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"There's never a new fashion, but it's old." Geoffrey Chaucer
An Introduction to Geoffrey Chaucer and The Canterbury Tales Group Work: Designed to give students a jump start into their reading of "The Canterbury Tales" and perhaps an appreciation for how very different Chaucer is than what has come before.
Lesson Overview
Lesson Overview
The intro to Chaucer in my students' text book was only a few pages long - hence, I also assigned a portion of "The Prologue" to The Canterbury Tales - though today's lesson is ONLY on the intro. I just want to spread the reading out. Before the students start on their Group Work, I play a fun little prank on them. I pretend that a new recording from Chaucer's time was found of him with his friends at a London Pub, actively composing The Canterbury Tales. I play that the recording was captured on a piece of pottery that was being created on a wheel at the time.... ;)
Before I let my students loose on Chaucer (specifically the Prologue), I want to give them a little historical context of the author and his tales. This is a little tricky, as we have also been spending much of the year so far - and will continue to spend - by saying that it is the actual text - not the context, not the background - that make a work of literature great. In some ways, as we learned with the tragic life of John Gardner - it is better to not know anything about an author as it can end up clouding how we view the work, itself.
That said - let me quickly go over what this Group Work will cover:
How did Chaucer's background possibly effect his writing.
Why did John Gardner (the author of Grendel) say what he said about the timelessness of Chaucer?
How does the rhythm of The Canterbury Tales operate?
What gets lost in a translation (from Middle to Modern English) of this work? This is a followup to similar ideas we covered during our unit on texts that were originally written in Old English.
What part did the martydom of Thomas Becket play in The Canterbury Tales?
How is Chaucer's work revolutionary?
For more on this Group Work - see the handout below.
Handouts
Handouts
Most Recent Handouts & Quizzes (two different quizzes depending on how far the students were asked to read)
Most Recent Handouts & Quizzes (two different quizzes depending on how far the students were asked to read)
The Group Work (An Intro to Chaucer & The Canterbury Tales ): Docx PDF
A version for the Regular (Class) of this Group Work Docx PDF - there are a few less questions. Getting my regular students to complete the Group Work in a meaningful way was a challenge at the beginning of the year - to me this comes down to expectations. I would give my regular kids extra credit to sit in on an honors class during their lunch (I let them eat in class) and do the group work. It was such a great idea - they not only had a new sense of focus, but they brought that back to the class-at-large.
Reading Quiz Intro to Chaucer and The Canterbury Tales: Docx PDF
Yale Spizzwinks- Canterbury Tales.mp3Remote Enhancements & Prank
Remote Enhancements & Prank
During Remote Learning we did this group work together - as a class. That was fun & interesting - though it's not something that I would do often (see my page on Group Work) just because it is more of a class discussion and much less active than a traditional Group Work. In order to facilitate it as a class - I made sure everyone had the handout above and we followed along with a Power Point Presentation that can be found here. Within that Power Point is my best Prank of the Year.
PRANK of the Year - A long time ago I found a great recording of the Prologue to the Canterbury Tales - in Middle English. To make it even better - it is sung. To a Billy Joel tune. So - before I play it - I ask the students if they heard on the news - fortuitous timing - about the discovery they made in England.
It seems that they found old pottery from Canterbury that was made around the time that the Tales were written AND they discovered like old LP's the pottery, when it was made, recorded the sounds that were being made around it. This old pottery was made at an Inn that Geoffrey Chaucer was known to frequent - AND so we have what we believe is an actual recording of Chaucer composing his beloved Canterbury Tales. The students get real excited - and then I play it. Here it is.... All credit to the Yale Spizzwinks.... The kids fall for it every time.... :)
A very popular (with other teachers) chart (and I think with students too) for helping students keep the characters in The Canterbury Tales straight. I give it out as I assign "The General Prologue" of The Canterbury Tales, so that students can use it and take notes as they are doing their reading. There is also a chart using an etching by William Blake that shows all the characters - and that the students can get extra credit for.
WHAT CAME BEFORE:
WHAT CAME BEFORE:
Thoughts on the Lesson
Thoughts on the Lesson
Sometimes, I wondered if I gave too much Group Work. In British Literature, I would say that at least one third of my classes were given over to Group Work. See my page on Group Work. However, I also found when I left it out - so much was lost. In this Group Work - it gives students what they need to do the reading of The Canterbury Tales - specifically, "The Prologue". The Group Work is active and it is often subtle. What comes out of the class discussion finds its roots in the Group Work that the students do.
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