At last—a set of Canterbury Tales Prologue reading questions that helps students grasp what makes Chaucer's text a classic! This resource includes 68 questions that set students up to examine the purpose each pilgrim serves in the text. This approach avoids making students memorize minor details about pilgrims' clothing or put simplistic labels on their morality. Instead, these questions sharpen students' powers to make inferences by directing them to examine notable descriptions of the pilgrims. For each pilgrim, students draw a conclusion about how he or she represents a timeless human characteristic or situation. Altogether, this way of studying the Prologue cuts out needless "word finds," improves students' reading comprehension skills, and makes it clear what matters about Canterbury Tales so that the class discussion is more enjoyable. Depending on the needs of your class and your schedule, you could complete the reading and questions as a whole group, jigsaw it amongst smaller groups/individuals during class time, and/or assign some of it for homework. A highly detailed teacher's guide is included! Other resources you may find helpful: Hamlet Questions for Reading and Analysis The Rime of the Ancient Mariner Reading Questions Frankenstein Reading Questions Related blog posts: Common approaches to the Canterbury Tales Prologue and how to improve upon them Try a humor unit (especially at the end of the school year!) Keep in touch with BritLitWit! Blog Instagram Pinterest Facebook
