This Anglo-Saxon legend retells the tale of how Beowulf travelled to the land of Heorot to defeat Grendel. It can be used to test KS2 reading comprehension skills and as a model text for writing activities.
The text is accompanied by 20 reading comprehension questions. These questions target key comprehension skills such as retrieving information, making inferences and understanding unfamiliar vocabulary.
A planning sheet is included to support children in writing their own Anglo-Saxon legend.
National Curriculum English programme of study links
Increasing pupils’ familiarity with a wide range of books, including myths, legends and traditional stories, modern fiction, fiction from our literary heritage, and books from other cultures and traditions.
Discussing understanding and exploring the meaning of words in context.
Drawing inferences such as inferring characters’ feelings, thoughts and motives from their actions, and justifying inferences with evidence.
Summarising the main ideas drawn from more than one paragraph, identifying key details that support the main ideas.
Pupils should explain and discuss their understanding of what they have read, providing reasoned justifications for their views.
All pupils must be encouraged to read widely across both fiction and non-fiction to develop their knowledge of themselves and the world in which they live, to establish an appreciation and love of reading, and to gain knowledge across the curriculum