Week 2: Lesson 1

Duration: 2 days
Subject: English Language Arts
Unit: The Canterbury Tales
Grade Level: 12

Standards:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.1
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says
explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where
the text leaves matters uncertain.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.6
Analyze a case in which grasping a point of view requires distinguishing what is
directly stated in a text from what is really meant (e.g., satire, sarcasm, irony, or
understatement).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.11-12.5.A
Interpret figures of speech (e.g., hyperbole, paradox) in context and analyze their
role in the text.

Lesson Objectives:
Students will evaluate a video produced by their peers, deciding how situational and
verbal irony are evident.
Students will work with a partner to create a mind map, categorizing the 29 pilgrims
from The General Prologue.
Students will decide how Chaucer felt toward each pilgrim, referencing his
characterization of them in the text.
Day One
Anticipatory Set:
Instruct students to take out their iPads and open their iDo Notepad app to record
journal #4.
Todays journal will also require students to log into schoolology using their
internet browser, and to access the page where links to all of the student videos
submitted will be accessible. Students will then complete the following task in their
journal:
Watch one video of submitted by another group and respond to the following
questions:
1. What societal or school issue does this video focus on?
2. What examples of situational and verbal irony does the group use to create
satire?
3. What other elements contribute to the humor of the video?
After students have responded to the prompt, invite them share their responses
with the class.
Input:
Day One
1. Inform students that they will be working with a partner to create a mind
map of the 29 pilgrims, categorizing them according to their appropriate
Estate in medieval society (Nobility, Church, Middle Class, or Peasantry).
2. Instruct students to navigate to Mindmeister.com
http://www.mindmeister.com and identify the partner that they will be
working with to complete this assignment. Before allowing students to begin
working, inform them that each student will be required to submit a mind
map to the link on schoolology, despite the fact that they are working with a
partner.
3. Allow students the remainder of the period to work on their mind map.
Homework:
For homework, students will complete their mind map if they did not finish
in class and they will submit a link to their mind map on Schoology.
Day Two
Input:
1. Instruct students to take out their iPads and open the mind map that they
created using Mindmeister during the previous class period.
2. On the white board, create four columns and label them according to the
following categories: The Nobility, The Church, The Middle Class, and The
Peasantry.
3. Ask students to indicate which column each of the 29 pilgrims belongs in and
list them on the board as students answer.
4. Inform students that they will be taking their categorization of pilgrims one
step further by identifying details from the text to decide Chaucers attitude
toward each pilgrim.
5. Have students make a copy of The Canterbury Tales Pilgrim Chart using
Google Documents.
6. Inform students that they will be working with a partner to complete the
chart. Review the instruction with students, which are as follows:
To complete this chart, you will be referencing the text to find the answer to the
following questions:
1. What estate does each pilgrim belong to?
2. How does Chaucer characterize each pilgrim? (What does Chaucer say about
them?) Offer two details with line numbers.
3. Describe Chaucers attitude toward each pilgrim. (Doe he have a positive, negative,
or neutral view of each?)
4. Rank each pilgrim in the chart at the end of this handout.

7. Allow students the remainder of the period to complete this chart.
Homework:
For homework, students will finish their chart and submit a link to their Google Document
in Schoology.

Supplies:
Computer
Projector
iPad (each student will need one)
iDo Notepad app
Internet access to open Mindmeister.com
White Board
Google Doc app
The Canterbury Tales Pilgrim Chart