The Canterbury Tales Lesson Plan | Unit Objectives

1. Through reading Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales students will gain a better understanding of fourteenth-century English society.

2. Students will demonstrate their understanding of the text on four levels: factual, interpretive, critical and personal.

3. Students will be exposed to several different forms of literature.

4. Students will see how Chaucer uses the framing device as a structure for his tales.

5. Students will get background information about Chaucer, his times and The Canterbury Tales.

6. Students will compare and contrast medieval and modern ideas.

7. Students will be given the opportunity to practice reading aloud and silently to improve their skills in each area.

8. Students will answer questions to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the main events and characters in The Canterbury Tales as they relate to the author's theme development.

9. Students will enrich their vocabularies and improve their understanding of the play through the vocabulary lessons prepared for use in conjunction with the play.

10. The writing assignments in this unit are geared to several purposes:

a. To have students demonstrate their abilities to inform, to persuade, or to express their own personal ideas

Note: Students will demonstrate ability to write effectively to inform by developing and organizing facts to convey information. Students will demonstrate the ability to write effectively to persuade by selecting and organizing relevant information, establishing an argumentative purpose, and by designing an appropriate strategy for an identified audience. Students will demonstrate the ability to write effectively to express personal ideas by selecting a form and its appropriate elements.

b. To check the students' reading comprehension

c. To make students think about the ideas presented by the play

d. To encourage logical thinking

e. To provide an opportunity to practice good grammar and improve students' use of the English language.

11. Students will read aloud, report, and participate in large and small group discussions to improve their public speaking and personal interaction skills.