Beowulf

Presenter: Rachel Livesey, Thurs, May 5, 2011

=**Essential Questions:**=
 * What is the historical/cultural context for Anglo-Saxon literature? What are the origins of the English language?
 * What are the repercussions and/or implications of exile?
 * How does language shift in meaning over time? How does meaning shift through translation?
 * Where does the hero myth resurface in modern culture? What universal themes are found within the hero myth?

=**Goals:**=
 * Students will critically read __Beowulf__ in two mediums: film and print. The comparative analysis allows students to see how __Beowulf__ has transformed through the centuries from an oral tradition to a transcribed poem, from a translation of the transcribed poem to film.
 * Students will explore the underlying structure of __Beowulf__, as it follows the hero's journey (monomyth) and conveys themes that are universally relevant. This allows students to decode the messages in similar cultural texts. (Literary Criticism: Archetypal)

=**Timeline:**= Unit: 20 Days Project: 12 Days (3 Intro Monomyth Structure & Project, 2 Tracing, 1 Paragraphs, 3 Presentation Workdays, 3-4 Presentations) Total: 32 days (Roughly 6 weeks) Generally, I start the unit after Thanksgiving and finish analyzing the texts before Winter Break. Students begin the project as soon as they return from Winter Break. This usually works out well, but this year it was a fiasco, considering the number of snow days we had.

=**Texts Used:**= "Beowulf." Trans. Burton Raffle. //Literature: British Traditions.// Editor Name. Place of Pub: Publisher, Yr. Print. - copy of the text from the Literature books - typed copy of the text from the Literature books, courtesy of Kristin Inserra, to allow students to annotate

__Beowulf.__ Dir. Robert Zemeckis. Paramount Pictures, 2007. Film. I have closely analyzed the Theatrical cut and Director's cut of Zemeckis' film, and there is very little differences. The sexual innuendos are the same in both versions; the differences lie in the violence.

=Supplemental Texts:= - this chapter focuses on the brutality of man to one another and to the other, a culture based on the warrior hero is born - the 12 year war begins (connects Grendel to dragons), glimpse into Unferth's character

Grendel Discussion Questions

=Works Cited:= Campbell, Joseph. //Hero with a Thousand Faces.// 3rd ed. California: New World Library, 2008. Print.

= = =Pre-Reading Activities= PSSA Informational Essay - I do one PSSA-style essay per marking period. For the first semester, I generally have the students write the essay, and then I pick one or two item(s) to develop during the revision stage. I grade the revised essay according to the PSSA essay (20 points) and the revised item(s) (10 points each).

Handout adapted from PDE resoureces PSSA style informative prompt on one's heroic code, courtesy of Jen Smith

Prior to reading the texts, I generally lecture on the history and culture of the Anglo-Saxons - PowerPoint presentation on the Historical/Cultural context of //Beowulf// //-// I would generally keep the presentation with its media, but the file was too large for me to upload; thus, you will need to download the media files as well. Once you do that, I suggest you put all of the files in one folder because you will need to re-import the media since PowerPoint does not bundle the media into a package like Keynote does

I show Part 1 of //The Dark Ages// at the beginning of this Presentation, though it is not included: a slide marks its place.

= = =Teaching the Texts: A Brief Explanation= In the past, I have had the students read and view the texts simultaneously. This has posed some problems because I have found that students either confuse the texts or fall back into the habit of not reading, only viewing, even though I stress how drastically different the texts are from one another. For this reason, I am considering teaching both texts back-to-back with a comprehensive quest (longer than a quiz, shorter than a test) following each analysis. Further, depending on the course, I try to have the students read at least two chapters from __Grendel__ after or during the viewing of Zemeckis' film. This provides a deeper understanding of Grendel's character, which allows us to discuss the purpose of the original __Beowulf__.

=Print (Raffel) & Film (Zemeckis) Study Guides=

- If you would like to keep the Beowulf font, you will need to download this file and drag the ttf file into Applications/ Font Book - The Director's Cut is necessary if you want to show the behind the scenes clip (this adds significant insight into character development and translation) - This overviews the readings that coincide with Zemeckis' film - Considering the differences between the texts

=Toulmin Writing Sequence= I use the Toulmin Model of Argumentation to teach my students how to write analytically. I incorporate the model into each unit throughout the year to allow the students practice in this type of writing before they write the term paper, a thematic literary analysis. The sequence was created using: Johannessen, Larry R., Elizabeth A. Kahn, and Carolyn Calhoun Walter. //Writing About Literature: Theory and Research into Practice.// NCTE, 2009. Print. - background reading for teachers on the Toulmin model

- Toulmin model reference sheet - Handout used once at the end of reading the print text and once at the end viewing the film text. //As an alternative to the monomyth presentation, teachers could have the student write a paragraph analyzing Beowulf's heroism, following each of the battles.//

= = =Monomyth= The Keynote presentation on the Monomyth is too large to upload to Wikispaces; thus, I will copy the file onto your Macs during the presentation. - Student handout to accompany Monomyth presentation - This clip is part of the presentation, but I thought I would provide it to you separately in case you would like to use it but not the presentation
 * Suggested Reading**


 * Additional Handouts on Monomyth**


 * Suggested Reading**

=Exams= - Shortened version of the exam

=Monomyth Project=

For the monomyth project, students will need to determine the theme of the text. Then, students will develop a presentation that shows how the theme is conveyed by offering claims and evidence of the key stages. Prior to working on the presentation, students must demonstrate understanding by submitting a paragraph, following the Toulmin model for one stage in each of the sections (departure, initiation, and return) of the monomyth. This activity serves to help the students see how an argument develops from one claim to the next.

I have my CP students do a presentation on the Monomyth and my GHP/HON students create an iMovie. Note, I do not allow students to do //Beowulf, The Matrix,// or //Star Wars.//

- This handout is provided to students when they begin the presentation - Adapted project for GHP and HON: iMovie

- Courtesy of Kristin Inserra - Presenters must submit this prior to beginning the presentation - Parental Approval Form (If student selects an R-rated film) - CP Presentation Grading Card = =

=Links=
 * **Anglo-Saxon Links** ||
 * The Seafarer || Online copy of "The Seafarer" ||
 * Anglo-Saxons || This sight provides quite a bit of information, but its design seems to be geared toward much younger kids. ||
 * Dark Ages || History.com provides resources on the Dark Ages ||
 * Clash of the Gods: Beowulf and Grendel || 3:53 Clip - May want to show after Beowulf defeats Grendel ||
 * Lost Gold of the Dark Ages || Explore various artifacts from the Anglo-Saxon period ||
 * A Viking Mystery || Discusses the most recent of Anglo-Saxon artifacts (2010) ||
 * Sutton Hoo ||  ||
 * British Channel || This YouTube site provides a plethora of videos that supplements our curriculum. You will need to download videos to your computer at home. The videos most relevant to this unit of study is The Not So Dark Ages ||
 * Anglo-Saxon Period || Useful resources provided by St. Johns College High School, a college preparatory school ||
 * Free Presentations || Free PowerPoint presentations on the Anglo-Saxon time period ||
 * **Translation Links** ||
 * Gumere's Translation || I could not locate a translation online other than Gumere's, but I feel it is imperative to give students an online copy of the text, as long as it is available, should they forget their copy at school. ||
 * Explore the Translations || Since I spend a significant amount of time discussing translation and the ever evolving text, I do like to have the kids look at the various translations, so that they can see how slight changes in language affect meaning. ||
 * Translation Study: Beowulf and Canterbury || This assignment was created for The LEARN North Carolina Beacon in October 2001 by Jo Barbara Taylor. The assignment includes translation analysis for both __Beowulf__ and __The Canterbury Tales__. I generally use this assignment with GHP & HON. ||
 * Clip: Scop Benjamin Bagby Performs Beowulf || Jen & Lori laugh @ me for playing this, but I am truly in love with listening to __Beowulf__ in its original form ||
 * **Zemeckis' Film** ||
 * Zemeckis' Movie Site ||  ||
 * Ray Winstone Interview || In this interview, Ray Winstone discusses the creation of Beowulf's character and how performance capture film allows filmmakers to create characters more like their original inception ||
 * **Monomyth Links** ||
 * Joseph Campbell Foundation || Joseph Campbell dissects the Hero's Journey in the book __A Hero With a Thousand Faces__. He bases much of his analysis on the archetypal research conducted by Carl Jung ||
 * The Writer's Journey || Chris Vogler has adapted Campbell's stages of the monomyth for use by film makers; coincidentally, he has served on the creative teams or has consulted for both the __Beowulf__ and __The Matrix__, another great connector for Greek Tragedy and Anglo-Saxon Literature ||
 * Stages of the Monomyth || Berkeley hosts a presentation on the stages of the monomyth ||
 * The Hero's Journey || Resource courtesy of Read*Write*Think allows students to trace the hero's journey and print out document for assignment submission ||
 * The Hero's Journey: Pack Your Bags || Maricopa Center for Learning and Instruction has a comprehensive site for tracing the hero's journey and provides an outline for many common journeys, including Star Wars, which George Lucas created following Campbell's model ||
 * Star Wars: The Magic of the Myth || If you do Greek tragedy, you may want to connect the Greek Tragedy unit with the Anglo-Saxon unit by using Star Wars. Kristin does an awesome activity with Theme Triangles, __Star Wars__, and __Antigone__. ||
 * George Lucas and the Power of the Myth || PBS's The American Master's series provides a lesson on Lucas and how he used the monomyth during the creation of __Star Wars__ ||
 * Hero Summer Reading Packet || Apolinario, a teacher at Bishop Alemany High School, presents his teachings on the The Hero's Journey ||
 * In Search of Myths and Heroes ||  ||
 * **Literary Criticism** ||
 * Lit Crit I Lit Crit 2 || Source created by Dr. Rouzie, professor at Ohio University ||
 * Schools of Crit || OWL's explanation of Literary Theory and Schools of Criticism ||
 * **Additional Resource Links** ||
 * NCTE Presentation || Kristin and I presented our __Beowulf__ units during the 2009 annual NCTE conference. You can find many of our resources @ this page, including Kristin's study guide for the Donaldson, prose translation. ||
 * AWayToTeach || You must sign up for this website; however, I use this website whenever I start a new unit or need a community of educators to make suggestions ||
 * **Fun Links** ||
 * Dark Ages Character || Create your very own Dark Ages Character ||
 * Jeopardy || Questions that have been on Jeopardy relating to __Beowulf__ ||
 * Beowulf in Cyberspace || I have yet to explore this sight extensively, but it seems to hold a lot of resources ||

Things I am working to create or include into the __Beowulf__ unit:
 * I would like to create a study guide for Seamus Heaney's translation, the translation I use in my GHP and HON classes. Heaney does speak about his translation here
 * I would like to make a separate iMovie for both __Beowulf__ texts to show the students my expectations for the monomyth project