Research Assignment: 12th Grade British Literature
Objective: To produce a collection of student-written research newsletters discussing the background and
history of Beowulf, as well as the Anglo-Saxons during the period when the epic was written.
Each student will research a given topic independently and will produce a “volume” of a newsletter using
Microsoft Publisher. The template will be provided and each student will provide enough information for a
front-and-back printed newsletter.
The topics are numbered, and that number should be the number of your volume. Review the topics below and
look through the textbook (the Anglo-Saxon chapter and Beowulf) to determine what interests you. You can
draw from internet sources, books from the library, or whatever you can find to make it interesting.
Remember, when using internet sources DO NOT cut and paste. If you copy and paste a picture, be sure to
include the source of that picture in your reference list. Be sure to paraphrase all the information you find and
credit your sources using an in-text citation and citing them in your reference list. (P.S. Google is NOT a
source; it is a search engine. You must document the actual website you clicked on to access the
picture/article.)
It is also imperative that you use reputable sources. Not everything on the Internet is true. Therefore, before
taking notes from a website, answer the following questions to see if the site is reliable. You will lose points if
you use a source that is not reliable.
1. Who is the author (this might be an individual or a company)?
2. Why is he/she/they writing this? Is the author biased?
3. What is his/her/their credibility (what makes them an expert)?
Topics:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
What Is All the Fuss About Sutton Hoo?
Art of the Anglo Saxons
Wonder Women in Celtic Legend
Pronunciation Guide for Old English
How to Build a Viking Ship
Who Was King Alfred the Great and
His Influence on Anglo-Saxon Society
7. Anglo-Saxon Religion
8. Anglo-Saxon Weapons
9. Purpose and Importance of Christian
Monasteries during Anglo-Saxon Period
10. What Was The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle?
11. Anglo-Saxon Helmets
12. The Sources of Beowulf
13. Burial Customs of Anglo-Saxons
14. Viking Influence on Anglo-Saxons
15. Anglo-Saxon Dragon Beliefs
16. Archetypal Idol (is there another archetype
that beats Beowulf?)
17. Roman Influence on Anglo-Saxons
18. Epic Remakes (movies made from
epics)
19. How to Make a Folio
20. Anglo-Saxon Music
21. Anglo-Saxon Tools
22. Tribal Dealings and Social Classes in
Anglo-Saxon Society
23. Anglo-Saxon Clothing
24. The Anglo-Saxon Bard
25. A Day in the Life of an Anglo-Saxon
in 999.
26. Words Given to English from AngloSaxons (changes in English from 4491066)
27. Chieftains and Followers (what was
the relationship and bond?)
If you do not like any of these choices, make up your own and bring the idea to me.
Multimedia Project : Grendel Times
Teacher Name: 12th grade English
Student Name:
________________________________________
4
3
2
Content
Covers topic in-depth
with details and
examples. Subject
knowledge is
excellent. Both
pages are complete
with connection to
topic of Beowulf.
Includes essential
knowledge about the
topic. Subject
knowledge appears
to be good.
Connection to
Beowulf might be
tenuous.
Includes essential
Content is minimal
information about the OR there are several
topic but there are 1- factual errors.
2 factual errors or
there are gaps
where not enough
information is
provided.
Organization
Information is very
organized with wellconstructed
paragraphs and
subheadings.
Information is
organized with wellconstructed
paragraphs.
Information is
organized, but
paragraphs are not
well-constructed.
Sources
All sources
(information and
graphics) are
accurately
documented in
desired format and
there is a variety of
sources
documented.
All sources
(information and
graphics) are
accurately
documented in
desired format and
number of sources is
adequate.
All sources
Some sources are
(information and
not accurately
graphics) are
documented.
accurately
documented but
many are not in the
desired format or the
author relies on only
one or two sources.
Professional
Appearance
Diagrams and
illustrations are neat,
crisp, accurate, and
add to the reader\'s
understanding of the
topic. Makes
excellent use of font,
color, graphics and
creates a balance
between text and
pictures.
Diagrams and
illustrations are
accurate and add to
the reader\'s
understanding of the
topic. Good use of
font, etc. and creates
a balance between
text and pictures.
Diagrams and
illustrations are neat
and accurate and
sometimes add to
the reader\'s
understanding of the
topic. Sometimes the
pictures detract from
the content and
overwhelm the
reader.
Mechanics
No grammatical,
spelling or
punctuation errors.
Almost no
A few grammatical,
grammatical, spelling spelling or
or punctuation
punctuation errors.
errors.
CATEGORY
Take your total points and multiply by 5 to get your percentage.
Your score _____________ x 5 = _____________/100
1
The information
appears to be
disorganized.
Diagrams and
illustrations are not
accurate OR do not
add to the reader\'s
understanding of the
topic.
Many grammatical,
spelling or
punctuation errors.