Beowulf faces a new foe
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can outline the key events in the fifth chapter of ‘Beowulf’ and I can explain the author’s language choices.
Key learning points
- After Grendel is defeated, another monster - his mother - arrives at Heorot, taking away a Dane.
- Beowulf and his companions travel across bleak countryside to find her lair.
- Beowulf fights with Grendel's mother, narrowly avoiding death before killing her with a special sword.
- Authors make specific language choices in their writing in order to have a specific effect on the reader.
- A kenning is an Old English way of replacing a noun with a two-word phrase that describes it indirectly.
Keywords
Setting - where a story takes place
Language choices - decisions writers make in order to create a certain impression or have a certain effect on the reader
Impressions - feelings about a person, place or thing gained from reading a text
Kenning - a phrase of two words that replaces a noun that is often used in Old English poetry
Common misconception
Pupils may struggle to identify the effect of the kennings in the second task.
You may want to complete this task orally with partner talk, or as a class discussion, rather than as independent work.
Teacher tip
Ensure that you use 'my turn your turn' to introduce new words so that pupils are familiar with saying them; you may also want to point to the words randomly and have the class say them to familiarise them with reading the words.
Equipment
You need a copy of the 2013 Oxford Children’s Classics edition of ‘Beowulf’ written by Kevin Crossley-Holland and illustrated by Charles Keeping for this lesson.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Put the following events in order.
Q2.What happened to Grendel after Beowulf fought him?
Q3.Which word below means 'take revenge for someone's death'?
Q4.Match the following words to their meanings.
go faster
flickering
be amazed by something
make burn again
Q5.Which of the following was Beowulf given by Hrothgar as his reward?
Q6.Which of the following can contribute to characterisation?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the following words to their descriptions.
woken up
put on
well-known
dangerous
Q2.Which character was taken by Grendel's mother?
Q3.What motivates Beowulf to help others?
Q4.How does Beowulf kill Grendel's mother?
Q5.Which of these might be a kenning?
Q6.What might the kenning 'wind-rider' be describing?
To help you plan your 6 English lesson on: Beowulf faces a new foe, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 6 English lesson on: Beowulf faces a new foe, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 2 English lessons from the 'Beowulf': reading unit, dive into the full primary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.