Beowulf Lesson Plan | Unit Objectives
1. Through reading Beowulf, students will gain a better understanding of the importance of
heroism, courage and camaraderie to the early Anglo-Saxon peoples, and how their views on
these traits continue to inform western thinking.
2. Students will demonstrate their understanding of the text on four levels: factual, interpretive,
critical and personal.
3. Students will discuss the features of a literary epic and how these features are evident in
Beowulf.
4. Students will be given the opportunity to practice reading aloud and silently to improve their
skills in each area.
5. Students will answer questions to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the
main events and characters in Beowulf as they relate to the author's theme development.
6. Students will enrich their vocabularies and improve their understanding of the novel
through the vocabulary lessons prepared for use in conjunction with the novel.
7. The writing assignments in this unit are geared to several purposes:
a. To have students demonstrate their abilities to inform, to persuade, or
to express their own personal ideas
Note: Students will demonstrate ability to write effectively to inform
by developing and organizing facts to convey information. Students
will demonstrate the ability to write effectively to persuade by
selecting and organizing relevant information, establishing an
argumentative purpose, and by designing an appropriate strategy for
an identified audience. Students will demonstrate the ability to write
effectively to express personal ideas by selecting a form and its
appropriate elements.
b. To check the students' reading comprehension
c. To make students think about the ideas presented by the novel
d. To encourage logical thinking
e. To provide an opportunity to practice good grammar and improve
students' use of the English language.
8. Students will read aloud, report, and participate in large and small group discussions to
improve their public speaking and personal interaction skills.
