FINAL

“An Integrated Lesson Plan on ‘Get Up and Bar the Door’ ”

by Ms. Wynzyleen L. Lee
Grade/Year Level/School: Grade 9
Time Allotment: 1 hours and 30 minutes

I. Objectives
By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:
A. Understand that gender expectations affect people’s attitudes and behaviours by:
1. Reading the medieval ballad “Get Up and Bar the Door,”
2. Inferring characters’ motivations in the story through group activities
3. Distinguishing the expected roles of men and women in today’s society through a table of comparison
B. Understand the nature of traditional ballads by:
1. Recognising the elements of ballads (e.g. themes, style, etc.) by contrasting an example of ballads
against epics
2. Listening to the traditional execution of ballads
3. Creating their own unique ballad

II. Subject Matter

A. Language/Literature Focus: “Get Up and Bar the Door”
B. Other Topics: Ballads

III. Materials
A. Text: “Get Up and Bar the Door”

B. Materials/Equipment
1. PPT presentation (Unlocking of Difficulties Activity)
2. “Get Up and Bar the Door” recording (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-T35aaF2W0I)
3. Speakers
4. (6) Worksheets (Enrichment Activity)
5. (6) rubrics (Enrichment Activity)
6. PPT Presentation
7. (35) copies of Handout (Elicitation)
8. Strips of paper of the following words:
a) Elements of ballads
b) Elements of epics
9. (35) copies of Ballad Concert Mechanics

C. References
1. “The Ballad” (http://www.math.grinnell.edu/~simpsone/Connections/Poetry/Forms/ballad1.html)
2. “Ballad: Narrative Song” (https://www.britannica.com/art/ballad)

IV. Procedure
A. Pre-Reading (19 mins.)
1. Unlocking of Difficulties (10 mins.)
ACTIVITY (Group): 1 Word, 4 Pics, More Words
a) Students go to their respective groups.

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 b) They will be given blank sheets of paper.
c) One round will last for twenty-five seconds. The first clue will be the vocabulary word itself. For
every five seconds, a new clue in the form of pictures will be shown to the students.
d) Students are tasked to come up with as many synonymous words or phrases to the vocabulary word.
e) The group that comes up with the most synonyms wins the round.
Words to Unlock: Martinmas, hussyfskap, paction, muckle, scad, Scottish, ballad (see appendix)

POSSIBLE SYNONYMS

Martinmas Feast of Saint Martin, Martinstag, Saint Martin’s Day, Old Halloween, Old
Hallwomas Eve

hussyfskap housekeeping, household management, homemaking, domestic duties

paction agreement, compact, bargain, pact, contract

muckle a large amount (noun)

scad scald, burn, scorch, sear

Scottish guess the word itself by looking at the photos

ballad folk song, poem, tale, saga, song, shanty

Let’s start the day by clearing up a few things first through a Students begin game.
game of 1 Word, 4 Pics, More Words.


We will play this game in groups. Each group will have twenty-
five seconds to come up with as many synonymous words to
the vocabulary word flashed on the screen as possible. To help
you keep track of time, “clues” will be flashed on the screen
every five seconds.

Teacher writes down synonyms as they are being told;

Corrects them if necessary.

2. Activating Schema/Prior Knowledge (3 mins.)

Today’s text is a ballad. What do we know about ballads? Ballads are songs

Alright. And what are they usually about? Love, heartbreak, betrayal, etc.

And, like songs, ballads were oral traditions. In the olden days, Wandering musicians/minstrels
who would usually sing ballads?

Because they were often shared with everyone, and everyone

passed on the songs at every occasion, we seldom know who
really made the ballad in the first place.

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 3. Motivation (5 mins.)

TEACHER TALK STUDENT TALK

How often do you get asked by your parents or simply Personal Answer
people at home to do things?

What do they ask you to do? Personal Answer

4. Motive Question (1 min.)

What did the husband ask his wife to do?

B. During Reading (6 mins.)

ACTIVITY (Class): How to Read?
- Teacher will play a recording of a reading of the ballad by Augusta Stander and Daniel Skinner (link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-T35aaF2W0I)

Let’s listen to a reading of the famed ballad.

C. Post Reading ( mins.)

1. Discussion (10 mins.)

What did the husband ask his wife to do? He wanted her to bar the door.

What did he mean by, “bar the door”? Lock it

For what reason did the husband want the wife to lock the To keep the house safe
door?

How did the wife respond to the husband’s request? She refused

For what reason did the wife refuse? Because she was busy with housework

Writes down, “Wife” and “Reasons for saying no” on the

board

What do you think of the wife’s response/refusal? It was reasonable. She was busy _____ (examples
of housework), after all.

What does the wife’s refusal tell us about her personality/the She’s strong. She won’t be pushed around
wife?

In what way did the husband respond to his wife? He proposed an agreement that whoever
between the two of them spoke first would bar
the door

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What reasons did the husband have for proposing the He did not want to get up and bar the door so
agreement? he wanted his wife to do it; he was lazy

Writes down, “Husband” and “Reasons for saying no” on the

board

What does the husband’s response tell us about his Stubborn

personality?

If you were the husband, what would your reaction have been? Personal answer
And why?

Who spoke up first and lost the agreement? The husband

What pushed the man to speak up? Love or survival? Personal answer

What can you say about the husband losing to his own terms? It’s funny

In what way was it funny? He lost despite making the proposal to win

What would you call a situation where what happens is the Ironic
opposite of what you anticipated?

What does the couple’s relationship tell us about the The wife was expected to do house chores and
relationship between men and women then? follow obediently to the husband’s wishes

2. Enrichment Activity (15 mins.)

ACTIVITY (Group): 21st Century Woman and Man
a) Answer the following question: In today’s society, which gender would perform better in:
(1) Housework
(2) Science & Mathematics
(3) Warfare
(4) Childcare
(5) Arts and crafts
(6) Sports
b) On the provided worksheet, accomplish the following tasks: (see appendix)
(1) Highlight the column of the chosen answer using any coloured highlighter marker and
(2) Complete the statement of the answer by indicating at least five qualities that make the
chosen gender(s) best qualified for the task
c) Each group will be given (8) minutes to accomplish the task.
d) Each group will be given (1) minute to explain their answers
e) Groups will be graded using the following rubric:
RUBRIC (20 pts.)

Content 10 pts.

Presentation 5 pts.

Visual Output 5 pts.

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In what way does society affect our actions?
3. Language and Skills Development (42 mins.)
a) Presentation (2 mins.)
EXAMPLE 1
It fell about the Martinmas time,
And a gay time it was then,
When our good wife got puddings to make,
And she’s boild them in the pan.
The wind see could blew south and north.
And blew into the floor;
Quoth our goodman to our goodwife,
“Gae out and bar the door,”
“My hand is in my hussyfskap,
Goodman, as ye may see;
An it should nap be barrd this hundred year,
It’s no be barrd for me.”
They made a faction tween them twa,
They made it firm and sure,
That the first word whae er should speak,
Should rise and bar the door.
On the screen are excerpts from two different poems.
Do you recognise either poems?
What kind of a poem is “Get Up and Bar the Door” and what
is Beowulf?
b) Elicitation/Language Awareness (10 mins.)
They try to convince us of the roles we’re “meant
to” assume and tasks we “have” to achieve in
accordance to those roles.
EXAMPLE 2
Grendel’s one thought was to run

From Beowulf, flee back to his marsh and hide there:
This was a different Herot than the hall he had emptied.
But Higlac's follower remembered his final
Boast and, standing erect, stopped

The monster’s flight, fastened those claws

In his fists till they cracked, clutched Grendel
Closer. The infamous killer fought
For his freedom, wanting no flesh but retreat,
Desiring nothing but escape; his claws

Had been caught, he was trapped. That trip to Herot
Was a miserable journey for the writhing monster!
The high hall rang, its roof boards swayed,
And Danes shook with terror. Down
The aisles the battle swept, angry

And wild. Herot trembled, wonderfully
Built to withstand the blows, the struggling
Great bodies beating at its beautiful walls;
Yes, the first poem is “Get Up and Bar the Door”
and the second one is from Beowulf
Get Up and Bar the Door is a ballad while
Beowulf is an epic.
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On the board, I’ve created a table for us to complete. Let’s
compare ballads and epics with one another.

Create a table for ballads vs. epic w/ the following elements:

characters, setting, language, rhyme, narrative
Distribute incomplete table of comparison as handout

COMPLETED TABLE OF COMPARISON BETWEEN BALLADS & EPICS

Elements Ballads Epics

1 Character (Everyday characters) Heroes w/ legendary proportions

2 Setting (Local environment) Multiple settings

Focused on strength and bravery

3 Plot (Ordinary conflicts w/ twist)
Supernatural

(Simple language)

4 Language (Rhyme) Exaggerated style of writing

(Repetition)

5 Narrative (Dialogue) Omniscient Narrator

I’d like you to recall the recording we listened to earlier. Were Scottish
you able to note the accent of the two readers? What did they
sound like?

Just like what was mentioned earlier, ballads were oral affairs. So, Epics were also passed on orally
often, the spelling followed simply the way words sounded -
much like in this ballad.
How was the transmission of epics similar or different from
ballads?

Right! Now, What were the kinds of characters that we met in Beowulf, Hrothgar, Grendel, etc.
Beowulf?

What kind of a character was Beowulf in his story? What was He was the hero
his role there?

Posts under Epic: Heroes w/ legendary proportions

1 Like what was discussed before, epics discuss heroes w/ Husband and wife
legendary proportions.
Who were the characters in “Get Up and Bar the Door”?

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 How do the characters from “Get Up and Bar the Door” Beowulf discusses heroes and monsters while
compare to those of Beowulf’s? “Get Up and Bar the Door” has everyday,
normal people as characters
Posts under Ballad: Everyday characters

What about the setting? How many places did Beowulf 2; From Geatland to Denmark
journey across based on the excerpt that was discussed?

2 Posts under Epic: Multiple settings

Where did “Get Up and Bar the Door” happen? Inside the home

Posts under Ballad: Local environment

What was the focus of Beowulf? What did it discuss? Focused on the battle, strength and bravery;
supernatural elements
Posts under Epic: Focused on strength and bravery;
Supernatural

What can you say about “Get Up and Bar the Door”’s plot? In No. It was about an everyday squabble
what way is it similar or different to Beowulf’s? between a couple.

And what was the highlight of this text? The husband ended up barring the door even
3 though he didn’t want to and tried everything
to get his wife to do it

What can you say about how the piece ended? It was funny

How was this funny? Because it wasn’t supposed to end this way

And the humour comes from the this twist. Thus, we can say
that ballads are expected to have

Posts under Ballad: Ordinary conflicts w/ twist

In what way was either piece written though? The first one rhymed and the second one did
not; the second one was exaggerated, the first
Posts under Epic: Exaggerated style of writing one was simple
Posts under Ballad: Rhyme, simple language

What was the rhyming scheme used in the first example? ABCB ABCB

In the modern sense of ballads or songs nowadays, what’s They usually just repeat lines
4 common among every single one? What is the usual
comment/criticism about songs?

Can we find that quality in this ballad? Yes

Which lines does it repeat? “Get up and bar the door”

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 What part does this repeated line play in the ballad? It’s important because it’s the whole reason for
the squabble.
Posts under Ballad: Repetition

What characterised the narration of either texts? The epic used the omniscient narrator
5
How about the ballad? What made up a large part of its plot? The dialogue

c) Generalization (5 mins.)

Thus, what are the features of a ballad? How does it compare The ballad uses
to an epic? - simple language
- ordinary events and characters
- conflict w/ twist
- rhymes
- dialogue
- refrain

Between the epics and ballads, which do you like better and Personal Answer
why?

d) Unguided/Independent/Extended Practice (20* mins.)

ACTIVITY (Group): Ballad Concert
(1) Each group will be tasked to create their own unique ballad
(2) In preparation for the ballad, they must create a visual organiser on the story topic assigned to
them. The visual organiser must be submitted by August 31, 2018. The following are the
possible topics:

(a) Parent-child (d) Lovers
(b) Teacher-student (e) Friends
(c) Siblings (f) Leader-follower

Guide Questions:
(a) What is one common conflict experienced by people in your assigned relationship?
(b) What is a possible resolution for this conflict?
(3) The ballad must contain 

(a) at least six stanzas (d) Refrain
(b) Dialogues (e) Twist

(c) Rhyme Scheme
(4) A draft of the written ballad must be submitted by September 11, 2018.
(5) The ballad itself must be performed by all members of the group on October 3, 2018 .
(6) Approved guidelines (by UPIS CA-English Faculty) will be given to each student (see appendix).

SUGGESTED RUBRICS (100 pts.)

VISUAL ORGANIZER WRITTEN BALLAD RUBRIC PERFORMANCE RUBRIC (35 pts.)

RUBRIC (25 pts.) (50 pts.)

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 1 Mechanics & 15 pts. 1 Choreography and/ 10 pts.
Mechanics & Organisation or Skit
1 15 pts.
Organisation 2 Content 15 pts. 2 Voice (Clarity, 10 pts.
expression)

3 Language 10 pts. 3 Props and Costumes 10 pts.

2 Creativity 10 pts.
4 Creativity 10 pts. 4 Audience Impact 5 pts.

4. Recapitulation/Summary (5 mins.)
Does anyone have any questions? Personal answers

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 APPENDIX

Pre-Reading: Unlocking of Difficulties (Slides)

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Enrichment Activity (Worksheets)

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