Paige Manso strikes an epic pose to begin her epic boast. Manso is a part of a sophomore Studies in British Literature class, taught by Oak Forest High School teacher Ms. Laurie Genardo, and the class has been learning about Anglo-Saxon culture and the art of storytelling.
In the class, students have been reading and analyzing the epic poem “Beowulf” and Ms. Genardo felt that learning how to epic boast, just like Beowulf, would allow students to apply and synthesize their knowledge of epic boasts to their own lives.
“One of the neatest things about this assignment is that they get to learn about the role of a scop (an Anglo-Saxon storyteller),” Ms. Genardo said.
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This assignment also helps to boost their self-esteem because they learn more about themselves and their classmates. “It is a chance for students to boast about their accomplishments. For example, I found out that one of my students is an expert in knitting, which was super cool to me,” Ms. Genardo said.
While delivering their personal epic boasts, students donned Viking gear to mimic Beowulf’s culture.
