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Extending the idea of business cards to the literature classroom, this lesson plan discusses having students make business cards for characters and authors. During two 50-minute lessons, students will: identify appropriate symbols that relate to their authors or characters; interact with classmates to give and receive feedback; and explore how audience and purpose shape their writing. When students make business cards they are invited to think symbolically to create a short, simple text that represents the target appropriately--providing a title, relevant images, and other pertinent information. The instructional plan, a list of web resources, student assessment/reflection activities, and a list of National Council of Teachers of English/International Reading Association (NCTE/IRA) Standards addressed in the project are included. Three sample business cards, a planning sheet and rubric for business card book reports are attached. (RS)

After reading a novel as a group, students prepare a television talk show that uses the characters from the story as the characters on the show. Students develop interview-style questions and answers for a character in the novel, and then act out the interview in class. During ten to eleven 45-minute lessons, students will: examine a character based on explicit and implicit information found in the novel; support their assumptions about a character by summarizing information from the novel; develop questions that could be answered by a character in the novel based on their examination and understanding of the character; prepare answers to the questions that they developed based on their understanding of the character and his or her personality; and integrate the questions and answers into a television show skit and then perform the show as a final project. The instructional plan, lists of resources, student assessment/reflection activities, and a list of National Council of Teachers of English/International Reading Association (NCTE/IRA) Standards addressed in the lesson are included. A character worksheet and a list of important interview information are attached. (PM)

Involving students in drawing activities prior to writing helps them to visualize what they want to express in their writing. Drawing before writing makes writing an easier process. In this lesson, K-2 students learn story elements, use graphic organizers, and access the Internet to gather factual information about frogs and toads. During the two- to three-week lesson time, students will: learn about story elements, including setting, characters, problem, solution, and ending; use a K-W-L chart to activate prior knowledge and inquiry; use the Internet to gather information about a specific topic; express stories orally applying their knowledge of story elements; apply their knowledge of story elements through drawings; apply strategies learned in oral expression to reading and writing; and record finished stories using PowerPoint. The instructional plan, lists of resources, student assessment/reflection activities, and a list of National Council of Teachers of English/International Reading Association (NCTE/IRA) Standards addressed in the lesson are included. A K-W-L chart and form for recording story elements are attached. (RS)

Something about the Cinderella story resonates with its audience. Related tales are told in cultures all over the globe--500 versions of the tale have been found in Europe alone. In America too, the classic tale, re-envisioned in print and other media, continues to be popular. What changes does the Cinderella story undergo when it is translated from one culture to another: Why do people love the character of Cinderella so much more than her own stepmother does? This lesson plan for a unit on Cinderella's character intended for children in grades 3-5: cites subject areas, time required, and skills developed; provides an introduction; presents learning objectives; poses a guiding question; gives tips for teachers preparing to teach the lesson; suggests (and delineates) three classroom activities; provides suggestions for extending the lesson; lists Web resources; addresses standards alignment; an offers charts for characters in Cinderella and for characters in Cinderella stories from around the world. (NKA)

Third in a series of booklets designed to assist Year 6 teachers with planning instruction to meet objectives of the National Literacy Strategy, this booklet contains Summer Term planning exemplification for three "revision" units (Narrative, Poetry and Non-fiction) prior to the Key Stage 2 tests and one unit after the tests (Extended narrative writing). After an introduction (background and context, Year 6 Term 3 Planning), the Revision Units section of the booklet offers framework objectives, a rationale, and week plans and transcripts, and resources sheets for the three units. For the Extended narrative writing unit, the booklet presents framework objectives, rationale, a 3-week plan, a short story, structural analysis, story frame overhead transparencies, a demo-write for chapter 1, a class grouping chart, and a flowchart. (RS)

Children can learn to express themselves through the performing arts in constructive ways. Theater, specifically, employs the use of all dimensions of learning. In this lesson, students will engage in basic theater techniques for creating a character through movement and voice. The lesson, lasting 5 class periods, introduces them to guidelines for being both an audience and a performer and is designed to have them become familiar with terminology and conventions used in the art of acting; students will also be introduced to the process of scripting a story by adapting a common fairy tale to perform as a drama, linking literature and theater. The lesson offers an overview; suggests length and grade level; lists subjects and subtopics; cites dimensions of learning and intelligences being addressed; notes equipment and materials needed; lists teacher resources; and addresses National Standards for Arts Education. It identifies instructional objectives and strategies; provides a 3-part, detailed instructional plan; and suggests assessment activities. Attached is a rubric for "Folktale Theater" and a relevant vocabulary. (NKA)

Based on Jane Austen's novel "Pride and Prejudice," this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that classics are those pieces of literature that continue to be popular long after they were written; classics tend to have universal themes; and Austen's writing has been updated and dramatized and, most likely, will continue to be. The main activity of the lesson involves students working in small groups to draft the script of a modern-day version of scenes from the novel. It includes objectives, materials, procedures, adaptations, discussion questions, evaluation methods, extension activities, annotations of suggested readings and web links, vocabulary, and related academic standards and benchmarks addressed in the lesson plan. The lesson plan also contains a description of a video clip related to the lesson, comprehension questions related to the video clip, and answers to those comprehension questions. (RS)

Based on Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel "The Scarlet Letter," this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that the ending of a novel does not resolve all of the questions that may occur to readers; and that readers may imagine characters living out their lives beyond the ending the author gave to a novel. The main activity of the lesson involves students speculating in writing about what happened to Pearl in later life--such as a short story, a letter from Pearl as a young woman to her mother, a scene between Pearl and her mother, or a doctor's report on the cause of Pearl's death. It includes objectives, materials, procedures, adaptations, discussion questions, evaluation methods, extension activities, annotations of suggested readings and web links, vocabulary, and related academic standards and benchmarks addressed in the lesson plan. The lesson plan also contains a description of a video clip related to the lesson, comprehension questions related to the video clip, and answers to those comprehension questions. (RS)

Based on James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier's novel "My Brother Sam Is Dead," this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that one way to learn about the past is to read historical novels; and that some people take one side or another in a war or other conflict, and some find themselves caught in the middle. The main activity of the lesson involves students writing and performing a monologue in the persona of one of the colonists in the story, which takes place during the American Revolution. It includes objectives, materials, procedures, adaptations, discussion questions, evaluation methods, extension activities, annotations of suggested readings and web links, vocabulary, and related academic standards and benchmarks addressed in the lesson plan. The lesson plan also contains a description of a video clip related to the lesson, comprehension questions related to the video clip, and answers to those comprehension questions. (RS)

Based on Herman Melville's novel "Moby-Dick," this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that the novel is grounded in facts that Melville acquired in his own experiences at sea; New England was the center of a prospering whaling industry in the 19th century; and journal keeping was not uncommon among 19th-century Americans. The main activity of the lesson involves students taking on the persona of an imaginary sailor or captain while he is out at sea on a whaling voyage and writing journal entries. It includes objectives, materials, procedures, adaptations, discussion questions, evaluation methods, extension activities, annotations of suggested readings and web links, vocabulary, and related academic standards and benchmarks addressed in the lesson plan. The lesson plan also contains a description of a video clip related to the lesson, comprehension questions related to the video clip, and answers to those comprehension questions. (RS)

Based on Gustave Flaubert's novel "Madame Bovary," this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students explore the theme of "illusion versus reality" in the novel; identify and list alternate themes in the novel; and cite specific examples of illusion versus reality from the novel. It includes objectives, materials, procedures, adaptations, discussion questions, evaluation methods, extension activities, annotations of suggested readings and web links, vocabulary, and related academic standards and benchmarks addressed in the lesson plan. The lesson plan also contains a description of a video clip related to the lesson, comprehension questions related to the video clip, and answers to those comprehension questions. (RS)

Based on characters in the Arthurian legend, this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that many writers have told the tale of King Arthur and the people around him, including Guinevere, Lancelot, Merlin, and Mordred. The main activity of the lesson involves students writing a dramatic monologue supposedly composed at some point by one of the characters in the Arthurian legend. It includes objectives, materials, procedures, adaptations, discussion questions, evaluation methods, extension activities, annotations of suggested readings and web links, vocabulary, and related academic standards and benchmarks addressed in the lesson plan. The lesson plan also contains a description of a video clip related to the lesson, comprehension questions related to the video clip, and answers to those comprehension questions. (RS)

Based on Charles Dickens' novel "Great Expectations," this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand the differences between totalitarianism and democracy; and a that a writer of a story considers theme, plot, characters, setting, and point of view. The main activity of the lesson involves students working in groups to write a short story, in a serial manner much like Dickens did when he wrote "Great Expectations." It includes objectives, materials, procedures, adaptations, discussion questions, evaluation methods, extension activities, annotations of suggested readings and web links, vocabulary, and related academic standards and benchmarks addressed in the lesson plan. The lesson plan also contains a description of a video clip related to the lesson, comprehension questions related to the video clip, and answers to those comprehension questions. (RS)

Based on John Steinbeck's novel "The Grapes of Wrath," this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand the universal nature of Steinbeck's characters' struggles and some of the complex forces affecting their lives; and the value of primary source material in presenting an authentic picture of a given period in history. The main activity of the lesson involves students researching primary source material to collaboratively write a dramatic monologue for characters in the novel. It includes objectives, materials, procedures, adaptations, discussion questions, evaluation methods, extension activities, annotations of suggested readings and web links, vocabulary, and related academic standards and benchmarks addressed in the lesson plan. The lesson plan also contains a description of a video clip related to the lesson, comprehension questions related to the video clip, and answers to those comprehension questions. (RS)

Based on Joseph Heller's novel "Catch-22," this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that active readers evaluate the actions and statements of characters in a novel; and active readers apply the ideas of a novel to contexts outside the novel. The main activity of the lesson involves students writing a paper on a historical or contemporary figure who said no to an oppressive system. It includes objectives, materials, procedures, adaptations, discussion questions, evaluation methods, extension activities, annotations of suggested readings and web links, vocabulary, and related academic standards and benchmarks addressed in the lesson plan. The lesson plan also contains a description of a video clip related to the lesson, comprehension questions related to the video clip, and answers to those comprehension questions. (RS)

Based on Mary Shelley's novel "Frankenstein," this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that active readers interpret a novel (its characters, plot, setting, and theme) in different ways; and the great literature can be and has been adapted in many ways over time. The main activity of the lesson involves students staging a mock trial in civil court of Victor Frankenstein on charges of negligence, malpractice, and emotional distress. It includes objectives, materials, procedures, adaptations, discussion questions, evaluation methods, extension activities, annotations of suggested readings and web links, vocabulary, and related academic standards and benchmarks addressed in the lesson plan. The lesson plan also contains a description of a video clip related to the lesson, comprehension questions related to the video clip, and answers to those comprehension questions. (RS)

Based on short stories and novels, this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that in the 19th century, the American frontier brought both solutions and problems; and fiction writers as well as documentarians have portrayed the American frontier. The main activity of the lesson involves students writing essays addressing whether characters in the novels and short stories do or do not correspond with information students found from nonfiction sources. It includes objectives, materials, procedures, adaptations, discussion questions, evaluation methods, extension activities, annotations of suggested readings and web links, vocabulary, and related academic standards and benchmarks addressed in the lesson plan. The lesson plan also contains a description of a video clip related to the lesson, comprehension questions related to the video clip, and answers to those comprehension questions. (RS)

Based on Bram Stoker's novel "Dracula," this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that some fictional literary characters become so famous that they enter popular culture in other forms (movies, games, toys); and that working on a product such as a game often demands collaborative effort. The main activity of the lesson involves students working in small groups to develop a board game based on "Dracula." It includes objectives, materials, procedures, adaptations, discussion questions, evaluation methods, extension activities, annotations of suggested readings and web links, vocabulary, and related academic standards and benchmarks addressed in the lesson plan. The lesson plan also contains a description of a video clip related to the lesson, comprehension questions related to the video clip, and answers to those comprehension questions. (RS)

Based on Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel "Crime and Punishment," this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that: a close study of the characters of a literary classic will yield important clues to an understanding of the work as a whole; an effective analysis of stylistic devices depends upon selection and interpretation of evidence from the text itself; and successful readers will learn to recognize ambiguity and develop an appreciation for the rich implications it offers. The main activity of the lesson involves preparing character studies. It includes objectives, materials, procedures, adaptations, discussion questions, evaluation methods, extension activities, annotations of suggested readings and web links, vocabulary, and related academic standards and benchmarks addressed in the lesson plan. The lesson plan also contains a description of a video clip related to the lesson, comprehension questions related to the video clip, and answers to those comprehension questions. (RS)

Based on William Golding's novel "Lord of the Flies," this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that, on a literal level, the novel deals with what happens to a group of boys stranded on an island; and that on a symbolic level, it investigates what happens to civilized people when the structures of civilization disappear. The main activity in the lesson involves students forming groups to present arguments and to judge who was responsible for the events on the island. It includes objectives, materials, procedures, adaptations, discussion questions, evaluation methods, extension activities, annotations of suggested readings and web links, vocabulary, and related academic standards and benchmarks addressed in the lesson plan. The lesson plan also contains a description of a video clip related to the lesson, comprehension questions related to the video clip, and answers to those comprehension questions. (RS)

Designed for a third-grade literature curriculum, this unit integrates language arts with visual arts, music, and social studies. In the unit, third graders use elements of exaggeration to create folktales, work with sixth graders to edit the tale, and create 3-dimensional representations of their main characters. The following lessons are part of the unit: Exaggeration, Folktales, and Characters Lessons 1-4: Introduction; Exaggeration, Folktales, and Characters Lessons 5-8: Writing; Exaggeration, Folktales, and Characters Lessons 9-11; and Exaggeration, Folktales, and Characters Lesson 12: Sharing Party. Each lesson in the unit offers an overview; suggests length and grade level; cites subjects and subtopics; notes equipment and materials needed; lists teacher resources; and addresses National Standards for Arts Education and other standards. Each lesson also identifies instructional objectives and strategies; provides a detailed, step-by-step instructional plan; and suggests assessment and extension activities. (NKA)

This fantasy unit focuses on C. S. Lewis's "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." Through the unit's 17 lessons (which correspond to the book's 17 chapters), students will read and analyze the text, using the literary elements of characterization, setting, plot, theme, character, climax, and resolution. The unit offers an overview; suggests length and grade level; lists subjects and subtopics; cites dimensions of learning and intelligences being addressed; notes equipment and materials needed; addresses National Standards for Arts Education and other standards; and lists teacher resources. It also presents instructional objectives and strategies; offers a warm-up instructional plan; and suggests assessment and extension activities. It then provides a detailed, step-by-step (i.e., chapter-by-chapter) instructional plan. Attached are an outline of literary elements and questions for "quality thinking." (NKA)

In this curriculum unit, students will explore fiction writing in three lessons--characterization, setting, and plot. The unit intends for them to learn how to use characterization, dialogue, point of view and other literary devices in fiction writing. Each of the lessons offers an overview; suggests length and grade level; lists subjects and subtopics; cites dimensions of learning and intelligences being addressed; notes equipment and materials needed; lists teacher resources; and addresses National Standards for Arts Education and other standards. Each lesson also identifies instructional objectives and strategies; provides a detailed, step-by-step instructional plan; suggests assessment and extension activities; and contains teacher references. Attached are guidelines for writing dialogue and constructing a plot, writing assignments, and standards for developing scoring rubrics. (NKA)

First in a series, this booklet contains suggestions for planning literacy in Year 6. This Year 6 plan for 2001-2002 and the short-term unit plan for narrative writing are a distillation of the work of a representative group of Year 6 teachers. It contains the Year 6 Term 1 Units 2 and 5 on Narrative Writing. It begins with an outline of the basic principles underpinning medium-term planning in literacy, then it presents a chart for termly planning, target statements for the units, an overview of the units, short-term planning, and resources for each day. It then presents a detailed lesson plan for units 2 and 5. (RS)

These eight booster units have been designed to provide extra, targeted support for pupils in Year 6. Each unit is based on teaching objectives from the National Literacy Strategy Framework but also focuses on Target Statements for Writing (spelling, sentence construction, language effects, punctuation, purpose and organization, and process). Each unit includes three lessons working towards identified target statements for writing; focus on key objectives at word, sentence and text level; and include activities for a range of pupils. Each unit also contains a summary and overview, an outline of the lessons, lesson examples, and text extracts and photocopiable masters. The eight units are: Recount, Narrative/Adventure, Narrative Story Endings, Developing Characters, Autobiography, Biographical Recount, Diary, and Recount Based on a Known Narrative. (RS)

A study that joined the fields of young adult literature and vision impairment explored the questions: How are characters who have visual impairment presented by young adult books?; and How do readers respond to those characters? Only a few books were found (13) that feature characters with visual impairments, and the portrayal of characters varies considerably. A.B. Heim (1994) established five criteria on which to evaluate books that depict mentally disabled characters, and these criteria are relevant for evaluating characters with visual impairments. Most of the books present characters who are adventitiously blind and whose blindness is finally cured, a situation which does not usually occur in real life. Teachers can use the following question checklist when evaluating a young adult book in which a character with a visual impairment is portrayed: (1) Does the book have characters who are congenitally visually impaired, both characters with low vision and characters who are blind?; (2) Does the book have a character with low vision?; (3) Does the book have characters who attend public school and have contemporary teenage experiences?; (4) Does the book have characters who are facing issues specific to teenagers with visual impairment in the 21st century?; (5) Does the resolution involve a cure for the visual impairment?; (6) Do the families and peers of the character with visual impairment act realistically toward that character?; and (7) Do the families and teachers expect the visually impaired character to be a successful independent person? (Contains a table, a 13-item annotated bibliography, and 9 references.) (NKA)

This lesson about Islam and the Koran is intended for grade 6 or 7 core classrooms. The lesson plan uses the story of Joseph (not Joseph, the father of Jesus, but Joseph who was abandoned by his brothers in a pit) as told in the Koran. The lesson plan does not provide a translation of the story but indicates where one can be found on the Internet. It presents seven study questions for story comprehension and provides comparative text for each of the questions from the Koran and from the Old Testament's Book of Genesis. The lesson plan compares the Old Testament and the Koran versions of how the story of Joseph is told, presenting five questions for students to answer. It provides activities to examine Joseph's character traits as exhibited in the Koran; to construct Joseph's family tree; to create a dialogue between Joseph and the Pharaoh; to compare the Old Testament version and the Qur'an version of Joseph using a Venn Diagram; and to write a 9-paragraph character sketch of Joseph that provides a physical description of him, summarizes his background, outlines his personality traits, describes his motivation, and examines his conflicts. (BT)

This performance guide is designed for teachers to use with students before and after a performance of "Caddie Woodlawn," adapted by Greg Gunning from the novel by Carol Ryrie Brink. The guide, called a "Cuesheet," contains seven activity sheets for use in class, addressing: (1) The Characters (introducing the characters in the play and explaining some theatrical conventions such as narrators, scenes, and actors doubling parts); (2) The Story (offering a story synopsis and looking at where the story takes place on the map); (3) Westward Ho: The Setting (discussing pioneer life and the movement West, and how props and set pieces recreate this time); (4) Language on the Frontier (helping students understand language in the play that might be unfamiliar to them); (5) From Book to Play (looking at the challenges of adapting a book into a play that can be performed on a stage); (6) Carol Ryrie Brink and the "Real" Caddie (describing how the author wrote this book based on stories her grandmother told her about growing up on the Wisconsin frontier, and listing resources for further explanation); and (7) Going to the Kennedy Center (about the audience's role and the Kennedy Center itself). (SR)

This performance guide is designed for teachers to use with students before and after a performance of "Ramona Quimby," adapted by Len Jenkin from the Ramona books by Beverly Cleary. The guide, called a "Cuesheet," contains seven activity sheets for use in class, addressing: (1) The Characters (introducing the characters in the play, and theatre conventions such as scenes, narrators, and actors doubling roles); (2) The Story (offering a story synopsis); (3) Your Neighborhood (offering a description and a map of the neighborhood in which the story takes place, and the props and set pieces used to create that world); (4) From Book to Play (discussing how playwrights adapt books to plays and how this play was adapted from several books); (5) Imagination in "Ramona Quimby" (discussing the role of imagination in the play and in the theatre); (6) Beverly Cleary (about the author Beverly Cleary and how she came to write books); and (7) Going to the Kennedy Center (about the audience's important role in a performance and about the Kennedy Center itself). Resources for further exploration are listed. (SR)

This lesson plan highlights one episode in the "Divine Comedy" to provide students with an introduction to Dante's poem. After a brief introduction to the opening of the "Divine Comedy," which portrays Dante as a pilgrim guided by the poet Virgil on a journey through the Christian afterlife toward God, students read Canto 5 of the "Inferno," which comes near the beginning of Dante's descent into Hell. Students refer to a diagram of Dante's underworld to understand the role of Minos at the start of this canto, then analyze Dante's description of the storm-tossed souls he encounters in order to gain further insight into his allegorical method. Next, students identify the famous lovers who set the stage for Paolo and Francesca and consider how they lend a literary dimension to readers' perception of this pair. Finally, students examine Francesca's "confession," comparing the philosophical style in which she first describes her love affair with the story-telling style she uses to describe what actually occurred. At the center of her story is the already-famous love story of Lancelot and Guinevere, and students consider how this story-within-a-story structure reflects on Francesca's own efforts to portray herself as a victim of courtly love. To conclude the lesson, students compare the effect that Lancelot's story had on Paolo and Francesca with the effect their story has on Dante in the poem, and the effect this layered episode has on Dante's readers today. The lesson plan also contains the subject areas covered in the lesson, time required to complete the lesson, the skills used in the lesson, the grade level (9-12), and lists of the standards developed by professional or government associations that are related to the lesson, as well as activities to extend the lesson. (RS)

This lesson plan complements study of plot and characterization in "Romeo and Juliet" by focusing on Shakespeare's use of lyric forms and conventions to spotlight moments in the drama and thereby heightens the impact of the action on the stage. Students look first at the sonnet in which Romeo and Juliet meet, analyzing the imagery to gain insight into the way Shakespeare's use of love sonnet conventions characterizes the moment and the relationship between the lovers. Then students act the passage to notice how Shakespeare stage manages this moment and consider what perspective his making the lovers almost literally "kiss by the book" lends to readers' perception of their characters. Finally, students enact the scene in which this moment occurs in order to notice how Shakespeare combines poetic forms, ranging from the almost-prose of Capulet and the Nurse to the melodramatic style of Tybalt, to achieve something akin to the cuts and framing that are possible in film. To conclude, students work in groups to find similar moments in the play (e.g., the balcony scene, the tomb scene, etc.) where Shakespeare spotlights the action through lyric form and at the same time invites the audience to see through the idealization of lyric conventions by having the characters act out these conceits on stage. The lesson plan also contains the subject areas covered in the lesson, time required to complete the lesson, the skills used in the lesson, the grade level (9-12), and lists of the standards developed by professional or government associations that are related to the lesson, as well as activities to extend the lesson. (RS)

In this three-part lesson, students examine structure and characterization in the short story and consider the significance of humor through a study of Mark Twain's "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County." In Part I, through skits and storytelling, students first examine the structure of Twain's story and the role he creates for his tall-tale storyteller, Simon Wheeler. They then investigate Twain's use of dialect by continuing a story that Wheeler starts to tell, imitating his comic style. In Part II, students compare Twain's story with one of the Sut Lovingood stories by George Washington Harris, again examining the story's structure by performing it as a skit. After considering how this structure "frames" the trickster Sut Lovingood, as compared to the frame Twain creates for his trickster, Jim Smiley, students produce a character sketch of Harris' comic protagonist and a sample of his humorous dialect. Finally, in Part III, students read a humorous story by Nathaniel Hawthorne in order to gain perspective on Twain's brand of humor and its significance within the context of American literary tradition. After debating the merits of "moral" humor like Hawthorne's as compared with the "folk" humor of Harris and Twain, students test the possibilities of blending these traditions by recasting a paragraph of Hawthorne's story in dialect style. The lesson plan also contains the subject areas covered in the lesson, time required to complete the lesson, the skills used in the lesson, the grade level (9-12), and lists of the standards developed by professional or government associations that are related to the lesson, as well as activities to extend the lesson. (RS)

This lesson introduces students to one of the most admired characterizations in Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales," the Wife of Bath. Students read Chaucer's description of the Wife in the "General Prologue" to consider how he represents her, both as the poet of "The Canterbury Tales" and as a character in his own poem, then read the "Wife of Bath's Prologue," where he has her speak for herself, to gain additional perspective on her character. Next, students investigate some of the literary sources that Chaucer drew upon as he created this portrait of a woman with her own ideas about matrimony, and examine evidence about marriage in the Middle Ages and the role that women played in medieval society. Finally, students read the "Wife of Bath's Tale" and explore the alternative readings of the tale in relation to the character of the Wife of Bath. The lesson plan also contains the subject areas covered in the lesson, time required to complete the lesson, the skills used in the lesson, the grade level (8-12), and lists of the standards developed by professional or government associations that are related to the lesson, as well as activities to extend the lesson. (RS)