Beowulf Grendel Rough
2
We discuss how Beowulf represents Absolute Good from God and Grendel represents Absolute Evil, being descended from Cain, the son of Adam and Eve, who killed his brother Abel. Abel was favored by God, and Cain killed him out of jealousy. Volunteers are able to explain these elements with prompting to outline the events that result in Cain's downfall. I explain how battle portrays the text's Judeo-Christian view of the world. This allows us to review the setting and characters of Beowulf, the historical background of Christianity vs. paganism in the Anglo- Saxon Period, and the significance of Beowulf as an epic I read aloud "Beowulf" to students, and I stop periodically to ask comprehension questions (Discussion Questions: "Beowulf"), including: Justify Beowulf’s confidence. How do you know Beowulf has God’s favor? Assess the importance of (1) Beowulf’s belief in fate and (2) why he insists on fighting Grendel without weapons. Contrast Hrothgar’s relationship with Beowulf’s father to Beowulf’s current relationship with Hrothgar. Explain why a truce between Hrothgar and Grendel is not possible. As a class, we review the action in this section chronologically. If students have questions, we address them, and I (1) model going back to a specific section of the text and engage in think-aloud to show my path to interpretation and (2) ask guiding questions so that students engage in hands-on checking back into the text to answer one another's questions in the all-class setting.
description
short lesson on beowulf and grendel
Transcript of Beowulf Grendel Rough
We discuss how Beowulf represents Absolute Good from God and Grendel represents Absolute Evil, being descended from Cain, the son of Adam and Eve, who killed his brother Abel. Abel was favored by God, and Cain killed him out of jealousy. Volunteers are able to explain these elements with prompting to outline the events that result in Cain's downfall.
I explain how battle portrays the text's Judeo-Christian view of the world. This allows us to review the setting and characters of Beowulf, the historical background of Christianity vs. paganism in the Anglo-Saxon Period, and the significance of Beowulf as an epic
I read aloud "Beowulf" to students, and I stop periodically to ask comprehension questions (Discussion Questions: "Beowulf"), including:
Justify Beowulf’s confidence.
How do you know Beowulf has God’s favor?
Assess the importance of (1) Beowulf’s belief in fate and (2) why he insists on fighting Grendel without weapons.
Contrast Hrothgar’s relationship with Beowulf’s father to Beowulf’s current relationship with Hrothgar.
Explain why a truce between Hrothgar and Grendel is not possible.
As a class, we review the action in this section chronologically. If students have questions, we address them, and I (1) model going back to a specific section of the text and engage in think-aloud to show my path to interpretation and (2) ask guiding questions so that students engage in hands-on checking back into the text to answer one another's questions in the all-class setting.
I read aloud "The Battle With Grendel" to students after asking them to predict what will happen between Beowulf and Grendel. I stop periodically to ask comprehension questions (Discussion Questions: "The Battle With Grendel"), including
How does Grendel’s response to Beowulf differ from his normal reaction to the kingdom’s citizens when he is in Herot?
Discuss the role of fate in this battle based upon Beowulf’s belief that God determines fate. Use evidence from the text to support your answer.
Why can’t weapons hurt Grendel?
Why do you think Beowulf hangs Grendel’s arm from Herot’s ceiling?
How does Beowulf affect the immediate future of Hrothgar’s kingdom?
Justify Beowulf’s identification an epic hero in this section.
Students have an enthusiasm for this section in particular because they have been looking forward to the face-off between Beowulf and Grendel.
