Project-Based Learning Plan
PLANNING THE PROJECT
Project Title:
I Am Beowulf
Topic or Theme:
Good vs. Evil
Project Description:
Write an overview describing the project. Complete this task after you have fully planned
the project!
Modern Beowulf Writing assignment
Beowulf is one of the oldest stories in the English language. However, the basic story-good versus evil--has been repeated again and again.
One important aspect of the story is the fact that Grendel attacks not only the men, but their
way of life. The mead-hall is central to their society. By abandoning it, they are
abandoning their tales of battles, feasts, and boasting of future glory. Beowulf comes to
purge the evil from the hall and restore Hrothgar and his men to their (and his) way of life.
Throughout the story, Beowulf’s words and actions show us what is important in his
society. The scope also goes into great detail about the Danes’ and Geats’ way of life as
warriors.
For this assignment, you are to modernize the story of Beowulf, up to his defeat of
Grendel. To do so, you will need to place Beowulf in modern times, of course. However,
there aren’t many guys running around in armor with swords these days. Beowulf will
need a job. Heorot will become something important to today’s society. Grendel will be
someone who threatens it. Beowulf will need to defeat him somehow. He does not have to
kill Grendel in your story. Think of an interesting, funny, or just an ordinary job. (Try to
be creative. Grendel does not have to be a robber or a terrorist.)
Another important aspect of Beowulf is the way in which it is told/ written. The scope
uses kennings, alliteration, and foreshadowing in telling his story. He also takes great care
in describing Beowulf’s appearance as he readies for battle, as well as other parts of the
story. These create a strong (and difficult) voice. For this assignment, you should use
three kennings to refer to Beowulf and three to refer to Grendel. Have fun with them.
Think of the job you have assigned to Beowulf, and what his responsibilities are. A
cabbie: “Beowulf, driver of tourists.” A cashier: “Beowulf, giver of change.” (You may
wish to be more serious, too. Pick whether you want to be serious or funny. It is your
choice.) You should also describe what the modern-day Beowulf and Grendel look like.
Does Beowulf still look like a warrior? Or like an ordinary guy?
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Curriculum Category:
What subject area(s) will be addressed in this project?
Language Arts
History
Grade Level:
What grade level(s) will be addressed?
12th Grade
1st year college
Time required to complete the project:
How long will this project take?
K-12 Setting- One Month
Higher Ed.- Two Weeks
Essential Questions:
Essential questions are open-ended that lead to discovery and stimulate further interest in
the topic. These questions establish relevancy and help students make the connection to a
real world situation. What essential questions are addressed in this project?
If you had control over changing the way of life for a group of people, would you be
willing to risk your own life?
If your way of life was threatened by one person, what you give up and abandoned
everything or would you fight for what’s yours.
Does good always prevail over evil? In what circumstances is that true or untrue?
Supporting Questions:
What are the smaller questions that will lead students to answer the essential question?
They tend to be more topic- and subject- specific and are tied to targeted
standards/benchmarks. What supporting questions will be used in this project?
1. How is the life of King Horthgar and the men in the mead hall disturbed by
Grendel?
2. What heroic deed does Beowulf do to ensure that the way of life is restored for the
Getes and Danes?
3. What is your definition of good and evil? How you describe the two in today’s
society?
Background Information:
Curriculum:
What subject matter or information do students need to know and/or be taught before
beginning the project?
Students need to be taught:
1. Kennings
2. Alliteration
3. Foreshadowing
4. Use of “voice” in writing
5. Theme
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Technology Skills:
While many of the technology skills are learned within context of the project, there may be
prerequisite technical skills that may need to be addressed initially. In determining if skills
need to be taught prior to the project or learned in the process, the following factors might
be considered: age level; student experience with the skills; intuitiveness of the software
and ease of use.
What technology skills need to be taught prior to the start of this project?
Students will be able to :
1. Effectively use a word processor
2. Utilize spell checker in a word processor
3. Understand how to upload a document to turnitin.com
4. Use correct APA citation methods throughout their paper and on the reference
page.
5. Use PowerPoint effectively
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Standards Alignment:
What are the primary standards that will be specifically targeted and taught within this
project? Consider the standards that best fit the goals and objectives of this project. List
the standards in the boxes below. You should include both the number and the standard
description. NOT ALL STANDARDS APPLY TO ALL PROJECTS!
Sunshine State Standards: (for all K-12 projects based on curriculum content
standards other than Career, Technical, and Adult)
http://www.firn.edu/doe/curric/prek12/index.html
1. LA.E.1.4.1 Understand literary terms such as, epic, stock epithet and kenning.
2. LA.D.1.4.1 Recognize shared characteristic of cultures through reading
3. LA.E.1.4.3: Recognize themes across cultures.
4. LA.E.1.4.2: Appreciate a classic epic
5. LA.E 2.4.4: Identify alliteration and appreciate its effects.
6. LA.E.2.4.7 Make judgments about Beowulf as an epic.
National Education Technology Standards (NETS): (for all projects)
http://cnets.iste.org/students/s_stands.html
III. Technology Productivity Tools
A. Students use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity, and
promote creativity.
B. Students use productivity tools to collaborate in constructing technologyenhanced models, prepare publications, and produce other creative works.
IV. Technology Communication Tools
A. Students use telecommunications to collaborate, publish, and interact with peers,
experts, and other audiences.
B. Students use a variety of media and formats to communicate information from a
variety of sources.
Information Literacy Standards (Media): (for projects based on Library Media Skills)
Access through SBBC Learning Resources site at
http://www.broward.k12.fl.us/learnresource/info_literacyF.htm
or directly from the American Library Association website at:
http://www.ala.org/
N/A
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Career and Technical Standards (Vocational Education): (for projects based in Career,
Technical or Adult content)
http://www.firn.edu/doe/dwdframe/
N/A
Gathering Resources/Materials
Technology-Hardware/Software:
Identify the technology necessary to delivery this project based learning plan. (i.e. wireless
laptop carts; LCD projector; interactive white board; digital cameras; power supplies,
surge protectors; CD-ROMs; software applications, etc.).
At home, students need to have access to:
1. A functioning computer with accessibility to a word processor.
2. Internet access to upload and submit their assignment
In the classroom teacher needs;
1. An interactive white board
2. Functioning computer with internet access.
Internet Sites:
Identify Internet sites applicable to this project based learning plan.
Some internet sites applicable to this project are:
1. http://csis.pace.edu/grendel/projf981e/story.html
2. http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/medieval/literature/beowulf.htm
3. http://www.webjam.com/beowulf
4. http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Beowulf.aspx
5. http://web.utk.edu/~rliuzza/Beowulf/questions.htm
6. http://homepage.mac.com/mseffie/assignments/beowulf/beowulf.html
Publications:
Identify publications applicable to this project based learning plan.
The Language of Literature British Literature
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Miscellaneous Supplies/Guest Speakers, Experts: (if applicable)
Identify all other supplies/resources necessary for this Project-Based Learning Plan.
1. Character traits graphic organizer
2. In Lit. Circle groups to read assigned section from the epic poem Beowulf
PLANNING THE PROCESS
1. Creating a Project Vision with Your Students:
Describe the steps and procedures you will take as you initiate this project and
stimulate student motivation. These steps will serve as a springboard to this unit and
will explain to your students what they are expected to accomplish in the project.
Introduction (one 60 minute class period)
Through discussion and a bell ringer activity before the class begins reading Beowulf, I
will introduce them to the overall theme of the play. I can begin by saying:
The importance of classic poetry today is as important as it way when Beowulf the Poet
wrote Beowulf. The theme of good vs. evil is echoed throughout the epic poem Beowulf.
Some of the questions you may ask yourself when reading the epic poem Beowulf are:
If you had control over changing the way of life for a group of people, would you be
willing to risk your own life?
If your way of life was threatened by one person, what you give up and abandoned
everything or would you fight for what’s yours.
Does good always prevail over evil? In what circumstances is that true or untrue?
Motivation/Lesson (approximately 6-8 class sessions)
1. Allow students to choose groups which they would like to be in to read the various
portions of the poem Beowulf. By allowing students to choose their own groups, they
will likely want to participate in the activities.
2. The poem in broken up into nine parts and the first part of the poem is titled Grendel.
To get students motivated and excited to read the play, I will read the first part as a
whole group and discuss the importance and significance of the character of Grendel.
After the discussion and interaction, the whole group will decide on the elements of a
comic strip that can be drawn a displayed in the classroom.
3. Each group will be assigned one of the sections of the poem that they will read and
discuss in their groups. Students will direct any questions they may have to the teacher.
4. After all questions are answered and students have a thorough understanding of their
sections, they will then draw a comic strip for their respective section of the poem.
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5. The comic strips will follow the order of the poem and all students will have an
opportunity to learn what the entire poem is about by the presentations of the group
members.
6. Each group will be responsible for completing a six slide PowerPoint presentation
highlighting the important parts of their section of the poem. This will be the means to
help each students understand the poem Beowulf in its entirety.
7. Teacher will be available to answer any questions and guide students through a peer
discussion about the various parts of the poem.
Wrap-Up
Students will then be assigned the writing assignment in which they take on the character
of Beowulf. This is a great way to wrap the poem Beowulf because students have an
opportunity to place themselves in the poem and actually think of making a difference in
one way or another.
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2. Project Building
Comic Strip
(Students Plan, Students Research/Gather, Students Build /Present)
Student Planinng Process: How will your students plan how they will complete the
project? In developing the process for student planning, you might want to consider the
following:
When each group is assigned the section of the poem that they must read and present, as a
comic strip students will take on different roles of a literature circle. Within groups,
students need to discuss their own way of life and what they would do if it were threatened.
Students need to also take into considerations the theme of good vs. evil in the different
sections that they are assigned. The roles of the Literature Circle are:
1. Discussion Director - develops questions for the group to discuss.
2. Passage Picker or Literary Luminary - chooses a selection that the group rereads and
discusses because it is interesting, informative, the climax, and well written....
3. Vocabulary Enricher - chooses words that are difficult or used in an unfamiliar way.
4. Connector - finds a connection between the story and another book, event in their
personal life or the outside world.
5. Illustrator - draws a picture related to the reading.
6. Summarizer - prepares a brief summary of the passage read that day.
All of the roles of the literature circle are very important because each student gets the
opportunity to play to their individual strength. Each student will choose the role which
they feel they can complete best and will work with the other members of the group to
complete the Literature Circle activity.
Necessary Materials
1. Copies of the poem Beowulf
2. Literature Circle Worksheets
3. Drawing and coloring materials
4. Access to a dictionary to get the definitions of unknown words.
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PowerPoint Presentation
Students Research/Gather
Student Research and Gathering Process: How will your students research and gather
information in the project? In developing the processes for student research and gathering,
you might want to consider the following:
To complete the PowerPoint presentation about the individual parts of the epic poem
Beowulf, students will research and gather information collaboratively with group
members to ensure that the whole group understands the part of the poem assigned. To
complete this task students will:
1. Make use of the Literature books in the classroom to gather information
2. Visit the library to obtain further information from the internet about the epic poem
Beowulf.
3. Devise a plan to effectively provide their classmates with necessary information to
understand the poem.
4. Save the information on a portable storage devise to present to the class.
5. Complete a ten minute presentation to the whole group highlighting the important facts
of the assigned section.
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Students Build/Present:
Student Building/Presentation Process: What processes will your students use for
building and presenting their projects? In developing the process for student building and
presenting, you might want to consider the following:
As a final project students will complete the Modern Beowulf Writing Assignment.
Modern Beowulf Writing assignment
Beowulf is one of the oldest stories in the English language. However, the basic story-good versus evil--has been repeated again and again.
One important aspect of the story is the fact that Grendel attacks not only the men, but their
way of life. The mead-hall is central to their society. By abandoning it, they are
abandoning their tales of battles, feasts, and boasting of future glory. Beowulf comes to
purge the evil from the hall and restore Hrothgar and his men to their (and his) way of life.
Throughout the story, Beowulf’s words and actions show us what is important in his
society. The scope also goes into great detail about the Danes’ and Geats’ way of life as
warriors.
For this assignment, you are to modernize the story of Beowulf, up to his defeat of
Grendel. To do so, you will need to place Beowulf in modern times, of course. However,
there aren’t many guys running around in armor with swords these days. Beowulf will
need a job. Heorot will become something important to today’s society. Grendel will be
someone who threatens it. Beowulf will need to defeat him somehow. He does not have to
kill Grendel in your story. Think of an interesting, funny, or just an ordinary job. (Try to
be creative. Grendel does not have to be a robber or a terrorist.)
Another important aspect of Beowulf is the way in which it is told/ written. The scope uses
kennings, alliteration, and foreshadowing in telling his story. He also takes great care in
describing Beowulf’s appearance as he readies for battle, as well as other parts of the
story. These create a strong (and difficult) voice. For this assignment, you should use
three kennings to refer to Beowulf and three to refer to Grendel. Have fun with them.
Think of the job you have assigned to Beowulf, and what his responsibilities are. A
cabbie: “Beowulf, driver of tourists.” A cashier: “Beowulf, giver of change.” (You may
wish to be more serious, too. Pick whether you want to be serious or funny. It is your
choice.) You should also describe what the modern-day Beowulf and Grendel look like.
Does Beowulf still look like a warrior? Or like an ordinary guy?
After students have completed the writing assignment, each student will explain the
process that they used to get to their point. Additionally, each student will read the first
paragraph of their writing and one of the kennings that they included in their writing
assignment.
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PROJECT EVALUATION
4. Assessment of Process and Product:
Describe assessment procedures that will be used in the various stages of project
development and presentation.
The evaluation of the three parts of reading and understanding the epic poem Beowulf will
be:
Presentation rubric for all three presentations (see appendix A)
Peer evaluation of the comic strip
Evaluate student writing assignment
Each student is expected to take an exam based on content from the epic poem Beowulf.
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Appendix A
Oral Presentation Rubric : Modern Beowulf Writing
Teacher Name: H Ramontal
Student Name:
________________________________________
CATEGORY
Comprehension
4 Exemplary
Student is able to
accurately answer almost
all questions posed by
classmates about the topic.
3 Proficient
Student is able to
accurately answer most
questions posed by
classmates about the topic.
2 Needs Improvement
Student is able to
accurately answer a few
questions posed by
classmates about the topic.
1 Unsatisfactory
Student is unable to
accurately answer
questions posed by
classmates about the topic.
Enthusiasm
Facial expressions and
body language generate a
strong interest and
enthusiasm about the topic
in others.
Facial expressions and
body language sometimes
generate a strong interest
and enthusiasm about the
topic in others.
Facial expressions and
body language are used to
try to generate enthusiasm,
but seem somewhat faked.
Very little use of facial
expressions or body
language. Did not generate
much interest in topic
being presented.
Vocabulary
Uses vocabulary
appropriate for the
audience. Extends
audience vocabulary by
defining words that might
be new to most of the
audience.
Uses vocabulary
appropriate for the
audience. Includes 1-2
words that might be new
to most of the audience,
but does not define them.
Uses vocabulary
appropriate for the
audience. Does not include
any vocabulary that might
be new to the audience.
Uses several (5 or more)
words or phrases that are
not understood by the
audience.
Speaks Clearly
Speaks clearly and
distinctly all (100-95%)
the time, and
mispronounces no words.
Speaks clearly and
distinctly all (100-95%)
the time, but
mispronounces one word.
Speaks clearly and
distinctly most (94-85%)
of the time.
Mispronounces no more
than one word.
Often mumbles or cannot
be understood OR
mispronounces more than
one word.
Preparedness
Student is completely
prepared and has
obviously rehearsed.
Student seems pretty
prepared but might have
needed a couple more
rehearsals.
The student is somewhat
prepared, but it is clear
that rehearsal was lacking.
Student does not seem at
all prepared to present.
Stays on Topic
Stays on topic all (100%)
of the time.
Stays on topic most (9990%) of the time.
Stays on topic some (89%75%) of the time.
It was hard to tell what the
topic was.
Content
Shows a full
understanding of the topic.
Shows a good
understanding of the topic.
Shows a good
understanding of parts of
the topic.
Does not seem to
understand the topic very
well.
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Posture and Eye Contact
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Stands up straight, looks
relaxed and confident.
Establishes eye contact
with everyone in the room
during the presentation.
Stands up straight and
establishes eye contact
with everyone in the room
during the presentation.
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Sometimes stands up
straight and establishes
eye contact.
Slouches and/or does not
look at people during the
presentation.
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