The story of Beowulf features many crimes. Hold a mock trial in your classroom. Have students skim through the story and compose a list of all of the crimes. Split class in half, assigning students to either the prosecution or defense. Pick one crime to bring to trial. Each side should examine the facts and witness testimony. Divide roles within each group. For example, if the defense has witnesses in the text, students can represent these characters during the trial. For a complete experience, teachers should rotate the students on the defense and prosecution after each case.
Like Baz Luhrmann did with Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, students can bring a modernized twist to Beowulf by updating the text and vocabulary to current-day language and setting. In addition to being a fun activity, this can help students really understand what they are reading. Allow students to work in groups to develop a modern adaptation of the text. The teacher can judge which translation is the most accurate and reads the best.
The classroom can be grounds for a storytelling festival. Pick a week to hold this festival. Each day a group of students will have to chant, sing or recite a classic heroic or epic poem to the class. They can dress up in that time period's clothing. For example, if they are reciting Beowulf, they could wear Germanic and Anglo-Saxon clothing to get into character.
Teachers can hold a Jeopardy-style tournament to see which team has the best comprehension of Beowulf. Divide class into groups of three. Create Beowulf-themed categories and pose statements for each section. Give each team a buzzard to hit when they want to give an answer in the form of a question. For example, if the teacher says, "A creature who is killed in a watery lair." Whichever group that hits the buzzard first and says, "Who is Grendel's mother?" scores points.