Labor Day

Objective: Students will analyze how language and social structure shaped medieval England by exploring the feudal system and the evolution of English, preparing them to understand Chaucer’s use of characterization and satire in The Canterbury Tales.

Bell Work:  Choose the correct answer and explain why you think it is correct:

In The Prologue, Chaucer describes the Knight as “worthy” and emphasizes his honorable reputation. Based on the context, which word is the closest synonym for worthy?

A. Deceitful

B. Deserving

C. Wealthy

D. Powerful

Agenda: Language Change Lesson/ Canterbury Tales Prologue

Objective: Students will examine the personalities and social roles of Chaucer’s pilgrims by analyzing astrological traits and character descriptions, then demonstrate their understanding through creative representation and peer interaction.

Bell Work: Choose the correct answer and explain why you think it is correct:

Based on Chaucer's descriptions of the pilgrims in The Prologue, which statement best describes his approach to characterization?

A. He presents each pilgrim as completely admirable and free from flaws.

B. He focuses primarily on the pilgrims' physical appearances rather than their behavior.

C. He uses details about the pilgrims' behavior, occupations, and possessions to reveal both their strengths and weaknesses.

D. He avoids making judgments about the pilgrims so that readers cannot form opinions about them.

Agenda: Canterbury Tales Characters handout 

Learning Target(s): Students will analyze how Chaucer uses The Pardoner’s Tale to critique social roles, hypocrisy, and human greed, and will connect the text’s themes to modern-day stereotypes and cautionary stories.

Bell Work:  Choose the correct answer and explain why you think it is correct:

 Chaucer frequently presents characters whose behavior does not match the values they claim to uphold. What is the most likely purpose of this technique?

A. To encourage readers to accept traditional social roles without questioning them

B. To entertain readers while also encouraging them to recognize hypocrisy and human flaws

C. To prove that the characters in the tales are entirely fictional and unrealistic

D. To show that medieval society had no established moral or religious beliefs

Assignment: The Pardoner's Tale Handout/ Read the the tale and track the plot. 

Learning Target(s): Students will investigate the roles and expectations of women in medieval society and analyze how Chaucer’s Wife of Bath challenges or reflects those cultural norms.

Bell Work: Choose the correct answer and explain why you think it is correct:

The Pardoner repeatedly preaches against greed while openly admitting that he is motivated by money. This contradiction is best described as

A. verbal irony.

B. foreshadowing.

C. personification.

D. understatement.

Assignment: Character Quiz/ Finish “The Pardoner’s Tale”/ Pass out The Wife of Bath's tale Handout/ Jigsaw read: https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1345/women-in-the-middle-ages// Re-read The Wife of Bath’s description and read her prologue. / Complete pre-reading word. / Begin Reading tale if time allows.

Learning Target(s): Students will analyze how The Wife of Bath’s Tale explores themes of power, desire, and equality in relationships, and will evaluate Chaucer’s use of rhetorical rebuttals to convey the Wife’s perspective on marriage and gender roles.

Bell Work: Choose the correct answer and explain why you think it is correct:

A student is writing about the knight's behavior in The Wife of Bath's Tale.

The knight initially believes that he has the right to control women. ________, he eventually learns that women desire the ability to make their own choices.

Which choice provides the most logical transition?

A. For instance,

B. In contrast,

C. As a result,

D. Nevertheless,

Assignment: The Wife of Bath’s Tale handout/ Read The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale