Canterbury+Tales

Possible Objectives

 * **LA.E11.10.06** The student will determine the contributions of literary elements in classical and contemporary literary texts.
 * **LA.E11.10.06a** Analyze the author’s use of episodic, non-linear, episodic, or other non-traditional narrative structures.
 * **LA.E11.10.06b** Analyze character’s motivations, actions, and development as they relate to the experiences, emotions, moral dilemmas and ambiguities in a work of literature
 * **LA.E11.10.06d** Analyze the contribution of dramatic monologue, chorus, asides, soliloquies, and character foils to the development of character, plot, and theme.
 * **LA.E11.10.06f** Analyze the extent to which an author’s use of irony contributes to character, plot, or theme

Background Information
//Teacher resources:// This one may be the structure you're looking for! So that you sound like an expert!

[|Each tale with modern English beside]

[|Everything Chaucer]

[|Chaucer Metapage]

[[file:1basicbackground.doc]]


Prereading using the Green Text

Living in the Middle Ages
Life during feudal times broken into categories [|Daily Life]

Love in the Middle Ages: Analyze the way it was with how it is today. Rate and rank. Discuss what these "codes" reveal and why they existed. Create a "code" for today that could cover how it is. What happens when the code is broken or not followed? [|The Art of Courtly Love] [|Codes of chivalry, love, courtship, etc.]

A short romantic tale [|The Nightingale]

A famous description of the Black Plague (tough but good practice in locating details) [|The Black Death]

1. The Prologue






If you want description lists of the characters so students can complete a matching activity or sort, please email me.

2. Building a Crest to Represent: Using the lists and descriptions of symbols, design a crest that exemplifies your character. Explain how the pieces of your crest represent your character. Then compare crests with other characters. Could also make modern crests that would pair with Chaucer's pilgrim of choice.





3. Create a facebook page for one of the characters that clearly represents the character's looks, actions, thoughts, feelings, reputation, comments, etc. Also include education, religion, customs, mannerisms, clothing, story that's told, etc. Basic facebook template [|Another basic template at READWRITETHINK]

Students could also combine and create a whole social network, like Ning, that includes all the pilgrims. I've also had students design a "talk show" or something like the show The Amazing Race.

4. Turn the Tale into a Rap like these people did. Not all the example links work, but the pardoner's tale does. [|Rap in Tale]

5. Little online Chaucer games like match the description to the illustration and build your own Old English postcard message. [|List of Links]

[|Funny little summary to the tune of Gilligan's Island]