Unit: Beowulf
Teacher: Rosalynn Wiedower
Lesson _1_ of _1_
Topic: Grendel
Teaching Date: November 30th
Subject/Course: English Literature
Grade Level: 12
Time Frame: 1 class period
Context: This class contains students with a range of abilities. However, one could consider this the least
advanced option in the English department for seniors, and so the class does contain many students who
struggle with reading and writing. For this lesson, students will only need the prerequisite skill of being able to
read a poetic descriptive passage and to identify the direct or implied character descriptions from that passage.
They will not need any specific background knowledge in order to benefit from this lesson. This class will be
structured to include whole-class discussion, individual exercises, and small group sharing. In order to do so,
the desks will be arranged in pods, with 5 to 6 students per pod.
In this lesson, the students and I will examine the elements that make a great literary monster. We will
analyze the character of Grendel from the famous epic poem “Beowulf” by reading different translations and
looking at a variety of artistic portrayals of him/it. This lesson fits into the overall unit as an introduction to the
poem’s style, its archetypal villain, and the different interpretations of that villain that vary by translator.
SOL Objectives
Objectives for Whole Class
 12.4 - The student will read, comprehend, and
 Students will be able to explain the inherent
analyze the development of British literature and
characteristics of a great monster.
literature of other cultures.
 Students will be able to describe Grendel, based
on the readings I give them. They will also be able
 12.6 - The student will develop expository and
informational, analyses, and
to describe how the description of Grendel varies
persuasive/argumentative writings.
based on which interpretation one uses.
 12.7 – The student will write, revise, and edit
 Students will be able to justify their preferred
writing.
artistic representation of Grendel, based upon
textual evidence.
 Students will be able to work effectively in groups
in order to discuss their favorite artistic
representation of Grendel.
Materials and Resources
Objectives for Targeted Student
 A handout I create, which students will fill in as
 Student X will not ask to use the hall pass more
they brainstorm, take notes on the posters, and
than once (as monitored by the co-operating
write a justification for their favorite poster
teacher and myself).
 6 large posters, showing different interpretations of  Student X will fill out the entire handout (as
Grendel (for example, a woodcut, a screenshot
reviewed by myself after class).
from the 2007 film of Beowulf, a painted
 Student X will increase his average time-on-task
illustration, etc.)
from 30 seconds at a time to two minutes at a time
 Passage describing Grendel from Burton Raffel’s
during individual work periods (as monitored by
translation of “Beowulf” from the students’
the co-operating teacher and myself).
Language of Literature Interactive Reader
 Passage describing Grendel from Thomas
Meyer’s Beowulf
 Classical music to play while students do their
“gallery walk”
 Document Camera
 White board/ markers
Rationale for Selected Interventions: Student X is having trouble staying on task, and he disrupts the class by
seeking the attention of his peers and the teacher. Therefore, I have selected to use Behavior Specific Praise
and Kinesthetic Learning as my two intervention strategies. Although Student X is not identified as having a
specific disability, he has had to switch schools several times because of his volatile behavior. Behavior specific
praise will be effective in helping him increase his time-on-task because he is so used to being criticized that he
now disengages with most lessons. By “catching him being good,” I will hopefully be able to demonstrate that I
value his skills (and not focus on his challenges). Likewise, Student X will benefit from the kinesthetic
component of my lesson (getting up and walking around) because he constantly needs to move around or stand
up, and an activity that encourages such behavior will make use of that energy rather than punish it. Also, along
with moving around, he will be able to socialize with his peers in a constructive way (talking about the posters).
This should hopefully cut down on the amount of time he spends in distracting side-conversations during the
rest of class.
Instructional Procedures:
 5 minutes – Pass out handout (which includes passages from Meyer and Raffel). Introduce Beowulf as
a topic: Brainstorming Prior Knowledge Activity – Write the word “monster” on the white board. The
handout will have the word monster typed in the center of the first page of their handout. Ask students to
brainstorm as many words or phrases as they can that relate to the word monster, and write those
associations around the word in the box.
 10 minutes – Discuss as a whole class (based on what they wrote):
o Which monsters they already know from tv/fim/books
o What characteristics they like about those monsters
o Finally, as a class, make a working definition of the word “monster” using the characteristics that
they determine are the most important
(Write all of these things up on a web on the white board, and encourage students to add to their
own brainstorming webs if ideas come up that they hadn’t considered) (Check for Understanding)
 10-15 minutes –(Modeling) Ask students to read the passages in the handout. Prompt them to take
notes in their handout as they find the descriptions of Grendel from each piece, while I model that
searching process on the document camera (circling strong adjectives, etc.).
 15 minutes – “Gallery Walk”: Turn on classical music and put up the Grendel posters around the
classroom. Instruct students to walk around the room: getting a look at each poster before choosing one
that they like best. Once they choose their favorite, they should hang out by it and make a list in their
handout of the things they like about it. Tell them not to forget about things like color choice, setting, and
medium. As students work on this activity, walk around the room and casually talk to them about their
poster selections (Guided Practice). Tell them that once they finish, they should go back to their desks
and use their lists to write a few sentences explaining why the poster they chose was their favorite (in
the space provided on their handout).
 5 minutes – After all the students return to their desk pods, have them discuss their impressions of the
posters (especially their favorite one) with their pod-mates, using the sentences they just wrote to help
give them something to say.
 10 minutes – (Independent Practice) Tell the students that they have 10 minutes to write a justification
of why the other seniors should use elements of their favorite picture in that class’s Beowulf mural. They
will have one blank page on which to do this at the back of their handout. Remind them that they will be
more persuasive if they back up their assertions with evidence from either or both of the two texts.
Likewise, they should be encouraged to also include artistic choices of the posters that spoke to them,
even if they weren’t specifically mentioned in the text. If they do so, they just need to be specific about
the creative elements of their piece that they found particularly appealing.
 20 minutes – (Wrap-Up) Have students share those opinions orally with the class, while writing up
common themes on the white board. While other parts of this lesson only require participation from
some students, I would like every student to participate in this section. They have had several chances
to gather their thoughts and write things down up to this point, so everyone should have something that
they can say.
Differentiation: By giving students a selection of texts to read, and a variety of pictures to examine, this lesson
should be able to serve the needs of students of differing abilities. I imagine that some of the textual
justifications will be more sophisticated than others, but by scaffolding the students’ writing with several thinking
and writing steps along the way, I believe that all the students will be able to use textual support in their
persuasive arguments. However, one specific area I could differentiate could be how the students go through
the readings. This would include content and process. For example:
High Ability: For high ability students, I would give them an additional translation to look at which would enrich
their conceptions of Grendel (but which other students wouldn’t be able to get to because of their reading and
comprehension speeds). (content)
Average Ability: This lesson is generally designed for average students, but I could also give them the option to
read the extra translation if they finished the other two in time. (content)
Low Ability: For low ability students, I could read through the sections aloud as I modeled the reading/searching
process on the document camera, making sure that the students who needed extra help for that lesson were
seated near the camera so that they could hear me (but also so that I wouldn’t disturb other students reading at
a faster pace in other sections of the room). (process)
Accommodations / Modifications: For this class, there is no need for me to make any major modifications to
the lesson plan, because none of my students have IEPs or 504s. However, several of the students could be
labeled as “at-risk,” and studies have shown that at-risk students benefit from the kinds of kinesthetic and visual
learning opportunities that I’ve incorporated into this lesson.
Assessment
(Formative)
(Summative)
 I will assess student understanding as the lesson
 Students will be handing in their entire handout.
unfolds in the following ways:
However, most of the handout will be graded for
completion (did they make a list, did they write
 Walking around as students work on their
down some associations, etc.). The truly
“monster” word webs, and seeing if they have at
summative assignment is the justification of their
least 10 ideas written down (hopefully more)
favorite poster at the end of the handout. In this
 Monitoring participation as we share our ideas
written piece, I want to see proof that students
together on the white board (I would like a
have picked out several details of their favorite
minimum of 6 students offering suggestions)
poster to discuss, and support at least half of
 After I model note taking on the document camera,
those details with textual evidence from the two
I will walk around as students work on their
translations of Beowulf. I also want to see students
passages, and for any students who are having
identify aspects of their poster that the artist took
trouble thinking of things to write down, I will help
some creative liberties with that don’t directly
them see what to look for
come from the text. However, I’m calling this
 During the gallery walk, I will be looking for
writing assignment a “justification” rather than an
students to eventually settle down by their favorite
essay, because I just want students to jump right
poster and make notes in their handout. I will
into the meat of their persuasive argument, without
praise students for being on task, and help any
worrying about the formal elements of an essay
students who may be a little lost.
like an introduction and a conclusion. That said, I
 During the small group discussion after the gallery
will also be looking for the level of sophistication of
walk, I will be looking for every person to share at
their arguments.
least one thought with their group, and I will have
the same expectations once we gather together as
a whole class to discuss the posters and texts.
(Targeted Student)
 Student X often disrupts the class by getting
out of his seat to ask for the hall pass, and so I
will see if his engagement with the lesson has
improved by monitoring how many times he
asks to use the hall pass (as well as asking
my CT to help me monitor this behavior). My
aim is for him to ask for the pass no more than
one time during the lesson (because once can
be legitimate, two or three times is not).
 Student X’s time-on-task is so poor that he
usually only spends a maximum of 30 seconds
looking at his assignment before he has to
look around the room, talk with his friends, or
get out of his seat. Therefore, my goal for this
lesson is that he increases that time-on-task to
two minutes (before he has to look around,
etc.). I will monitor his progress, as will my CT.

Because Student X has trouble with getting
distracted, his work often suffers. Therefore,
my goal for this lesson is to have him fill out
his whole handout (which I will review). Ideally,
I would also like him to give thoughtful
answers to each of the prompts.