Lesson Plan 5: The Canterbury Tales: Wife of

Baths Tale
UTL 640E
Jeff Montgomery / Westlake High School
Senior

Kendall Shultz
English IV /

Date:
11/12/15
Class Period / Time: 8th (3:15-4:05)

Teach #

Enduring Understanding(s) & Essential

Question(s):

Effectivereadersinterpretthetextinportionsastheyreadtoincreasetheir
comprehensionofthetextasawholeandenhancetheirretentionofthetext.
o Whathappenedinthesectionwejustread?(F)
o Whataretheconflictsinthetextsofar?(F)
o Whereisthestorytakingplace?(F)
o Whatcharactersareinvolved?(F)
o Whydidthecharacterdowhathe/shedid?(F)
o Whatdoesinterpretingafterreadingafewlinesaccomplish?(C)

Lesson Objective(s):

Asaclass,studentswillreadtheWifeofBathsTalefromTheCanterburyTales
andsimultaneously,individuallycompletetheentiretyofahandoutthatcoversthe
charactersinthetale,asynopsisofthetale,aswellasthethemesofthetalefora
completiongradeinordertopromotestudentunderstandingofthestory,itsthemes,
andhowthosethemesstillapplytoday.

Resources/Materials:
A.TODObeforethedayofthelesson:

MakecopiesofTheTalehandout

Familiarizemyselffurtherwithsketchnoting.Video:Link

B.Forthelessonitself:

Paperforkidstosketchnoteon

EnsurethereareenoughcopiesofTheTalehandout

Makesuremylaptop/iPadhasenoughchargetomakeitthroughthelesson(Iwillbe
readingfromthatratherthantheprojectorscreen)

TEKS/SEs Addressed in the Lesson:

(5)Reading/ComprehensionofLiteraryText/Fiction.Studentsunderstand,make
inferencesanddrawconclusionsaboutthestructureandelementsoffictionand
provideevidencefromtexttosupporttheirunderstanding.Studentsareexpectedto:
o (B)analyzethemoraldilemmasandquandariespresentedinworksoffiction
asrevealedbytheunderlyingmotivationsandbehaviorsofthecharacters;
o (D)demonstratefamiliaritywithworksoffictionbyBritishauthorsfrom
eachmajorliteraryperiod.
(7)Reading/ComprehensionofLiteraryText/SensoryLanguage.Students
understand,makeinferencesanddrawconclusionsabouthowanauthor'ssensory
languagecreatesimageryinliterarytextandprovideevidencefromtexttosupport
theirunderstanding.Studentsareexpectedtoanalyzehowtheauthor'spatternsof
imagery,literaryallusions,andconceitsrevealtheme,settone,andcreatemeaningin
metaphors,passages,andliteraryworks.

Steps in Lesson:
ENGAGEMENT (15 minutes)
Students were introduced to sketch noting on Tuesday as a different
way to take notes, but they have not had an opportunity to apply that
technique. I will ask them to look back over the notes that they took on
the Wife of Baths prologue and have them think about how they would
sketch note a couple of the things that they copied down.
Students will have 10 minutes to sketch note a few images or scenes of
their choice.
Afterwards, they will share their sketches with the students sitting near
them for 2-3 minutes.
I will ask for students to volunteer notes that they want to share with the
class in case someone has one that they are particularly proud of.
STATED OBJECTIVE (1 minute)
Now that we are through the prologue, we are going to get into the
Wife of Baths tale itself. Like the other tales, we are going to read
some and then interpret what we read in order to ensure that we
understand the content and themes of the story.
ACTIVE LEARNING (30 minutes)
Explain
After the sketch noting activity is over, we will transition back to reading
the text itself on their iPads. We will stay consistent with the structure of
how they have been going through the text so far (reading a bit from the
text and then interpreting its meaning to ensure understanding).

The purpose of reading through the text aloud as a class is to model

effective techniques for comprehending and engaging with text so
that they can more easily understand the text when they have to
read it on their own (which they have to do after we finish this tale).
o For the sake of time (I am supposed to try to get done with as much
of the tale as possible, so that on Friday they can finish the tale and
take the quiz), I will read the text out loud and stop at appropriate
points to explain what we read or ask the students to tell me what
the section we just read said.
Explain/Apply
As they are reading along with me, they will be taking notes and filling out
the The Tale handout as they did with the Millers Tale.
o I will encourage them to use sketch noting to take additional notes
if they felt like it helped them, but they will not be required to do so
since it might not work for some students and could distract them
from the text.
Wewillreadthefirstthirtylinesofthetalebeforestoppinganddiscussingthesettingofthe
story:
o Whendoesthistaletakeplace?(OlddaysofKingArthur)
o Whatisnotableabouttheworldthatisdescribedcomparedtothepresentday?
(Fairiesstillexist)
Next,wewillreaduptoline888,anddiscusswhathappenedandwhatcharactersareinthe
storysofar:
o Whatcharactersdoweseesofar?(KingArthur,bachelor,maiden)
o Whatisabachelorinthisstory?(Inordertofindout,theyhavetoclickonthelinkto
takethemtoabriefdescriptionofabachelorinthiscontext,whichissomethingwe
wantthemtodowhentheyreadontheirown.Abachelorisayoungknight.)
o Whathappenedinthesefewlines?(Thebachelorviolatedthemaiden.)
Then,readthroughline898,anddiscusswhattheconsequencesofthebachelorsactionsare:
o Whathappensasaresultofthebachelorviolatingthemaiden?(Atrial)
o Hewasinitiallygoingtobeexecuted,whoobjected?(Thewomen,particularlythe
queen)
o Whowilldecidethefateofthebachelor?(Thequeen,sinceKingArthurgrantedher
thepowertomakethedecision.)
Next,readthroughline912,andaskaboutwhatweread:
o Whatdoesthequeenaskthebachelortodo?(Findoutwhatwomenreallywant)
o Howlongdoeshehavetocompletehisquest?(Oneyear)
o Whatisontheline?(Ifheanswerscorrectly,hegoesfree,ifnot,heisexecuted.)
Next,readthroughline944,anddiscusssomeofthethingsthatwomensaytheywant:
o Whataresomeofthethingswomensaytheywant?(Variousanswers)
o WhatdoestheWifeofBathcommentisclosetothetruthofwhattheywant?
(Flattery)
Next,readthroughline982,anddiscusswhatissaidaboutwomenandkeepingsecrets:
o Accordingtothis,canwomenkeepsecrets?(No,theycanonlyholditinsolong
beforetheyfeelliketheyhavetotellsomeone.)
Next,readthroughline1008,anddiscusswhathappens:
o Whatdoesthebachelorseeintheforest,andwhatdoesitturninto?(24ladies
dancing,turnedouttobeoneoldwoman)
o

Next,readthrough1022,anddiscusstheagreementbetweenthebachelorandoldwoman:
o Whatistheagreementthattheymake?(Bachelorwilldoanythingiftheoldwoman
giveshimtheanswertothequeensquestion)
Next,readthroughline1057,anddiscussthetrial:
o Doestheknightgivetherightanswer?(Yes)
o Whatdoestheoldwomanrequirefromhim?Whymightsheaskthis?(Marryher,
andsheexertspoweroverhimbydoingthis)
Next,readthroughline1082,anddiscussthesituation:
o Whatisthebachelorsattitudeaboutthesituation?(Hewouldalmostratherdie)
o Why?(Thewomanwasoldandexceptionallyunattractive)
Next,readthroughline1164anddiscussgentility:
o Whatdoestheoldwomansaydeterminestruegentility?(Goodacts,andnotjust
bybeingbornintoit)
Next,readthroughline1218,anddiscussthebenefitsofbeingmarriedtotheoldwoman:
o Whatarethebenefitsthattheoldwomansaysshebringstothetable?(Willbe
faithful,sheisknowledgeableandcanstillpleasehimphysically)
Next,readthroughline1237,anddiscussthechoiceshegivesthebachelorandhowhe
responds:
o Whatisthechoiceofpreferenceshegives?(oldandfaithful/youngandpromiscuous)
o Howdoesherespond?(Givesherthechoiceandpower)
Next,finishthestoryanddiscusstheresolution:
o Whathappensintheend?(Sheturnsintoafaithfulandyoungwoman,andtheylive
happilytilltheydie)

CLOSURE (3-5 minutes)

Once we reach a logical stopping point with roughly five minutes left in class,
we will stop and I will ask them to share important details from the story up
to the point we have read so far.

The purpose of this is to ensure that they have picked up on the important
details of the story so far (both in plot and theme), so that they will be
able to continue to understand the story when they continue reading later.

Modifications/Differentiation Strategies:

Studentswillhavethestoryreadoutloudaswellashavethetextinfrontofthem,so
bothaudioandvisuallearnersshouldbeabletoengagewiththestory.
Thesketchnotingactivitywillprovidevisuallearnerswithanotheravenuefor
notetakingthattheycanuseinplaceofregularnotecopying.
Theintermittentdiscussionwillalsohelpstudentswhomaystillbestruggling
understandingthetext,andthereadingtheninterpretingprocesswefollowservesas
amodelforstudentsaswepreparethemtoreadontheirown.

Evaluation Strategies:

TheTalehandoutwillevaluatetheircomprehensionofthestoryinregardstoboth
plotandthemes.

Discussion/interpretingduringthereadingcheckstheirunderstanding.
Theclosurerecapattheendwillalsoevaluatetheirunderstanding.
QuizovertheWifeofBathstaleideas,content,andthemesonFriday(Mondayfor
4thperiod)
TherewilleventuallybeasummativeCanterburyTalestestattheendoftheunit.

Notes/Recommendations for next time:

Iprobablywontusethisexactlessonagainsinceitwasntveryinteractive,butI
couldmaybestealsomeofthequestionsIhad,anditservesasagood
refresher/guidefortheimportantsectionsinthetale.