Canterbury Tales Webquest
Developed by Andria Amodt Ho,
andriaamodtho@gmail.com
Overview|Introduction|Quest(ions)|Tasks|Resources|Evaluation|Conclusion
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This WebQuest is designed to introduce students to British literature through Geoffrey Chaucer’s work, The Canterbury Tales. |
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English IV Grade 12 |
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Strands and objectives
from the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for English Language Arts and
Reading this WebQuest supports: English IV Knowledge and skills. (2) Writing/writing processes. The student uses recursive writing processes when appropriate. (9) Reading/variety of texts. The student reads extensively and intensively for different purposes in varied sources, including British literature, in increasingly demanding texts. (10) Reading/culture.
The student reads widely, including British literature, to increase knowledge
of his/her own culture, the culture of others, and the common elements across
culture. NISD Academic Standards
this WebQuest supports: English IV III. Content
Standard:
Conventions of Writing. The
student will apply with increasing skill and maturity the conventions of
standard written English. IV. Content
Standard:
Literature. The student will read
and analyze British and world literature. |
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Resources needed: Students will need access to the internet and a color printer to complete this WebQuest. |
Overview|Introduction|Quest(ions)|Tasks|Resources|Evaluation|Conclusion
Introduction
Whanne
that April with his shoures sote
The droughte of March hath perced to the rote.
Canterbury
Tales. Prologue. Line
1.
The Canterbury Tales is
a collection of prose and verse stories written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th
century. Chaucer’s stories are embedded
in a framework narrative told by pilgrims on their way to Canterbury Cathedral
to visit the burial place of St. Thomas à Becket.
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But if you’ve been paying attention in class, you already know all this! The real question is why should you care (besides the fact that a grade is involved), and why are you being asked to complete a WebQuest? |
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v To answer these questions, we need to begin with: who is Geoffrey
Chaucer, and why do we study The
Canterbury Tales? This
website says it a whole lot better than I do. http://aspirations.english.cam.ac.uk/converse/chaucer/about.acds v If you have a few minutes, make sure to listen to the rap version of
“The Pardoner’s Tale” found at the bottom of the page. Yes, rap.
No, I am not kidding. |
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v If you would like to read along with Baba’s rap, the lyrics are posted here. http://aspirations.english.cam.ac.uk/converse/chaucer/pardoner.acds |
Overview|Introduction|Quest(ions)|Tasks|Resources|Evaluation|Conclusion
Questions
The
ultimate goals of this WebQuest are to enrich your experience with The Canterbury Tales, learn a little bit
more about life in the Middle Ages, and help you begin to see that as much as
things change, they still remain pretty much the same. Chaucer’s tales could easily be told by any
of you in this day and age.
To
complete this WebQuest, you will have to answer a series of questions, research
a website or two, and choose one of three projects to finish. Don’t worry; I’ve made sure the information
is at your fingertips.
Short
response questions: Most of these
questions can be answered in one to two complete sentences. Turn in your typed responses by the end of
class today (or within the time frame set by your teacher).
1. Chaucer
a)
When was Chaucer born, and when did he die?
b)
What were his links to royalty?
c)
What roles did he fulfill in life?
d)
What was happening in Europe during his lifetime?
2. The Canterbury Tales
a)
What is a frame story (or frame narrative)?
b)
How does this technique of storytelling apply to The Canterbury Tales?
3. The Prologue
a) What season is this? What are the clues Chaucer gives us?
b) Look at the differences
between modern English and Middle English.
Make a note of at least 5 Middle English words which are spelled
differently but you can still tell what they mean. Make sure to include what you think they
mean.
The Prologue When
April with his showers sweet with fruit |
The Prologue Whan that aprill with his shoures soote To ferne halwes,
kowthe in sondry londes; |
Tasks
I realize
all of you have different talents, and I’d like to give each and every one of
you a chance to show off your abilities.
Choose one of the three following tasks, whichever suits you best, to
complete as one of your major grades for the semester.
Task
1: Character Poster
Medieval
Characterization Poster
Chaucer creates extremely
vivid characters that we can visualize and even relate to. Through these descriptions, we get an insight
into medieval fashion as well as timeless characteristics of mankind. Choose a character from The Canterbury Tales to reproduce in a poster. You may use any materials you can find to
make your depiction of the character.
Follow these guidelines:
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Follow the
physical description as closely as possible, both in physical attributes and
attire. (10 pts.)
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In the top right
corner, include a paragraph describing the character’s personality. (15 pts.)
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Provide direct
quotations to support your interpretation of the character. These may be captions to the picture. (10 pts.)
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In the top left
corner of the poster, draw a symbol for your character with an explanation of
why you chose it. (15 pts.)
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In the bottom
left corner, demonstrate how readers today can relate to the character. (15 pts.)
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Finally, in the
bottom right corner, explain what the character tells us about medieval English
society. (15 pts.)
Make your poster as
aesthetically pleasing as possible, and use some creativity. Try not to copy the pictures from the book
(or the internet—like I did!); remember, Chaucer did not illustrate his work,
so the pictures are someone else’s interpretation of the characters. I want to see your interpretation. (20 pts., includes neatness, effort, and
creativity)
Thank you to Shanna Lyssy
for permission to use this project.
Task 2:
Character Journal
Chaucer wrote his characters with
such vivid detail that we can practically imagine ourselves riding right
alongside, heading toward Canterbury Cathedral on a pilgrimage of our own. To complete this task, you must imagine
yourself in the position of one of the pilgrims and write a journal of the experience. Although Chaucer’s travelers appear to have
made the journey to Canterbury in one day, typically this trip would have taken
four days to complete. Write one journal
entry of at least 150 words for each day of the journey (four journal entries
of 150 words each). Be creative, stay in
character, and use as much detail as possible.
You will want to do some research about the points of interest along the
way as well as some study into the profession of your chosen pilgrim. The Resources page has several links to help
you complete this task.
We are all pilgrims, Chaucer says, and all of us have many tales to tell, some finished and others still in the making. And what was true in Chaucer's time is still true today, six hundred years later. We are, all of us, pilgrims on the journey through life.
"This world nis but a thoroughfare full of
woe,
And we been pilgrims passing to and fro."
Task 3:
The Canterbury Bard
If Baba’s performance of “The
Pardoner’s Tale” has inspired you to try something similar on your own, then
this task is the one for you. Rewrite
the Prologue description of one of the major characters in The Canterbury Tales. Update
the language while keeping the same feel as Chaucer. The trick to this task is that you must
maintain a similar rhyme scheme, and the rewritten description must be at least
24 lines long. A proper bard will recite
his or her piece for the class, and an exceptional bard will go the extra
mile—think music, costume, illuminating the text, whatever is necessary to
bring out the full flavor of the piece.
There are links on the Resources page to help you with rhyming if
necessary.
***Note: Because this is a performance piece, please
let your teacher know ahead of time that you have chosen this task.
Overview|Introduction|Quest(ions)|Tasks|Resources|Evaluation|Conclusion
Here are
some URLs to help you along the way.
Many of these are single pages within larger websites. Feel free to poke around in those sites; you
might find just what you need, or you might find an idea of where else to go
for the information you want. Don’t be
afraid to go beyond the links listed here!
There is so much to be said about this subject and more ways of saying
it than you can imagine. Find the
resources that best suit YOUR needs.
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v http://www.canterburytales.org/ This “official” site |
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v http://www.godecookery.com/pilgrims/pilgrims.htm What Chaucer left out: background
information, social status, income, the Tabard Inn, and a map of the journey. |
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v http://www.librarius.com/chauchro.htm Chronology of Geoffrey Chaucer’s life and
times |
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v http://www.learner.org/interactives/middleages/feudal.html What was it really like to live in the
Middle Ages? |
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v http://csis.pace.edu/grendel/projs4a/TALES.htm Brief annotation of each pilgrim |
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v http://www.ipl.org/div/litcrit/bin/litcrit.out.pl?ti=can-92 Literary criticism sites about The Canterbury Tales |
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v http://csis.pace.edu/grendel/projs4a/TALES.htm Brief annotation of each pilgrim |
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v http://www.librarius.com/cantales.htm This site offers an annotated version of The Canterbury Tales |
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v http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/middleages/topic_1/welcome.htm Information about the Middle Ages |
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v http://www.rhymer.com/ Online rhyming dictionary |
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v http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Couplet Of course there is a Wikipedia site about
iambic pentameter and rhyming couplets! |
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v http://www.uni.edu/~gotera/CraftOfPoetry/ Tons of information about writing poems |
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v http://www.rhymezone.com/ Another rhyming site |
Overview|Introduction|Quest(ions)|Tasks|Resources|Evaluation|Conclusion
Your
teacher will provide rubrics for each of the tasks.
Overview|Introduction|Quest(ions)|Tasks|Resources|Evaluation|Conclusion
Hopefully
you have enjoyed your jaunt through the Middle Ages
and even learned a little bit along the way.
If you feel like you have a slightly better understanding of the time
period and a better feel for The
Canterbury Tales, then the goal of this WebQuest has been met.
Before we
part ways, I would like to ask you to answer a few questions about your
experience with this assignment. Cut and
paste these questions into a Word document, answer them, and turn in the
printed sheet along with the other materials to show you have completed this
WebQuest.
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v Have you ever worked with a WebQuest before? |
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v Did you learn anything new in the completion of your task or while answering questions? |
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v What, if anything, interested you about completing this assignment? |
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v What would you have changed about this assignment to make it more appealing or interesting? |
Overview|Introduction|Quest(ions)|Tasks|Resources|Evaluation|Conclusion
Thank you to the following sites for the images used
in this WebQuest:
Image #1
http://www.library.northwestern.edu/librarybriefings/archives/001548.html
Image #2
http://uk.encarta.msn.com/media_121623136_761562849_-1_1/canterbury_pilgrims.html
Image #3
Image #4
http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/5900/5927/canterbury_12.htm
Image #5
http://www.godecookery.com/pilgrims/pilgrm04.htm