Starter quiz
- Where is the story of 'Beowulf' set?
- Denmark ✓
- England
- Norway
- Geatland ✓
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- Put these events in the order they happen in 'Beowulf'.
- 1⇔Beowulf defeats Grendel.
- 2⇔Beowulf defeats Grendel's mother.
- 3⇔Beowulf defeats the dragon.
- Match each monster Beowulf defeats to the way he kills it.
- Grendel⇔with his bare hands ✓
- Grendel's mother⇔with a sword he finds ✓
- the dragon⇔with a dagger ✓
- Which character helped Beowulf to defeat one of the monsters?
- Unferth
- Leofric
- Wiglaf ✓
- Hrothgar
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- When is the story of 'Beowulf' set?
- in the present day
- before the Romans occupied Britain
- after the Romans occupied Britain ✓
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- In what form of writing did 'Beowulf' originally appear?
- a novel
- a poem ✓
- a newspaper article
- a play
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Exit quiz
- Which culture did the story of 'Beowulf' come from?
- Greek
- Roman
- Anglo-Saxon ✓
- Victorian
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- Which modern-day countries did Anglo-Saxons come from?
- Germany ✓
- the Netherlands ✓
- Denmark ✓
- Spain
- Ireland
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- True or false? The story of Beowulf was written down before it was told orally.
- True
- False ✓
- Put these groups in Anglo-Saxon society in order, with the most powerful listed first.
- 1⇔the king
- 2⇔thanes (thegns)
- 3⇔peasants
- 4⇔enslaved people
- What evidence is there that warriors were respected in Anglo-Saxon culture?
- They were all made kings.
- They were given power and wealth. ✓
- They were given elaborate burials. ✓
- Their stories were widely told. ✓
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- In the final mini-story - Beowulf and the dragon - which event is the resolution?
- Beowulf tries to stab the dragon, but he is unable to and needs Wiglaf's help.
- Beowulf slits the dragon's throat, killing it. ✓
- Beowulf argues that he should fight the dragon and he approaches its cave.
- The dragon burns down the Geat stronghold.
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Worksheet
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Lesson Details
Key learning points
- Beowulf was written by Anglo-Saxons in England about events in Scandinavia.
- The story refers to some historical figures, but lots of the story is fictional.
- In Anglo-Saxon society, warriors were highly respected. We can see evidence of this in 'Beowulf'.
- The overall story focuses on the 'problem' of Beowulf's quest for fame.
- The story is made up of three mini-stories, each with their own story structure.
Common misconception
Pupils may find it difficult to see the distinction between the overall story structure and the structure of the mini-stories.
As pupils will be writing events from only one mini-story in this unit, focus on the idea of each of these as a complete, resolved story in itself. The larger, overall structure is less significant for our writing in this unit.
Keywords
Anglo-saxons - the European people who settled in what is now England, following the end of Roman occupation
Culture - the ideas, customs and behaviour of a particular people or society
Story structure - the underlying structure of a narrative that gives it a logical and coherent order
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