Beowulf – ELA Brave and True by Marilyn Yung

A better Beowulf unit begins with Sutton Hoo

Written by Sam Knight and published in The New Yorker (August 9, 2019), this article is one of my all-time favorite contemporary texts to include in my Beowulf unit.

When Christian Bale becomes Beowulf

Here’s another way to infuse relevance into Beowulf When you extend your Beowulf unit into a mini-unit on Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey, three things will happen: 1) You’ll build excitement to read an Anglo-Saxon poem so old we don’t even know exactly when it was written or by whom. 2) You’ll open students’ eyes toContinue reading “When Christian Bale becomes Beowulf”

Life lessons from Beowulf

I tried this Life Lessons in Beowulf essay with high school seniors. Here’s how it went.

Three new articles to pair with Beowulf

Three contemporary articles to pair with Beowulf to build relevance for high school students.

Check out The Hero’s Journey podcast

A great supplement to teaching the hero’s journey Have you discovered “The Hero’s Journey” podcast? Subtitled “Books & Films Through a Mythical Lens,” this is a fantastically interesting podcast I used in February to supplement my hero’s journey lessons. Use the monthly show to introduce students to Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey in popular movies, someContinue reading “Check out The Hero’s Journey podcast”

Friday Eve Photo: A Beowulf Hero’s Journey

New Year, New Units: Beowulf and The Old Man and the Sea

Lots of planning comin’ up! Now that the new year has started, I thought I would write a short post about the units I’m starting with my juniors and seniors next week. My junior classes will begin Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea on Wednesday and my senior classes will start Beowulf onContinue reading “New Year, New Units: Beowulf and The Old Man and the Sea”