Canterbury Tales and PBL

Teaching Canterbury Tales and interested in PBL? Then this post is for you! Below are some ideas that can easily be adapted for other literature as well!

Canterbury Tales PBL ideas---

1. Using Facebook templates play out the character interaction on Facebook. This can be funny or serious or both. This idea will target Digital Citizenship along with standards for CT. ie: Show posts from each person at different points in the story and include touchy scenarios like how the drunken Miller offends the Reeve with his story and the Reeve retaliates. This could be a cyber-bulling exchange (there could be some dark comedy here as well). The different posts and interchanges/interactions could be presented through a Digital Citizenship lens. This way the student/s are analyzing the story but are also being forced to analyze proper digital citizenship. I think this one would be my favorite!

2. Write daily journal entries as a character about the other characters; OR retell the story through the eyes of one of the characters

3. Psychoanalyze each personality as a group therapist and recommend treatment for the group and/or individuals. Use their stories as evidence and reason for said treatment. Research what a therapist has to do when working with groups or individuals and use these protocols and processes, methods, tactics, etc.... Must have that for each character and MUST reference details from the story to determine prescription.

4. If the Host was a business owner, how is he faring with his employees? Analyze this using evidence from the story. In modern-day business America would he be successful? Write a "business plan" in regards to managing employees that will ensure his success. Reference details from the story to determine your reasoning behind your people management and business plan. Use and reference any other books and articles on employee management (ie: How full is your bucket by tom rath and donald clifton) 

5. Write a tale to be part of the CT's. Use the story and reference other stories within the story to determine your own tale.

6. Compare CT characters to modern-day well-known celebrities or personalities. Do this through a medium of your choice ie: wix, weebly, wikispace with each comparison being on a page with potential to share on Facebook/Twitter in real life!

7. Create a thorough and comprehensive unit with activities, projects and assessments (and based on CC standards!) as a teacher FOR the CT's.

8. You are Chaucer and are trying to promote and market CT's in modern-day times. Create marketing materials such as a website, advertisements, Facebook fan pages, twitter profile etc...that MUST persuade and sell the book using riveting scenes from the book! You have to do a "book talk" and video it with real life Q & A. Post this to your website along with a chronicle of your tour. 

9. You are a photojournalist who is traveling with Chaucer and Co. on the pilgrimage. How will you present the story and experience? Must have photos and written documentation of experience.

10. The pilgrimage clan (Chaucer and co) is a micro-society. What kind of society is it? Democracy, socialist, communist? What role in the society do they each play? Politician, leader, criminal, etc...? Use their individual stories to map out the society and/or societies the characters represent (this may be a little obtuse??? not sure but I thought a connection to societies/government would be good)

I would make a rubric using the standards to be mastered and a final assessment that shows students have read the story, to be taken after all students have presented the projects.