The Beowulf Unit Bundle from BritLitWit will have you covered from start to finish with reading questions, quizzes, worksheets, projects, activities, and more! This bundle includes: Anticipation Guide/Pre-Reading Opinionnaire: This resource presents statements that reflect the attitude of Anglo-Saxon people, including topics like loyalty, revenge, and honoring elders. Students check off the degree to which they agree with the statement, and then explain three of their points in further detail. It's a great discussion starter that helps us with continually comparing our modern-day culture to the culture depicted in Beowulf! Introductory Slides: These Beowulf introductory slides use authoritative sources to prepare your students to analyze the text. The slides include explanations of the general plot, the historical context about the cultures who contributed to the development of the story, how the story developed in the oral tradition before it was written in Old English and eventually translated into Modern English, the cultural values present in the story, and literary devices including alliteration, kenning, variation, digressions, and epic conventions. (The slides are in PDF so formatting is preserved. If you want to project them, just go to the slideshow/presentation mode in the top menu.) Reading Questions: This resource includes 67 questions about the poem's plot, along with prompts for students to note examples of important poetic devices, such as kennings and variation. It includes a version for the Seamus Heaney translation, with the questions broken into ten chunks that provide good stopping points (line and page numbers are noted). It also includes a version of the questions without line or page numbers in case you're using a different translation of the text or want to assign different reading chunks. Answer key included. Quizzes/Test: These three multiple-choice Beowulf quizzes will hold students accountable for completing their reading! The quizzes are based on the Heaney translation and cover these sections: pages 1–47 (the introduction to the Danes through Beowulf's boast), pages 47–113 (Beowulf's fight with Grendel through Beowulf's fight with Grendel's mother), pages 113–end (the story of Queen Modthryth through Beowulf's death). Answer keys are included. Also included is a test version that groups all three quizzes into one. Epic Conventions Worksheet: This resource requires students to find examples of seven epic conventions in the text and cite the page numbers. To reinforce the content further, they are also required to describe how a modern movie, show, or book also meets some of the epic conventions. Answer key included. (A version that can be used with any epic text also included.) Hrothgar's Advice Questions & Bumper Sticker Activity: Students take a closer look at the leadership advice Hrothgar gives Beowulf after he slays Grendel and Grendel's mother and gets ready to leave (pages 117-123 in the Heaney translation). Students reflect on whether Hrothgar's advice is still relevant in our time. An answer key is provided for these four questions. The resource also includes instructions for an optional extension activity for students to distill excerpts of Hrothgar's speech into "bumper stickers" that represent his main messages. Don't skip it! Students love it and it provides great classroom art. Boast Poem Assignment: This assignment requires students to write a boast poem similar to the one that Beowulf delivers before he fights Grendel! It's a great way to help students prepare for writing college admissions essays. This resource scaffolds the writing process so students are set up for success. The packet includes: a detailed rubric that outlines the requirements for alliteration, kennings, references to family/friends, and personal accomplishments and plans; a full example of a boast poem, which meets every aspect of the rubric; and an optional template that will help students work up a rough draft. The Reality of Monsters Project: This project helps students understand the purpose of literary monsters like Grendel by exploring how real fears of a society become part of folklore, movies, and literature. Students consider why Anglo-Saxons would have believed in monsters or what troubles they could have symbolized, and then they design a monster of their own that taps into a fear common in our own society. Also included: notes for the teacher with ideas to inspire students and guidance about grading. This project is a student favorite! Bonus Files: Lots of extras free with your purchase of the bundle! Kenning Worksheet: Students work in groups to write creative kennings for common words to better understand the poetic device. It's lots of fun to turn into a class competition! Grendel Description Writing: The poet of Beowulf leaves it up to our imaginations to decide what Grendel looks like. This assignment has students describe him in detail and start thinking about the purposes of monsters in literature. Storyboard for the Fight with Grendel's Mother: Students condense the action of this section into a comic strip/graphic novel form. (Includes notes for the teacher about the events in this section.) Anglo-Saxon Riddles: A great filler activity! Students try to work out eight riddles from the culture that created Beowulf. Discussion/Writing Questions: Worksheet with four questions that require deeper thought about Beowulf and its continued relevance. These can be used to guide a class discussion or simply serve as a final writing assignment. A sample pacing guide that will help you plan the use of all of the above materials! Related blog post: How to keep the energy up during your Beowulf unit Other resources you may find helpful: British Literature Classics Mega Bundle Canterbury Tales Prologue Bundle Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Unit Bundle Folk Ballads of England & Scotland Resource Packet Keep in touch with BritLitWit! Blog Instagram Pinterest Facebook