Year 5 – Epic Tales with Beowulf
- vinnyturner4
- Oct 1
- 1 min read
In English, Year 5 have been diving into Michael Morpurgo’s retelling of Beowulf, one of the oldest and most famous Anglo-Saxon legends. The children have listened to the dramatic tales of heroism against Grendel, the Sea Hag, and the Sea Serpent, exploring how courage, loyalty, and bravery were celebrated in Anglo-Saxon storytelling.
Using this rich and exciting text as inspiration, pupils have planned and written their own adventure narratives, creating heroes, monsters, and epic battles of their own. This has given them the chance to practise writing with vivid description, powerful vocabulary, and action-packed scenes, while also learning about how stories were shared and remembered in the Anglo-Saxon world.
By linking their English work with their History learning on the Anglo-Saxons, the children have begun to understand not only where these stories came from, but also how important such tales were in shaping the culture, beliefs, and values of the time.
Year 5 have really embraced this epic story and shown great creativity in producing their own versions of Beowulf’s adventures.
Check out BBC Bitesize's cool animation of the story of Beowulf! Not for the faint of heart!
