Beowulf Part
I/ II
Agenda
 Warm-up
 Unfinished
Powerpoint from yesterday
 Grendel Activity
 Instruction/ Class reading
 Mediation Activity
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Explanation & Implementation
Student reading in groups with checking
for understanding
Warm-up
 What
is a hero (what qualities do they
possess)? Are heroes necessary in our
society? Do they exist?
Map of the Land
of Beowulf
Scandinavian Setting-Taken
from Norton Anthology
Metalwork
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In line 235, the Scop mentions
“smith’s high art” worn by the
Geats.
Pre-Viking society produced
many artifacts that were highly
decorated with carvings and
ornamentation. It was carried
westward to England and
Ireland by traders and
invaders.
How do you think the light
might have enchanted the
metal objects?
What can be infer about
ancient Scandinavian society
based on decorative objects.
Beowulf’s Introduction: Line
236
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What do you notice about Beowulf’s
introduction?
What has he done in the past? How does he
establish credibility?
Does he use elements of logic? Pathos?
Ethos?
Note: logical arguments deal with the facts,
pathos stands for emotion (using an
emotional appeal), and ethos deals with
ethics (credibility).
Heroes and Legends
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Legendary heroes are larger than life and
have a track record of battles and
adventures that reinforce confidence and
reputation.
Beowulf boats of his past deeds. How does
that establish him as the hero?
It is important to note that Beowulf’s
accomplishments are not empty. He has
accomplished all that he said he has done.
Beowulf’s Plan
 Read
lines 264-79.
 What is Beowulf’s plan for dealing with
Grendel?
 Why does he want to use his bare hands?
Summarize Beowulf’s
Accomplishments in a Link
Organizer
Beowulf
Death
 What
does Beowulf say about death (lines
279-284)?
 What values and beliefs does the warrior
culture seem to have towards death
based on Beowulf’s words and attitude?
Mediation between Grendel,
Beowulf, and Hrothgar
 Imagine
that Grendel, Beowulf, and
Hrothgar were able to sit down and talk
about their differences. What would they
say to one another? Could they work it
out? Would the end result be violence no
matter what, or could it be avoided?
 We will do a mediation activity to find out.
Discovering your Conflict Style
 How
do you resolve conflicts?
 Are you aggressive (my way or the
highway)?
 Compromising (let’s see what can work
for both of us)?
 Appeasing (let’s do what you want)?
 Does it depend? Explain.
Mediation
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1.
2.
3.
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You will be assigned to a group. Make sure you learn
all that you can about your character. Look at the
text. What has your character thought, said, and
done up until this point? What plans have the
characters made, if any? What is their conflict style?
You will be in groups of 7. You will be given sheets of
paper to write your thoughts on about your
character. Be as specific as possible. I will provide
some examples on the board.
Team Hrothgar
Team Grendel
Team Beowulf
Have fun!
Mediation: The process
I
1.
2.
3.
4.
will need 5 volunteers from our groups.
1 volunteer from Hrothgar’s team
1 volunteer from Beowulf’s team
1 volunteer from Grendel’s team
2 mediators
Mediation: The Beginning
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Step 1: Introduction to Disputants:
Mediator One:
Welcome to mediation. I’m __________and this
is_______________. We are both trained mediators. We are
trained to listen, stay neutral, and help clarify the problem.
We do not take sides or make decisions for anyone. We
keep all information confidential, unless you choose to tell
us that you are planning to harm yourself or someone else.
In that case, we will discuss getting further help. Again, we
are neutral, sworn to confidentiality and committed to
helping people peacefully resolve problems. Please listen
carefully. Each person has an uninterrupted period of time
to speak after which we will restate his/her message. Do
you have any questions?
Listening
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Defining How to Actively Listen
Process:
Ask mediators to describe their best listening behaviors, posture,
experiences.... Ask mediators to describe times when they could tell
that someone was listening to them or not listening to them. Write
down characteristics of active listening as the discussion
develops—making sure that the following characteristics are
highlighted as the definition of active listening.
Listen carefully without interruption
Look at the person who is talking
Keep eye contact if possible and appropriate
Smile when appropriate
Ask clarifying questions
Take notes if needed to help the review and restating process
19
Telling Stories
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1.
2.
In this activity mediators practice Step 2. Mediators engage
in active listening as the stories are told.
Process:
Mediators ask one of the disputants to tell their story:
“Can you tell us the story about what happened and
how you feel about it? We will listen without interrupting.”
After disputant 1 tells their story, student mediators
practice restating Ask clarifying questions
To the 1st disputant:
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
3.
1) “Is there anything else that happened before.....?” “Can you
tell me more about......?” “Can you help me understand
how/why........?”
2) “So, am right if I say that you feel the problem is......and you’re
concern is.......?
Repeat Steps with Disputant number 2
Clarifying Questions
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Fact questions:
Can you tell me more about.......?
Will you please help us understand.........? What do you mean
by..........?
How have you responded to this conflict?
Feeling questions:
How did you feel about that?
What is the impact of this conflict on your life?
Interest questions:
Can you explain what bothers you about this situation? Can you
explain how this is important?
Has anything worked in the past?”
Remember to make a list of facts, interests, feelings and problems
that need to be resolved or addressed as disputants answer and
explain and repeat all questions with each disputant.
Reviewing and Restating
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Procedure:
After both disputants have had a chance to tell their story and
mediators have asked questions the mediator asks, “Do you both
agree that we have all the facts?”
Then the mediators introduce Stage Three by explaining: “We
check for understanding by restating the important points each of
you have shared about the problem. “We want to remind you that
understanding does not imply agreement: We may understand
your position but we may or may not agree with it. First, we need to
establish that we have a clear understanding of each person‘s
perspective.”
The mediators restate what Disputant 1 has told us about the
situation so far and how he/she is feeling about it.
To Disputant 1: “Do you feel that we understand what you said and
summarized the important points accurately? If not, what important
point would you like to repeat or clarify?”
Mediators repeat the process for Disputant 2
Finally, the mediators try to restate and reframe the two points of
view by highlighting any common ground: For instance, “You both
felt insulted and left out; you are both anxious to resolve this.” This
step in the restating process allows mediators to begin to reframe
the problems a mutual problem to be solved by both mediators in
a win-win process.
Solutions
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The mediator: “Let’s start by getting a few ideas of
what each of you needs and what you think might
be fair”
Ask disputants to think of any idea that occurs to
them, reminding them that there are no right or
wrong ideas in brainstorming. Explain that you
(mediators) will keep track of every idea and remain
neutral. There will be no criticism and all ideas are
noted.
Start the process by reframing the conflict, staying
positive and focused on the creative process:
“Can you describe the best possible outcome of this
session?” “What changes would you both like to see
happen?”
“What would you be willing to do to solve the
situation?” “What would make this situation better?”
“What might keep this from happening again?”
“What’s the best thing that could happen to solve
this problem?” “What could we do differently?”
“What would make this better?”
Mediation: The Conclusion
and Agreement (if we can get
there)
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"Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a
new ending." Maria Robinson
MEDIATION AGREEMENT
Summary of the conflict:____________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
We agree to:________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________ _______________
_____________________ Disputant
Signature Date
_____________________ Mediator
Signature Date
_____________________ Mediator
Signature Date
When Mediation Does not
Work…
 Beowulf’s
fight with Grendel
 Lines 285-302: What words achieve an
element of suspense?
 Is there any foreshadowing as to what is
going to happen?
Alliteration
 Helped
to make story more compelling
 “trap on the trip to high Herot”(ll. 288)
 “Came kill” (ll. 287)
The Battle
 What
does the “Shepard of Evil” and the
“guardian of crime” say about Grendel
and the importance of the battle about
to happen?
 What was different about Herot?
 Does Grendel’s fear say something about
his humanity?
 What advantages does Beowulf have in
the fight?
Predicting
Who will win the battle? Why?
Realism & Epics
 What
details from the battle add realism
or epic grandness?
 Description of Grendel’s screams, shrieks,
and tears combined with Beowulf’s hold
over the monster. Epic grandness is
suggested based on how Grendel has
bewitched the weapons of Beowulf’s
men and the description of Beowulf being
the strongest and most powerful man.
Good vs. Evil
Beowulf
“mighty protector
of men”
Grendel
“afflicter of men”
and “tormentor of
their days”
Grendel vs. God?
 The
text says that Grendel realizes that he
was fighting with God. How might that
have changed the way Grendel viewed
the battle?
Paraphrasing
 Lines
392-7
 What is happening here?
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Grendel dies and Beowulf is more powerful
than ever
Glory was more important than victory for
Beowulf.
Happiness Restored?
 Predict
what you think is going to
happen?