As the party of various low-level, mid-level, and high-level administrators were approaching the classroom together, they set their arms and clipboards against the wall. ’Gainst the wall of the building, their wide-fashioned district walk-through teacher evaluation checklist in triplicate, they weary did set then, red pens sturdy; benchward they turned then; ashen-shafts mounted with edges of iron: the armor-clad administrators were decked with weapons ready to point out the lack of a learning target and general disorganization.
Luckily you had this monstrously good Beowulf lesson plan and were able to ward off the hoard one last time, provide the necessary documentation, and hold on to your teaching position.
By Hrothgar’s beard, I bet you just want the handout I use for my Summary of Beowulf lesson plan. Well, here it is: Beowulf Summary Boxes.
Which version of Beowulf should I teach?
I could go into the merits of Seamus Haney, the purity of Old English poetry, or the wonders of the prose translation, but that would be kind of stupid since the choice of which version to teach is obvious:
Teach the Beowulf version you have in the school’s book storage room or the one in the textbook.
Let’s be practical.
The summary lesson plan and corresponding handout don’t care which version you use either since they are all telling the same story anyway.
The Beowulf summary handout includes the following primary events in the epic. And since you bothered to read down this far even though I included the handout above, I figured I’d provide my own summary of each section–as I see it.
Beowulf Summaries
The Wrath of Grendel. Remember when you were late for your last doctor’s appointment and you ended up behind a moped going 36 miles below the speed limit. That’s a calm day for Grendel. He’s really made at Hrothgar, the local king, who’s consolidated power and commemorated it by building a massive Mead Hall. This angers Grendel, who’s been hanging out in the outskirts of society since the days of Cain. The nightly parties don’t soothe his anger. What does soothe his anger, however, is breaking into the mead hall, murdering several visitors and eating them. That’s a step or two above pounding the roof of my apartment because the people upstairs are too loud.
The Coming of Beowulf. Grendel’s terrorizing continues and severely weakens Hrothgar’s power–not to mention putting a serious damper on his nightly parties. Several warriors fail to rid the area of Grendel. Then Beowulf shows up. Grendel sees an opportunity to kill another warrior. What he sees instead is the end of his miserable life. You don’t mess with Beowulf. Grendel’s not the only one who learns this. Unferth, one of Hrothgar’s warriors talks trash to Beowulf before getting humiliated in front of everyone.
The Journey to the Monster’s Lair. After Grendel’s death, Grendel’s mother seeks revenge, killing several more of Hrothgar’s buddies. This means Beowulf must hunt down the demoness. He deduces that Grendel’s mother probably lives under the nearby lake. He is right. It takes Beowulf an entire day to see the lake’s bottom and the entrance to the monster’s lair. Grendel’s mother senses Beowulf’s presence and tries to kill him. Beowulf’s armor protects him. She eventually drags Beowulf into the cave where they battle.
The Battle with Grendel’s Mother. Once Grendel’s mother touches the bottom of the lake, she drags Beowulf to her lair, subjecting him to the poisonous snakes that dissolve his armor. Apparently Grendel’s mother assumes the trip through the poisonous snakes are a sufficient strategy for dispatching our hero, but she is wrong. Likewise, Beowulf assumes taking his sword and smashing mama on the head is sufficient strategy for ending the demon’s mother’s life. He, too, is wrong. He then wrestles the monster with his bare hands, nearly dies, finds an ancient sword, cuts Grendel’s mother, and kills her.
The Final Battle. Beowulf’s final foe is the dragon. He takes 11 warriors with him and picks up a thief on the way. Beowulf enters the dragon’s lair and battles the fire-breathing foe. His warriors desert him in battle with the exception of Wyglaf. The two warriors defeat the dragon but Beowulf’s wounds are too great. Beowulf bestows his armor upon Wyglaf.
ELA Objectives
I suppose we should have an objective or two for this Beowulf lesson plan (get the handout here).
- Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite
specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text. - Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key
supporting details and ideas. - Analyze how and why individuals, events, or ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.
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If you’re in to teaching epics, you don’t want to miss The Odyssey lesson plans page.
Last Updated on May 4, 2021 by Trenton Lorcher
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