Beowulf, the Anglo-Saxons and the epic—project options
This will be a large grade. Have fun with it!
1) Create your own hero. See below for necessary components. (1 or 2 people)
Skill(s) practiced: Analyzing epic hero traits, creative writing based on
conventions of the epic, working with a partner, presentation/public speaking
2) Create a comic book with at least 15 comic pictures and summaries. You should only
select this if you have artistic ability/try hard  I have format sheets you can use if you
would like. When you present this, you can focus on a few of the pictures and what you
wanted them to show. (1 person)
Skill(s) practiced: Summarizing text, quoting text, visualizing what you read,
presentation/public speaking
3) Write a song parody. Do you like to make up random words to songs? If so, this is for
you! Take an existing song and write a parody that relates to some combination of the
following: Beowulf, the Anglo-Saxons and the epic. Perform this live, or video record it
and show it to the class. (1-3 people)
Skill(s) practiced: Demonstrating historical and textual comprehension,
creative writing within set rhythms, presentation/public speaking, working with a
group, incorporating technology
4) Give a 4-6 minute presentation on the value of studying Beowulf and the time period.
You should use note cards, and I will collect your cards. This should be persuasive in
nature. (1 person)
Skill(s) practiced: writing to a particular topic, establishing connection to text,
analyzing the value of literature, public speaking, using notecards in public
speaking, possibly working with a partner, establishing tone
5) Do you love Super Bowl commercials? Create your own using characters from Beowulf.
Select at least 4 characters from Beowulf and put them in commercials. For example,
maybe Grendel, needing to clean the human remains from his hideous maw, advertises
for dental floss. Maybe Brecca, less of a swimmer than Beowulf (who isn’t?), advertises
for floaties. Be creative! You’ll need props/costumes/differentiation of characters. (1-2
people; you can have more people if you are willing to have more commercials; talk to
me). You can video record and play these ads in class, or you can do live presentations.
Skill(s) practiced: Demonstrating textual comprehension, creative writing
demonstrating character analysis, presentation/public speaking, working with a
group, incorporating technology, establishing tone
6) Create a movie/play version of part or all of the epic. This should be 6-10 minutes long.
You can decide the focus—all battles? One battle? Unferth and Beowulf? You should
use sound effects and/or sound track to build the scene. Skill(s) practiced:
Demonstrating textual comprehension, creative writing, demonstrating character
analysis, presentation/public speaking, working with a group, incorporating
technology, establishing tone
7) What connections exist between Beowulf and modern-life? You can examine the ways in
which our society and human relationships connect to stories you see in the news. Look
at our conception of heroes. There are many different ways that you could accomplish
this. For example, you could create a powerpoint or collage of recent news story and
compare these stories to particular lines or scenes in the epic. Skill(s) practiced:
Demonstrating textual comprehension, presentation/public speaking, research, data
analysis
8) Become a scop. Memorize a passage from the epic and present it to the class like a
storyteller. Talk to me about the passage you want to select. It should be around 40
lines. This is an individual project. Skill(s) practiced: Demonstrating textual
comprehension, presentation/public speaking, text interpretation
9) What interests you? Do you have other ideas for a project related to this unit? Are there
skills you need to practice? I am open to suggestions. Talk to me!
Timeline:
Thursday—r-w, survey, quick ppt, video, schedule, project time?
Friday—project time
Monday--project time
Tuesday—game
Wednesday—test
Thursday and Friday—present ***Be ready to present on Thursday.
Create-a-hero components—Talk to me if you are interested in this option
1. Invent a name2. Era in History- Remember that the hero’s traits should connect to the issues of her or his
society
3. Adventures (a tale of epic battles and journeys)4. Villain5. Visual Representation of hero and villain6. Coat of Arms (only necessary if you work with a partner)- (Talk to me about this).
7. Presentation-