1. Identifying heroic qualities This ancient epic masterpiece exhibits creativity, resilience, bravery and perseverance.

These qualities evoke the mental image of a wise and ancient warrior; much like the document itself, composed over 1000 years ago and lasting through many trials and tribulations. The mere age of the document is astounding, through the years the original epic has be owned by many collectors the most famous was library almost destroyed the great work. obert !ruce "otton where a fire in the "otton

2. Shaping the lesson or unit: 2.1. Finding the story or narrative: #!eowulf$ is considered by most experts to be the most important piece of existing %nglo&'axonliterature, because the poem is the oldest (nglish manuscript and gives insight into the )ermanic way of life. *espite being of such great importance, mystery shrouds the identity of the author or as some experts claim the authors. +any experts suggested that at first #!eowulf$ existed only orally and was finally transcribed after many generations; though this was of great debate between the ,0s and -0s. .t is estimated that #!eowulf$ was composed around 1000 %*. This document is often associated with the court of /ing "anute, the 0iking king of *enmark, one of the greatest figures of medieval (urope. 1e was known for his diplomatic and military accomplishments. 1e is credited for having united the *anes and the (nglishmen through cultural bonds of wealth and custom rather than violence. 2http344en.wikipedia.org4wiki4/ing5"anute6 #!eowulf$ is thought to have been written for entertainment, blending legend with fact. The poem gives insight into the %nglo&'axon migration to (ngland during the 7th century. This (pic has withstood the test of time in both physical and literary form. !eing translated into do8ens of languages, rebound, and reprinted in order to preserve what was left of the original manuscript after the fire and hundreds of years of neglect have added to the legend of this epic work. %fter 1000 years of existence this manuscript still holds its glorious distinction as the most important piece of (nglish 9iterature.

2.2. Finding extremes and limits: This poem is often associated with /ing "anute, whom historians consider one of the most important figures of medieval (urope. "anute united (ngland and because of his parallel political influence in 'candinavia he protected (ngland from the 0iking hordes allowing culture and trade in (ngland to take root, http344www.viking.no4e4people4e& knud.htm. The poem was written over a thousand years ago. The poem survived a fire that threatened to destroy it in 1-:1 when the most famous owner obert !ruce "otton kept it in the "otton library. This poem is considered to be

the most important piece of %nglo&'axon literature in existence because the poem is the oldest (nglish manuscript and gives insight into the )ermanic way of life. ;arts of the poem were confirmed as factual through archeological evidence, such as the +igration and certain aspects of the )ermanic way life during this period.

2. . Finding connections to human hopes! fears! and passions:

This poem deals directly with tradition and mortality. The poem is structured around battles and funerals and the traditions associated with these events. 'tudents can connect with this poem on two levels related to mortality. <irst, the poem as a document embodies longevity and can be seen as a metaphor for eternal life or an afterlife. 'econd, the content can be accessed through the lens of tradition and mortality, which will emotionally engage the students to varying degrees, depending on the student=s own beliefs surrounding death and the afterlife. /ing "anute was born to a royal family and in his lifetime reined as /ing of *enmark for 1- years, /ing of (ngland for 1> years, and /ing of ?orway for seven years while he held certain kingdoms within 'weden for four years. Throughout these lengthy posts he was known for his diplomatic and military accomplishments. There has been much debate surrounding the meaning and nature of the poem. 'ome scholars argue that the poem is "hristian in context, citing that )rendal and her mother are descendants of "ain a figure from the @ld Testament. @ther scholars, including A. . Tolkien argue that the there is too much accuracy in describing the %nglo&'axon paganism for it to have been written too far after the conversion of (ngland to "hristianity and must be interpreted as a ;agan work. %theists, %gnostics and 'cientists will be able to emotionally engage on the level of disbelief which in itself can foster emotional engagement which . think is Bust as valid as any other perspective. #!eowulf$ was largely ignored as an important piece of literature until A. . Tolkien described it as such in his 1>,: criticism: The Monsters and the Critics Beowulf. ;ropose a proBect that would investigate several different perspectives on the afterlife and death throughout the different cultures of the world; ..( the (gyptians, the %8tecs, the %nglo&'axons, The <ranks, The 0ikings, etc

2.". #mploying additional cognitive tools of $omantic understanding: %ollections and ho&&ies: The students could research and build a collection of 0iking weapons and amour. The students could trace the ownership of the poem throughout the years compiling a timeline of ownership. %hange of context: The teacher could come to class dressed as )rendal and do battle with another teacher who is dressed as !eowulf. The students could recreate one of the traditional feasts depicted in the poem.The students could also have the option to write a passage from the poem from the antagonists= point of view. 'tudents could write a heroic introduction for a person of their choice in the %nglo&'axon tradition mirroring the elements present in #!eowulf.$ 'he literate eye: 'tudents could compile a list of )rendal=s victims. 'tudents could graph or chart the 0iking migration across (urope when this poem takes place. The students could also create a map for !eowulf to help him locate )rendal. 'tudents could participate in a workshop making homemade paper then create maps to look ancient like the original manuscript ..( burning the edges and staining with tea bags. 'he sense of (onder: ;lay the game telephone, where students pass along a story mimicking the oral traditions of%nglo&'axon narrative heroic poetry. The point of telephone is relay the message as accurately as possible which in reality it is never accurate, this is the point of this activity. The students are to consider that in an oral tradition they would exaggerate

unimportant details 2describing a man as 10 feet tall or that he can shoot lightening from his eyes6 to make the story more memorable, to make sure there is consistency within the piece of history. This relates back to the belief that !eowulf is half factual history and half legend. ;ossibly playing with variations to the telephone game and the form of the story to compare and illustrate the way in which an oral tradition retains accuracy over many generations. This would allow them to begin to understand the wonder of the survival of a poem like #!eowulf$.To have survived Bust in an oral form for generations is ama8ing. 'tudents would begin to appreciate the art of preservation that comes along with an oral tradition used in the time #!eowulf #was composed. #m&ryonic tools of philosophic understanding: This poem was originally composed in @ld (nglish, a form of modern (nglish spoken and written by the %nglo& 'axons in (ngland and 'cotland between the 7th century and mid 1Cth century. De can thank the authors of this poem and his fellow people for helping to develop the way in which much of the modern world communicates. The (nglish language we use today was developed through many centuries, influenced by many political and social movements throughout the years. "onsider that without a common language most of the things like video games, movies, malls, television shows, cell phones, computers, cars and the internet may not exist. +odern (nglish has become the most common language of business and development on the international level. .t is mainly how the experts who develop such technologies communicate. ;aganistic views and practices are very apparent in this poem. ;aganism is a term that refers to polytheistic religious traditions. .n the past this term has been used by several monotheistic religions such as Audaism, "hristianity and .slam to label those who do not believe in their religions. This poem presents a people that have very different practices than those we are surrounded by today. 2.) *ra(ing on tools of previous +inds of understanding

Somatic understanding: % document that has survived for so many years and even lived through a fire is surprising. !eing surprised by such unusual information will invoke a sense of wonder. The students will learn about the rhyme scheme associated with narrative heroic poetry. eading the poem aloud will allow them to experience the beauty of the writing. 9earning the rhyme scheme will allow the student to better experience the beat, connecting them on a new level emotionally. The students could act out certain portions of the poem. %llowing the students to share the experiences with the characters the students could connect to the characters on a tangible level. !ring in copies of the original poem and have them try to read old (nglish to allow them to discover how much different the original sounded and where modern (nglish came from. This reali8ation will again invoke a sense of wonder. ,ythic understanding: *escribing the poem as a wise and ancient warrior is a great metaphor to engage the students. 'tudents could participate in role playing, or recreating some of the traditional events in the poem. hyme and rhythm can be explored through oral readings of the poem. The students could engage with the humorous aspect of their teacher dressed as

)rendal battling another teacher dressed as !eowulf. !eowulf and )rendal are binary opposites in both their allegorical meaning and their physical presences. !eowulf represents hope, honor, strength, good etc, while )rendal represents evil, pain, suffering, sorrow, cowardice etc. !eowulf has shiny armor and is described very favorably while )rendal is scaly, slimy and bloodthirsty.