Our Beowulf Reading Comprehension Activity guides your child through the poem and encourages them to think about the meaning behind it. It even includes a translation of part of the poem to help your child to understand the language better. Beowulf has also been translated into many languages, including Greek, German, Japanese and Russian. This vocabulary mat features key vocabulary from the story of Beowulf. Great as a prompt for retelling the story, and as a spelling reference during independent writing tasks.

Beowulf: Facts About the Anglo-Saxon Story Beowulf: Facts About the Anglo-Saxon Story

Although the book is about a legend, the characters were probably based on real people. In parts of Scandinavia, archaeological discoveries suggest some elements of the story may be true. Beowulf is an Old English epic poem, which consists of 3,182 long lines. It is considered to be one of the most important books in Anglo-Saxon literature.The lines in Beowulf use a lot of alliteration, meaning that they repeat certain syllables or sounds. Other well known poems and stories use this technique, including Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. It is not known with certainty who wrote Beowulf, although it is thought to have been put together sometime between the 8th and 11th centuries. It may have been written on behalf of King Canute, an 11th century Danish king. The poem is set in Scandinavia, although it was written in England. It uses different dialects of Old English for the spelling and has many different linguistic styles. Tailored to the KS2 English National Curriculum, this reading comprehension activity is brilliant for supporting your child’s learning of poetry at home.

Beowulf Vocabulary Mat (teacher made) - Twinkl Beowulf Vocabulary Mat (teacher made) - Twinkl

In 1961, Rosemary Sutcliff wrote a children’s book based on the poem, called Beowulf: Dragonslayer. The only known existing copy of Beowulf is now in the British Library in London. The manuscript was put in paper frames to protect it, in 1845, although it is still very fragile.You can read the Beowulf poem together as a class and discuss your initial thoughts, then your students can complete the question and answers section independently. This is a great way to assess their understanding of the poem and for your pupils to think critically about it. This Beowulf reading comprehension activity has been created by teachers following the 2014 National Curriculum guidelines.