Beowulf

Product Information

A son and grandson of actors, Michael has acting in his blood and enjoys collaborating and performing live adaptations of his books at festivals, concerts and theatres. Planning has been adapted from several sources and fitted to the way in which English is taught in my school. We read this as part of our history study of Medieval history this year - this was the most kid-friendly version of Beowulf I could find. Evidently, Grendel, the defeated foul foe, had a mother and now Beowulf's got to get rid of her as well. Beowulf's terrifying quest to destroy Grendel, the foul fiend, a hideous sea-hag and a monstrous firedragon is the oldest surviving epic in British literature.

This is a key text in Anglo-Saxon literature, which delves into the historical period with detail and provides children with a rich background knowledge of the time. it may be an old story, yet it troubles and terrifies us now as much as it ever did, for we still fear the evil that stalks out there in the darkness and beyond. Of all the kings that ever lived, they said, this was the gentlest and kindest to his people, the most gracious and famous the world had known.

Foreman's illustrations don't capture the horror or the nobility of the text which is my only criticism.

One of the UK’s best-loved authors and storytellers, Michael was appointed Children’s Laureate in 2003, a post he helped to set up with Ted Hughes in 1999.

A unit of literacy that uses this incredible re-telling of the classic story to support the Year 5-6 literacy curriculum. Grendel’s mother, a swamp-hag who lives in a desolate lake, comes to Heorot seeking revenge for her son’s death.

You can also read about his life in War Child to War Horse,a collaborative biography with Maggie Fergusson. Although in essence Beowulf and the tales are considered legendary rather than fact, historians generally accept the characters described by the poem are based upon genuine 6th Century Scandinavian royalty and warriors - and the Anglo-Saxons and subsequent 8th/9th Century Viking raids upon Britain form part of the History National Curriculum at KS2; thus this book supports cross-curricular learning too. He kills her with a sword forged for a giant, then, finding Grendel’s corpse, decapitates it and brings the head as a prize to Hrothgar. There is a strong emphasis on SPAG with opportunities for extended writing and speaking and listening integrated into the Unit. I liked this book , the story contains friendship, ad venture and people that care, although some of it didn’t really catch my attention.My favourite character was Wiglat h because he was loyal to his king and he didn’t run away whe n he needed them the most. The author did state that there was no planning attached but with some of the resources I really had no idea how to use them. I’ve used this text and resources with Year 4 several times and they are tried and tested winners at getting even the most reluctant of pupils to do some creative writing. I enjoyed reading something different and a different style of writing, it’s just not my favourite genre.