Preparation for BEOWULF
Objective: SWBAT demonstrate understanding of background and vocabulary for BEOWULF through the double-entry journal and collaborative learning.
Big Idea: "When we quit thinking primarily about ourselves and our own self-preservation, we undergo a truly heroic transformation of consciousness." -Joseph Campbell
Print Lesson
To understand the historical context of the works they will be reading in the first unit for this course, students read historical background on the Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Periods from their textbook The Language of Literature (McDougal Littell, 2003) and create a double-entry journal (Handout: Double-Entry Journal Template) with at least 15 two-column entries (five for the Timeline, five for the Anglo-Saxon Period, and five for Medieval Period) to analyze and understand the historical context of Beowulf and the Iliad.
I model how to create a double-entry journal while students follow along. They divide their paper in half. In the left-column, students write significant ideas/events from the Anglo-Saxon Period based upon their reading; on the right-side, students write a corresponding reason why the idea/event is significant or question to use for further research. I model how to use a double-entry journal, providing an example by noting a significant event from the book's timeline in the left-hand column and my thoughts about it in the right-hand column.
The double-entry journal activity allows students to interact with informational text, choosing what is important to them and making sense of their interpretations.
Students share their double-entry journals (Student Work: Double-Entry Journal) in pairs and return to the text for clarification. We debrief as a class to discuss the historical significance of Beowulf in light of students' observations. By referring back to the timeline and their double-entries, students are able to understand the context of the epic poem within the history of British Literature, Britain, and the world.
The Epic
Students review the characteristics of an epic through readings from their textbook, a PowerPoint on the epic (PowerPoint: The Epic), and all-class discussion of how Beowulf meets the characteristics of an epic. Through this discussion, I review the characters and setting of Beowulf with students.
For visual context of Beowulf, students view, "Clash of the Gods: Beowulf and Grendel" from the History Channel and clips of the kingdom's setting, Grendel's attack, and Beowulf's arrival from the film "Beowulf: Director's Cut" (Paramount Pictures, 2007). Next, to measure students' knowledge base prior to reading, I engage students in a quickwrite on what they knew about Beowulf so far. They write at least five bullets about the text. One student example reads as follows:
- Beowulf was a great warrior in Herot.
- Beowulf fought Grendel to protect Herot.
- Beowulf was from Geatland now called Sweden.
- Grendel lived in the marshes.
- Grendel was a descendant of Cain, who killed his brother Abel in the Bible.
Volunteers share in all-class debriefing; and I list what the class knows to gauge any need for review.
