I. Curricular Framework

Concept:

Cultural Diversity

Essential Question:

How do the priorities of your society establish its social groups?

Bridge:

Categories and Hierarchies

Content:

The Canterbury Tales

Outcomes:

II. Standards Aligned

III. Instruction and Assessment

1. Connect: Connecting to the Concept Experientially

Objective: Students will experience the gauges by which we judge people and develop assumptions about their lives.

Activity: Around the room will be placed a large number of black and white 8x10 photographs of people who are unknown to the students. The people pictured are all ages, ethnic groups, etc. Students will be asked to move around the room looking at each photograph and taking notes on at least five of the characters who interest them. They are not to talk about what they are seeing or thinking about the character. The photographs are number. Students will write down the numbers of their five favorite characters. Based on these choices, students will be given one picture with which to work further.
Each student is to develop a character based on the picture. The students will being by listing characteristics and ideas and will add details. They will consider what colors the clothing, skin, color and eyes will be, what the economic situation is, what is happening in the person’s like at the present, and what has happened to the person in the past, what the person’s name is, what his/her job is, and what the dominant physical characteristics reveal about he character. They will try to think of some element of this character which will make him/her unique instead of stereotypical. Students will try to hear the character’s voice and think about what kind of words the character would use and if the character has some kind of accent. They will try to see the character move and will consider his/her posture, mannerisms, and physical habits. Finally, they will plan to “be” the character.
In preparation for this task, the students will join in groups of four to do some brainstorming about their characters. They might ask for “clues” to the person or ask questions about the character; they might offer suggestions for “props”. The character developer could practice answering those questions as his/her character would. During this time, the students will continue developing their character, jotting down new idea, phrases or words that they might utilize.

Assessment: Student’s ability to reveal character through a variety of devices

2. Attend: Attending to the Connection

Objective: Students will recognize how categories are created and the diversity within even those categories.

Activity: Break students into groups of five. Two teams of two students will be players and the other a timekeeper, scorer. Play one minute rounds to see who can guess the most categories correctly from the “examples” that his/her teammate gives. Examples given might be “scratchy fabric, your little brother, telemarketers who call at dinnertime” etc. Have winning teams play each other and losing teams play each other. After the second round, the scorekeepers form teams and play each other while those teams that have lost twice become the new scorekeepers. Continue play in this manner until a “winning” team has been found, then award a “prize” to the winning team. This exercise should lead to an awareness of how we categorize things.

Assessment: The ability to form an awareness of the diverse elements involved within any category. A recognition of the similarities which can be the basis of categories.

Assessment, Phase One, Level of Engagement, Fascination:

3. Image: Creating a Mental Picture

Objective: To explore the categories used in determining a society’s hierarchy and what those categories reveal about the society that created it.

Activity: Using the knowledge gained in the previous activity, students should in small groups categorize the characters that the class had crated as the earlier assignment. Once this is done, students should create a visual of some sort which shows the relationships of these categories. Is there a hierarchy? Are some categories linked? These visuals should be presented and explained to the class.
After all groups have presented their hierarchy’s visual, students should discuss what these views have in common and how they differ. Students should also consider what the hierarchy reveals about the creators and what the difficulties were that they had in the formation.

Assessment: Class discussion which reveals such things as how we categorize people, even when we may say that we don’t, different hierarchical developments within the class the inconsistencies of grouping people by one aspect.
Participation in group activities.

Assessment, Phase Two, Seeing the Big Picture:

4. Inform: Receiving Facts & Knowledge

Objective: To teach The Canterbury Tales as a crosscut of Medieval Society.

Major topics to be presented include:
a) The development of Middle English.
b) The similarity of Middle English to Modern English
c) Medieval Society
d) Framework story
e) The use of “The Prologue” in character development
f) The tales as development of characters
g) The genres represented and the appropriateness to characters who relate to them

Activity: Sample Activitities:
See individual research topics SH 4
See vocabulary sheet SH 5
See illuminated paraphrase assignment SH 6

The topic outline, methods, tool, sources to be used for these activities can be found on Resource page 1. (R 1)

Assessment:
Homework
Group and individual work
Illuminated paraphrase assignment
Oral presentation (see rubric SH 7)
Objective quizzes and tests
Creation of a visual assessment of Chaucer’s society

Assessment, Phase Three, Success with Acquiring Knowledge:

5. Practice: Developing Skills

Objective: Students will create their own scenarios and people it with appropriate representations for the modern society it represents.

Activity: Students will as a group create a modern scenario, The E.C. Tales, which will enable a wide group of people to be present. They might suggest a bus, a train depot, an airport, the mall, etc. They will then brainstorm a variety of representatives who might be in this place. Each student will develop a character from the brainstormed list. The character will be presented through a character sketch such as those that were studies in The Canterbury Tales and then will relate an appropriate tale fro this character to tell. These character sketches will be written using third person and should provide “clues” to understanding the character.
While Chaucer’s audience understood humours, the modern audience might recognize bruises, or other physical elements. Just as Chaucer “borrowed” some of his stories; students may also, but the tale must reveal something of substance about the character who tells it. They will also devise a costume for the character and will present their characters as a part of the large group’s final event. If they plan to travel with another character they must plan accordingly and make appropriate transitions. Parents and other faculty will be invited to participate in the final project.

Assessment: The teacher and the students will create a rubric for assessment of the effectiveness of the character sketch, the costume and the tale.

Assessment, Phase Four, Success with Acquiring Skills:

6. Extend: Extending Learning to the Outside World

Objective: To have students peer-evaluate the efforts of their classmates using the rubric which they had established and practice presenting their own materials.

Activity: 1.) Using the rubrics created, students will work in pairs to read their materials. Students will evaluate and assist in revision.
2.) After making revisions, students will gather as a group to determine the order of their presentations. In order to do this, they will read their character sketch. Everyone will take notes on what they are hearing so they can begin to assess an order. They will then form a human chain which will reflect the order that they should present. AS they share more information about their characters, some adjustments will be made as to who is standing where. It may be that the order will only be as specific as who will go first, who last, and who will be in the middle.

Assessment: Student use of the rubric. Participation and thought about placement of the speakers.

7. Refine: Refining the Extension

Objective: To share the E.C. Tales and make some assessments about what is revealed through the presentations about our view of society.

Activity: Students will set up the room in the manner that best represents their “location”. They will stand and read or speak their character sketches in the order that they were written. Then, using the order that they previously established, they will share their tales as well.
The teacher and parents will take many pictures. The teacher’s only other role is to introduce the presentation to the visitors.

Assessment: Students will assess the findings orally. The closing essay will be about the findings of the E.C. Tales as compared to Chaucer’s revelation of The Canterbury Tales

8. Perform: Creative Manifestation of Material Learned

Assessment, Phase Five,Performance, Creative Use of Material Learned: