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The Anglo-Saxons
Lessons and projects by students and teachers on the earliest English writing (originally written in Old English).
Beowulf, Heroism, and 9/11 - A Presentation
This brief slide show begins with the moving, translated words of Beowulf where he states that he would not race ahead of his friend Brecca, because he had promised him he would stay by his side. The presentation next recounts some of the heroes of 9/11while subtly (I hope) comparing it ideas of heroism from Beowulf. It ends with the fiery funeral of Beowulf and the casket of the last 9/11 firefighter being carried away on his fire truck. This is used with a group work on the same subject.
Grendel Group Work #2 - Chapter 5 - The Dragon - Connect the dots...
A very different kind of group work. The students are given a sheet filled with ideas and quotes from Grendel (and the poem "Auto Wreck"). They must then take extensive notes (before joining a group) and draw lines and arrows connecting the ideas. The student then joins a group and must come up with a thesis or overiding idea(s) between the quotes and boxes (and poem). It is interesting that some students (to be honest -- a smaller percentage, but significant nonetheless) actually do much better at this kind of unstructured assignment -- while the majority seem to want the guidelines found in most of the group works on this site (all the more reason to shake things up).
Deor - the poem, Old English and Modern Translations
Deor is the most important poem that I teach all year, and it is taught on the first day of school. It is important not only for its content ("This too shall pass"), but perhaps even more so for the idea that though this poem is one of the oldest poems written in English (Old English), it still packs an awesome punch -- that resonates today. The poem is read after I talk to the class about how I often have arguments with colleagues who believe that we shouldn't teach any work older than the 20th century
"The Seafarer" Group Performance
This project directs the students to perform the action of "The Seafarer" - the epic Anglo-Saxon poem. As with all performance work, the thought is that, essentially, it is impossible to act out a text without having, at least, a minimal understanding of that text. In the past I have also used the sounds of the ocean, the sounds of wave to fill the background as the students perform their scenes. As we have lost more and more actual teaching time in the classroom - it has been a number of years since I have been able to cover this poem or use this lesson.
Grendel: Lyrics to "The Wrong Child" and "Grendel"
Lyrics to REM's song "The Wrong Child" about someone who is different and doesn't want to be (works wondefully with Chapter 2) and Sunnyday RealEstate's song, "Grendel."
Beowulf and the Fire Dragon - Group Work
An in-class collaborative assignment for 3-4 students designed to be finished in one class period. Students do a close reading of the end of the Beowulf saga as they try to answer the questions and put together some "big" ideas. It is important that your students have read both Beowulf's encounter with the fire dragon and have read Hrothgar's warning to Beowulf before he leaves the land of the Danes. My textbook does not have the latter -- so I give them a handout with that text on it. I have also incorporated (and will upload the revised edition) a question that references the Batman movie (The Dark Knight) and the encounter between Batman and the Joker. This not only works well here -- but is also prepares the students for their reading of Grendel.
Beowulf by Seamus Heaney - an index of his audio recording
My students love to hear Seamus Heaney reading his translation of Beowulf -- unfortunately on the CD there is but one track, making finding anything nearly impossible. This is the first part of an index of what's on the CD and where (time-wise) it may be found. It was completed by a student as part of an extra credit assignment - now I just need to find another interested student to complete the project.
Old English poems about Autumn
Some poems, originally written in Old English, regarding or reflecting the fall season. These are usually a nice touch as we begin the year with the Anglo-Saxons just as autumn is commencing. A couple of years ago we went outside under the autumn trees and read the poems aloud. It is important with all of these Anglo Saxon poems to remind students that they are the product of a translation.
Beowulf - Group Work 1
A lesson designed for 3-4 students to complete in one period, on the first part of Beowulf from their text books. For my students that is pages 27-35 in Elements of Literature. It also gets the students to see something that was subtle enough that I probably missed teaching it for my first 12 years or so. The idea that Beowulf stays with Brecca during their great swimming race because he had promised he would not leave him behind -- and not because of the race itself. This idea of heroism is echoed when students watch a Power Point Presentation on the heroes of 9/11. Some of their acts of heroism resemble that unselfish deed of Beowulf.
Putting on the Beowulf - An In-Class Performance.
Students perform the final part of Beowulf in a setting of their choice (ie Star Wars), though they must remain faithful to the translated words. This assignment has a two-fold goal: 1) To have students show that they understand the text of Beowulf by performing it. 2) To prepare students for later Shakespeare performances by allowing them to see that many settings are possible for a given text -- not just the one that it was originally created in (though it takes more than a bit of critical thinking to come up with an appropriate setting).
A Beauty Forever: Grendel Group Work Chapters 7 and 8
A cooperative assignment that examines among other things, the connection between Keats' "Ode on a Grecian Urn," and the power that Wealtheow's beauty and the Shaper's words have over Grendel. Elements of older group works that are covered by these chapters are also present. Before using any one group work, you may want to look at all that are represented by a book - as it is possible that some questions may be repeated.
Beowulf and Grendel Essay
This handout gives students the choice of three different essays to write about (with regard to John Gardner's Grendel). The first asks students to describe how Gardner deconstructs the expectations that we have regarding the monster, Grendel - and how specifically the author accomplishes that change in the reader's perspective. The second prompt asks students to relate biographical details from Gardner's life to his writing and the final prompt asks students to connect the different views found in the novel to what happened on 9/11.
Grendel Group Work #1 - Chapters 2 & 3 - Shaping our Lives
In this cooperative exercise students do a close reading of Chapters 2 & 3 of John Gardner's Grendel. In particular they examine the role of the "shaper" in the story -- in our lives. They also look at the monster Grendel's frustration with having the two stories of Hrothgar's kingdom: the story he has seen and knows to be true, and the heroic story that he hears from the shaper and knows to be false. They will have two columns - what they know to be the truth - and the way that the Shaper describes what happens. The idea is to get them to see part of Grendel's frustration.
High Noon & Beowulf: Movie Questions to Accompany the Film
Because Beowulf is one of the first things that we do for the school year - it is important for me to show the students that many of our own modern (so they think) cultural concepts and ideals are actually quite old - quite universal. These movie questions are designed to be answered (partially) while watching the movie, High Noon, and elaborated on later for homework. They ask students to consider what has changed and what has stayed the same with our ideals such as heroism and sacrifice.
Ballads Karaoke Style
A brief handout to go along with a project wherein students (for extra-credit) prepared the night before and sang an English Ballad in class using the computer, karaoke software; the words were projected on a large screen so the class could follow (anticipate) along. I find that by giving them the night before to prepare it helps make them more comfortable when it actually comes time to perform. I really need to start pressing the record button on the computer software so that I can keep the beautiful student performances.
