Direct Instruction Lesson Plan by Emily Lott
DateFriday, Day One of Unit Plan
Time
1 hour and 30 minutes / Learning Objectives: What should students be able to do at the end of this lesson? Is there alignment with course objectives?
Students will be able to explain Geoffrey Chaucer’s use of literary techniques in The Canterbury Tales: The General Prologue, in regards to his use of characterization verses their own ideas and stereotypes from the Middle Ages. These literary techniques can include: metaphors, similes, and sardonic language. They will also begin their understanding of a character which will result in presentation for unit completion. / Standard(s)
Found on Page Four
Modifications
Ø The students will need to have The General Prologue available for class. Having this on audio could be helpful. / Instructional Procedures
…gain students’ attention (Introduction/Motivation)?
1. Have a bag (imitation Middle Ages money purse) with each character from the prologue represented on a gold coin. Each student must draw a name from the coin. (If there are more students than characters, this may be better if done in twos.) (10 minutes)
2. For the first fifteen minutes of class, the student will begin to engage with their character by creating a list of stereotypical attributes they connect with their character, without prior understanding of Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. (15 min) / Checklist:
Did students…?
…know my
objectives?
…actively
engage with new material?
…work together on a task?
…get feedback on their perform-
ance?
…recall prior relevant information (Activate Prior Knowledge)?
· What does the class know about the Middle Ages before the unit begins?
· Why is Geoffrey Chaucer so important to our understanding of the Middle Ages?
· Students should have basic understanding of literary devices. (Previous Unit)
Materials Needed
Ø Lined paper
Ø White plain paper
Ø Artistry assistance, i.e. colored pencils, markers, or crayons
Ø Money Purse
Ø Coins for money purse
Ø Paint pen to write character names on coins
Ø The Canterbury Tales: The General Prologue by Geoffrey Chaucer (TRANSLATION into Standard 21st century English)
Ø Each tale outside of the prologue fitted to help student with completion of portfolio
Ø Graphic organizer to establish evaluation point, bullet four.
Ø Work sheet that allows them to find each character and include page number. (E.P. #2) / …present new material (Demonstration)?
Geoffrey Chaucer lived in a period rarely discussed in our time. He wrote on The Canterbury Tales in England from the years 1387-1400, before our country was even discovered. However, the style in which Chaucer wrote, and the characters of his day can still be found in literature of the present. We call Chaucer’s work a “framed narrative” because he included so many stories within a story, stories that are told by the characters you have just found on your gold coin. Today each of you will begin a discovery of one of Chaucer’s characters that will progress over the next week, and you will end with a portfolio of work that shows your progress from each day of your character discovery. You have already listed some of the stereotypes that you understand your character to have. Now, let us begin reading Chaucer’s General Prologue until we reach the first character. From there, find all the characters listed on your handout and the line number in which their introduction is made. I bet you will find that the things that you have thought about of your character will be very different from what Chaucer has described. Let us begin…
…elicit performance (Guided Practice)?
1. Provide students with the Primary Source Document; The General Prologue should be in their British Literature Text Book.
2. After finding all the characters and the various lengths of sections/order of characters the following will be a discussion:
Ø Did Chaucer place these in a certain order? Why?
Ø What does the length tell you about the character? (Importance of character in Middle Ages society or Chaucer’s disdain for the character)
Ø Where does your character fall in the order of characters?
Ø Who would be most important character in our own time? So, who would be first, or who would have the longest introduction?
3. Ask the students to analyze their character’s section of The General Prologue and answer the following questions:
Ø What type of character does Geoffrey Chaucer create?
Ø What type of literary devices does he use to create the character?
Ø How was it different from your own understanding of the characterization? / Evaluation
Ø Their stereotype list will be entered into their portfolio total.
Ø Their character/page location will be included in the portfolio.
Ø Participation in class debate in elicit performance, number 2.
Ø Notes taken on a graphic organizer that show the stereotyped characterization, the character that Chaucer created and the literary devices used.
…assess performance (Independent Practice)?
1. Each student will have received their character at the start of class, and will have already “stereotyped” their character.
2. They will have already located their section due to the worksheet from elicit performance number two.
3. From this point, each student should read their own section depicting their character. They should take notes on physical description, habits, things that are kept by the character…etc
4. They should be able to answer the three questions provided in elicit performance number three.
…enhance retention (Homework Assignment)?
Ø After finishing their graphic organizer, (see evaluation, bullet four) the student will be done for the day.
Ø From this point, the student should take home Tale One of their character and read it over the weekend. This will allow time for the student to read parts if not the whole story.
Ø They should be able to summarize the story upon their return to class on Monday.
Ø They should also be able to see a more in depth look at their character according to their graphic organizer. / Lesson Closure
Was your idea of your character different from Chaucer’s?
Stereotypes, even from the Middle Ages, can show a lack of understanding of a group of people.
Did you think that Chaucer’s text would give you all so much insight into the society of the Middle Ages?
Chaucer was very interested and concerned about his society and its standards. We will see more of this on Monday when you come back with your stories and we discuss symbolism.
Standards for Students: Standards are found at the Common Core State Standards Website. The ones listed are for 9-10 grade English.
· RL.9-10.6. Analyze a particular point of view or cultural experience reflected in a work of literature from outside the United States, drawing on a wide reading of world literature.
· RL.9-10.2. Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
· RL.9-10.1. Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
· SL.9-10.3. Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, identifying any fallacious reasoning or exaggerated or distorted evidence.