When Beowulf is an old man, however, a thief disturbs a barrow, or mound, where a great dragon lies guarding a horde of treasure. His latest book is Boy Giant published by Harper Collins Children’s Books and Owl or Pussycat illustrated by Polly Dunbar and published by David Fickling Books. This award is given every year by Action for Children’s Arts to a “children’s arts practitioner” whose lifetime’s work has delighted children and will stand the test of time. But it is his third terrible battle, with the death-dragon of the deep, in which he truly meets his match.

Beowulf - Holly Primary School Beowulf - Holly Primary School

The slides could do with formatting, and videos embedding, but the quality of the lesson materials is good. They go on to create a number of varied written outcomes using the text as a starting point including recounts, formal letters, dialogue, descriptions, obituaries and writing their own epic, heroic narrative using various poetic devices. Our resources are crucial for knowledge lovers everywhere—so if you find all these bits and bytes useful, please pitch in. Beowulf is an Old English poem and is one of the most important works in all of Old English literature. You can also read about his life in War Child to War Horse,a collaborative biography with Maggie Fergusson.Children LOVE the language and horror elements of this story and produce quality written outcomes as a result. Beowulf's terrifying quest to destroy Grendel, the foul fiend, a hideous sea-hag and a monstrous firedragon is the oldest surviving epic in British literature. Years later a vicious dragon is awakened after someone does something really stupid, (*warning: never steal gold from a sleeping dragon) and Beowulf must save his own people from the dragon's venomous fire. Michael Morpurgo was 2003-2005 Children's Laureate, has written over one hundred books and is the winner of many awards, including the Whitbread Children's Book Award, the Smarties Book Prize, the Blue Peter Award and the Red House Children's Book Award. Private Peaceful won the 2005 Red House Children's Book Award and the Blue Peter Book of the Year Award.

Beowulf: Full Poem Summary | SparkNotes Beowulf: Full Poem Summary | SparkNotes

The story then moves 50 years forward to Beowulf, now the elderly king of the Geats himself, taking on a fire-breathing dragon in his own kingdom awoken from slumber through a servant stealing a golden goblet from him. Although in essence Beowulf and the tales are considered legendary rather than fact, historians generally accept the characters described by the poem are based upon genuine 6th Century Scandinavian royalty and warriors - and the Anglo-Saxons and subsequent 8th/9th Century Viking raids upon Britain form part of the History National Curriculum at KS2; thus this book supports cross-curricular learning too. He has written and illustrated numerous children's books and won several major awards, including the Kate Greenaway Medal, the Kurt Maschler Award, and the Bologna Graphics Prize.He kills her with a sword forged for a giant, then, finding Grendel’s corpse, decapitates it and brings the head as a prize to Hrothgar. Mirroring the original poem faithfully, Morpurgo narrates how Beowulf kills Grendel with his bare hands, ripping Grendel's arm from his body, before also slaying Grendel's sea hag mother by decapitating her. Of all the kings that ever lived, they said, this was the gentlest and kindest to his people, the most gracious and famous the world had known. During the feast, an envious Dane named Unferth taunts Beowulf and accuses him of being unworthy of his reputation.

Beowulf Reading Comprehension Activity KS2 Primary Resources Beowulf Reading Comprehension Activity KS2 Primary Resources

We read this as part of our history study of Medieval history this year - this was the most kid-friendly version of Beowulf I could find. Hrothgar, who had once done a great favor for Beowulf’s father Ecgtheow, accepts Beowulf’s offer to fight Grendel and holds a feast in the hero’s honor. D.--the tale of Beowulf, a Geat warrior who battles three evils so powerful that they destroy entire kingdoms. But it is Beowulf's third terrible battle, against the "death-dragon of the deep," in which he truly meets his match.

In fifth-century Denmark, a murderous monster stalks the night, and only the great prince of the Geats has the strength and courage to defeat him. Heroics, violence, faith, loyalty, morality, fatality, fantasy, humanity, cowardice, bravery and more all rolled up into the epic tales of Beowulf. Morpurgo added: “Storymakers and storytellers like Barrie, and like all the previous winners of this award, have given us the hope and faith children need, we need, to keep flying, have sustained us through dark and troubled times, have banished doubt. My favour ite char ac ter is king H rothgar because he was kind to Beowulf and give s him gold and he was a good friend to Beowulf .