This lesson plan uses Burton Raffel's translation, Signet Classic edition. This edition has a glossary of names in the back which you should encourage students to use.
As a very old epic poem in translation, Beowulf has an increased possibility of seeming dry or irrelevant to students. Continuously strive to make connections between the poem and your students' lives. Also consider enlivening the physical classroom environment by putting up colorful pseudo-political posters supporting Grendel or Beowulf.
Though the poem is comparatively short, it is quite dense. Reading Beowulf will take students longer than reading most prose. Account for this in your distribution of reading assignments.
...
