As students read, a storyboard can serve as a helpful character reference log. This log (also called a character map) allows students to recall relevant information about important characters. A story like Beowulf has many characters to keep track of and a character log can help keep them straight.
Clicking "Use This Assignment" will copy both the example above as well as a blank template for you to customize as desired. You may want students to start from scratch, or provide them with the questions and characters! Additionally, feel free to add your own questions for students to keep track of.
Important Characters and Creatures
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Student Instructions
Create a character map for the major characters.
Ask the students to make a list of all the key characters or the characters they are interested in understanding. Some of the main characters in Beowulf include Beowulf himself, Grendel the monster, King Hrothgar, Grendel's mother, Unferth and Wiglaf.
They can also analyze which characters have the most interactions and which characters have the least interactions. They can list down the key points such as how these relationships and interactions influence behaviors and actions.
Understand the unique character traits that each character possesses and hold a discussion on why it was important for this character to possess such traits. Students can try to make their personalities more descriptive by modernizing the characters according to the real world.
Teachers can organize a role-play activity and students can pick their favorite characters that they want to play. The poem can be converted into a play and some scenes can be recreated in order to get a better understanding of the characters.
After playing different characters, students can write a short essay explaining their own perspective of the characters and the character dynamics they understood after participating in all the activities.
A character map is a visual portrayal of the characters' relationships, qualities, and interactions in the epic poem "Beowulf." It aids in understanding the relationships and dynamics between diverse characters. A character makes it simpler to see how the characters interact, affect the story, and represent different themes. Teachers can use this activity to explain difficult and abstract concepts in an efficient and interesting manner.
Beowulf's encounters with King Hrothgar, his conflicts with Grendel and Grendel's mother, and his partnership with Wiglaf are important relationships that students should pay attention to as they change the whole dynamic of the story. You can also look into the conflicts between characters like Unferth and Beowulf and the devotion of warriors to their monarchs.
To visually identify characters or groups of characters, give them various colours or symbols. You may, for instance, choose one colour for heroic people and another for adversarial ones. Character-related traits, allegiances, or themes can be represented through symbols.