This lesson was late coming - maybe the last 7 years of my teaching career.  It is based on my practice of beginning novels in World Literature with a collection of poems that are thematically linked to the book we are about to read.  A great way to plants seeds and to go over some wonderful poems.

Is there anything as exciting as beginning a first novel with a new class?  I look forward to this every year and the lesson we do here sets the  pace for the rest of the book as well as the rest of the year.  We have our first discussion of the actual reading! It is the first book that we will go over in class - and like first impressions; opening discussions are so darn important.  Get the students excited here - and they will stay excited for the rest of the novel (and hopefully for the rest of the year as well).  I want to go over some themes (though I never call them that) - go over what happens (the most important thing of all) - bring in as much of what we learned and talked about with Beowulf and the Anglo-Saxons.  And to acknowledge the very real amazement on the part of so many of this students at how this novel - based on this ancient text, has so much to say to them - and correspondingly how those ancient texts (that these modern books are based on) have so much to inform these books. 

Now that we've gone over the book - it's time for the students to get into their groups and try to put things together from new reading on their own (with the help of some very focused questions).

One of the most important classes of the year.  Gardner's idea of the "Shaper" is introduced & demonstrated - an idea we will come back to again and again this year.  Lots of movement, music, fun and deep thought.

The hardest group work of the year - students will first work by themselves trying to take notes and connecting different themed quotes - and then get together in a group to put it all together.  Definitely a "Big Picture" class.

After they go over Chapt 5 in groups - time for a discussion, along with Chapter 6 (most of the period) where they get to meet a hero that the Dragon told Grendel he was so important in creating.

After our big discussion on Day 5, on the Shaper - Heroes, and the point of Art - students will do a deep dive themselves into those ideas (and more) including Free Will in this Group Work.  There is also some notes for doing this as a discussion as well.

A Vertext (series of quotes) on the very complex - very beautiful Chapter 9.  The chapter is about the encounter between Ork (the high priest) and Grendel (the Destroyer).  Much from earlier in the book, especially Chapter 5 (the Dragon) comes back into play.

This lesson 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

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.

 A student essay response to Toni Morrison's "Grendel and his Mother".  A Chance for the students to write about the novel they've just finished.  There are 3 essay prompts - 2 of them based on Toni Morrison's incredible essay that explicates the value of reading beyond our time and our culture.

The students will now put everything we've done since the beginning of the year - and synthesise it with a film that echoes the story of Beowulf - and is one of the great American movies of all time; "High Noon".

The students will finally put on the scenes that they've been practicing for a month (while we've been doing Grendel in class.  It's been a long time - here is the original assignment.