Lesson Overview 

NOTE: Most of what follows is a verbatum copy of Beowulf Day 2 - simply because we follow the same format - 1) Students are quizzed  2) We read the text aloud (that they read for homework) stopping with the students' and teacher's questions, comments, ideas - using the Reading with my Notes found below.  After the quiz - we begin to read through the Beowulf text.  Because they (most of them) have read it for homework - it will be a great exercise for them to see what they saw on their own - what other classmates saw in their reading - what the teacher brings into to it - and how to adjust their reading for next time.  This is especially useful after having taken an assessment (remember - quizzes never ask "thinking questions").  The text with my notes on it are especially useful for understanding this lesson. 
    We read by starting at one end of the room (I try to alternate which end) and each students reads lines until we go on to the next student or there is a question or comment (from the class or from the teacher).  Ideas such as Anglo-Saxon poetry (alliteration, caesuras, kennings) are pointed out in the actual text rather than just lecturing at them - though they did have material on this in their reading last night.  The class synthesizes - everything they came up with, the text book, the teacher - and of course wonderfully every class that has come before this one.
    Again - the instructions are simple: Have students read a small section (6-15 lines), interrupting during that reading or after that section with questions and comments (see my notes).  Take special glee in the items that many of the students will have spotted on their own - like the monks changing Grendel to a biblical descendant of Cane.  Here we get to see much of what was brought up in our previous lessons on Beowulf.  Earning what you recieve.  Bragging is not bragging if you follow through etc.  We also spend some time dwelling on the beauty of the Anglo-Saxon poetry.

Remind them of their reading (homework) - the students' reading schedule for Beowulf can be found in the handout from the last lesson.  Remind them of how much they were able to come up with on their own - they can and will do this.  

Thoughts on the Lesson 

Our second full class discussion on the story - using their comments, questions, and how they do on the quizzes - it's a great to time to assess how they doing with the reading.  This is also a lesson where the elements of Anglo-Saxon poetry - kennings, caesuras, and alliteration are further explained.  Also, the idea of EARNING what you get - which will not only be brought up in the next lesson, but is important to the novel Grendel (their next Unit) and the rest of the year (in both effective and affective ways).