• They began to vary sentence structure
• They understood tone and mood better—especially through weather or setting changes

It wasn’t perfect. Some days, the text was still too dense. But with support and flexibility, even Tolkien became a tool they could work with—and enjoy.

 

Challenges and Tips: Using Tolkien with Young EFL Learners

Challenge - Some vocabulary is too difficult
Tip - Pre-teach 5–7 key words with pictures or gestures before reading

Challenge - Students struggle with abstract scenes
Tip - Choose vivid, concrete passages with movements or color

Challenge - Lower level students freeze with writing
Tip - Let them draw, act, or speak first—then build simple sentences

Challenge - Not enough time for full lessons
Tip - Use just one excerpt over two short lessons (input + output)

Challenge - Mixed ability in the classroom
Tip - Scaffold writing with sentence frames; let stronger students go further.

 

Conclusion and suggestions for teachers

You don’t have to teach the whole book. You don’t need to explain every word. All it takes is a single strong paragraph, a good image, and an invitation: “Let’s try to write like this.”

You can try this approach with other books, too. Some possibilities include:
• The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (C.S. Lewis)
• The Firework-Maker’s Daughter (Philip Pullman)
• Short fantasy scenes or folk tales from your local culture
• Picture books with strong description

The key is to choose texts that spark the senses—and then build from there.

 

A note to teachers: Yes, you can use Literature

If you’re thinking “But I’m not a literature teacher” or “This feels too hard for my students”—I understand. I had the same doubts.

But even one short scene from a beautiful book can become a springboard for drawing, speaking, imagining, and writing. You’re not just teaching grammar—you’re helping students see that English can create forests, fireworks, and rivers full of light. Start small. Choose one scene. Read it aloud. Then ask, “What do you see?” You might be surprised by what your students and you discover.

 

Reference

Tolkien, J.R.R. (2009). The Lord of the Rings: 50th Anniversary Edition. London: HarperCollins. PDF eBook. Accessed from libgen.li

 

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