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"Grendel: Tedium is the worst pain."
Grendel Day 8 - Class Discussion/Group Work (Three Different Lessons) - Chapter 10 : I will show three different ways that I had the class discussion for Chapter 10: 1) Group Work 2) Dividing the Reading - Discussion 3) Ring-Master Teacher Discussion
Lesson Overview
Lesson Overview
Though I usually teach the same books and stories with additions here and there - the discussions (and group work or any activity for that matter) are always altered, changed, or reinvented. On this page I will show (and give the materials for three very different ways that I taught the reading assigned for that day. For more on Group Work go here and for different class discussion methods, go to this page.
In Chapter 10 - the Shaper dies. See the earlier lessons for more on the shaper, but suffice it to say, as John Gardner uses the modern Grendel to make Beowulf come to life - I try to get the students to see the Shaper in their own terms - the death of Robin Williams, Tupac, and way before their time (hence the handout on the back of the Group Work), Giuseppe Verdi. The lesson - whether discussion or Group Work - though I must say it most often Group Work and I believe that it works best that way - also brings in earlier chapters including the last one on Ork (the high priest) and the idea of the Destroyer (a complement to Shaper).
Teaching Method #1 - Group Work
Teaching Method #1 - Group Work
Most Recent Group Work for Chapter 10 - The Death of the Shaper
Most Recent Group Work for Chapter 10 - The Death of the Shaper
Group Work Chapt 9-10 Death of the Shaper. Docx PDF There is a lot in this Group Work and students will have to work hard and in a focused way to get it done by the end of the period. In addition to some modern Shapers, there is also the Simon and Garfunkel song that asks much the same question that Grendel asks after the death of the Shaper. "Where do we go from here?"
Discussion Method #2 - Dividing the Reading
Discussion Method #2 - Dividing the Reading
You may notice this covers 9 & 10. If you did the Vertext (see the last lesson) - you will want to revise to cover Chapter 10 alone.
In this method, the class is divided into rows (what is usually called columns) and each row is assigned a section of that day's reading. For their given section, each student is to come up with THREE separate things for three different parts of their reading. The first two are either a comment or a question (ie or two comments or two questions). The third thing they are to come up with is a quote from their reading that they thought was "cool", "interesting", "puzzling" etc.
Each of their three things should be significant (Ah - here's were taking notes while they read comes in handy) and should potentially lead to discussion. They are to write these three things down (that's really important).
The cool part of having Three separate things to find is that if another student who came before them in their row picked one of theirs - they still have two more.
You give the class about 5-10 minutes to find their three things - then begin with the first student in the first row and go through the entire class. The great thing about this method is that it is completely student-centered (I hate that term). The student comes up with the question or comment - other students comment or reply to what they had to say. The teacher is merely a facilitator.
Discussion Method #3 - Ringmaster Teacher
Discussion Method #3 - Ringmaster Teacher
PLEASE NOTE: These notes are for a discussion encompassing Chapters 7 to 10. Wow! -I don't know how I could possibly get that all into one class period - and it's obvious to me why as time went on (these are from 2001) I broke the material down. Chapter 9 itself needs an entire period to go over. See a previous lesson for instructions on how to conduct (or, I should say, how I conduct one of these lessons). - the text with my notes served as a guide for the questions, comments and ideas that I ask - though I was always ready for and often elicited the students ideas, questions, etc. Over the years - as I wrote notes in this text - the previous years' notes and questions become incorporated into the lesson. Again - you will find that these instructions are flexible - and I had to be - they kept changing the amount of time that we had in the classroom.
Audio Visual Content
Audio Visual Content
There are two songs that are used in the group work (or discussion for that matter). The first is "So Long Frank Lloyd Wright" - the lyrics can be found on the group work - but this song echoes Grendel's sadness at the death of the Shaper - and "Where do we go from here?"
The second is a part of the Verdi Requiem - see the back of the Group Work for the tie in with Verdi and his death and the effect that it had on his countrymen.
Remote Enhancements
Remote Enhancements
Both the Vertext and the Divided Reading Slide work very well for enhancing Remote Learning.
Grendel Day 9 - Chapters 11 & 12 - A Final Class Discussion. There is a choice here of doing this as a class (preferred) or as a Group Work. It is our final discussion of our first novel - and there is a big twist that gets revealed - and we are all left in awe and wonder.
WHAT CAME BEFORE:
WHAT CAME BEFORE:
Thoughts on the Lesson
Thoughts on the Lesson
The artists or Shapers who are mentioned in the Group Work (or discussion) - Robin Williams, Tupac - were contemporary as I was teaching this novel. Whatever artist you feel the students feel the loss of profoundly - should be worked in to the exercise.
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