New
New
Year 6

Planning the climax and resolution of 'Beowulf and the dragon'

I can plan the structure and content of the climax and resolution of ‘Beowulf and the dragon’.

New
New
Year 6

Planning the climax and resolution of 'Beowulf and the dragon'

I can plan the structure and content of the climax and resolution of ‘Beowulf and the dragon’.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Writing is most successful when it is planned and rehearsed.
  2. When we plan, we can use our text map as a basis, breaking it down into key scenes.
  3. For each scene, we make notes about the actions, descriptions, dialogue and emotions we might include (where relevant).
  4. We also plan to include the rich vocabulary that we have generated in previous lessons.

Keywords

  • Climax - the point in the narrative where the suspense and excitement reaches its highest point

  • Resolution - the point in the narrative where problems are resolved

  • Text map - a visual representation of a series of events, where pictures represent events

  • Rich vocabulary - words chosen intentionally to convey a certain impression to the reader of a place, person or thing

  • Narrative elements - the content of a narrative, often including action, description, dialogue and emotions

Common misconception

Pupils may feel tempted to rush through the plan with too little detail in each paragraph.

This is the purpose of encouraging pupils to engage with the narrative elements - model and encourage reflecting on each event through these four lenses.

Make sure that the rich vocabulary learned in the previous lesson is readily available to pupils. As they plan, encourage pupils to continually refer back to their text map for ideas. You may want pupils to circle sections of the text map to show the four paragraphs.
Teacher tip

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which of these events represents the resolution in 'Beowulf and the dragon'?
Beowulf stabs the dragon in the head, snapping his sword.
The dragon grabs Beowulf with its teeth.
Wiglaf stabs the dragon in the belly so that it drops Beowulf.
Correct answer: Beowulf uses his dagger to slit the dragon's neck; it dies.
Q2.
Put these events from the climax of 'Beowulf and the dragon' in order.
1 - Beowulf tries to stab the dragon, but he can't.
2 - The dragon breathes fire at Beowulf, who hides behind his shield.
3 - Wiglaf runs over to help Beowulf and his own shield is destroyed.
4 - Beowulf tries to stab the dragon in the head, shattering his sword.
5 - The dragon picks up Beowulf with its teeth.
Q3.
Which items are destroyed by the dragon?
Beowulf's dagger
Correct answer: Beowulf's sword
Correct answer: Wiglaf's shield
Beowulf's shield
Q4.
Which of these words could be used to describe a sword?
impenetrable
Correct answer: ornate
Correct answer: burnished
Correct answer: trusty
blunt-tipped
Q5.
Which of the following similes and metaphors could be used to describe the dragon's fire?
impenetrable shields
Correct answer: a scalding hurricane
Correct answer: as hot as the midday sun
as strong as steel
Q6.
Which of the examples below use 'show-not-tell'?
Beowulf was shocked.
Correct answer: His jaw dropped.
Correct answer: He let out a gasp.
He was stunned by what he saw.

6 Questions

Q1.
Which example of rich vocabulary below could be used to describe Beowulf's shield?
Correct answer: ornate
Correct answer: burnished
sharp-tipped
Correct answer: impenetrable
Q2.
Which example of rich vocabulary below could we use to describe the dragon's fire?
impenetrable shield
sharp-tipped dagger
Correct answer: scalding hurricane
Correct answer: as bright and scorching as a comet's tail
Q3.
What emotion could we 'show-not-tell' using the following actions? 'watched open-mouthed; gasped; eyes widened'.
anger
calm
Correct answer: shock
pain
Q4.
Which narrative elements are most clearly shown in this note from Alex's plan? 'leapt behind Beowulf; “I’m here, my king!”'
Correct answer: action
description
emotion
Correct answer: dialogue
Q5.
Which narrative elements are most obviously shown in this note from Alex's plan? 'other Geats gasped in fear; dropped weapons'
Correct answer: action
description
Correct answer: emotion
dialogue
Q6.
Which paragraph of our text does the following note come from? 'plunged ornate sword into soft belly'
Paragraph 1: Beowulf’s first attack fails & the dragon attacks
Paragraph 2: the Geats flee & Wiglaf comes to help
Paragraph 3: Beowulf attacks again & the dragon bites
Correct answer: Paragraph 4: Wiglaf & Beowulf defeat the dragon