CANTERBURY TALES TALE PRESENTATION
Each pilgrim at the Inn has a tale to tell, a chance at winning the competition and entertaining the lot of us. Your group
will read the assigned tale and prepare for the storytelling presentation. Every member of the group has to speak during
the presentation, and you must be present to receive full credit. Groups must go on their assigned day.
PRESENTATIONS WILL INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING THREE STEPS:
1. Re-introduce the storyteller – Your persona is yourself.
 Explanation of pilgrim – the social class of character and his/her background information from Prologue
 Give a brief summary of the story you are about to show the class. (Your summary, not one from Spark
Notes.)
2. Storytelling – Your persona is your pilgrim
(This part MUST be videotaped or on a slide show/prezi/etc. and presented to the class. When filming and/or
collecting your media, ask yourself, "Could I show this to Dr. Perdaems, my parents or grandparents and feel
comfortable about it?" If the answer is no, then rethink the making of your video. Keep it clean.)
 Retell the tale (you can modernize the tale)
 Creative – Costumes (keep this school appropriate), props, filming techniques, narrative structure, etc.
 Off script (students cannot read a script word for word) – improvisation is fine, but it should follow the tale –
include a script of your retelling for your teacher.
 NOT APPROPRIATE: excessive alcohol references; drug references; sexual references; swearing; any
comments that are derogatory or could be offensive to members of racial, cultural, religious, sexual
orientation or gender groups.
► While humor, wit, and social satire are encouraged in this project, it is important to respect
boundaries of appropriate and tasteful content. We want to entertain our audience, not offend them.
Good social satire is delicate: we want to illuminate the quirks and flaws of our characters, but we
also want to avoid stereotyping or culturally insensitive humor.
3. Analysis – Your persona is yourself.
 What is the moral of the story?
 Why is the story appropriate for the teller?
 What does the story reveal about the teller?
 Why should this tale be selected the winner?
THE TALES TO CHOOSE FROM ARE LISTED BELOW ALONG WITH A BRIEF EXPLANATION OF EACH.
The Wife of Bath's Tale: Which is better to marry--someone who is old, ugly, but loyal or beautiful, young, but
unfaithful? 3-4 students
The Merchant's Tale: Bawdy and sarcastic tale of a young wife cheating on an old husband. 3-4 students
The Franklin's Tale: Idealistic poem about true love and honor…another love triangle. 2-3 students
The Pardoner's Tale: The Example or story part of a sermon on how 3 men meet their death. 2-3 students
The Prioress's Tale: Saint's Legend…how a young boy became a saint. A graphic and violent tale. 2-3 students
The Nun's Priest's Tale: Beast Fable…barnyard creatures are characters who present a moral. 2-3 students
The Miller's Tale: A tale about an ignorant and gullible old carpenter that marries a young beautiful woman that
cheats on him with a young stud. 2-3 students
The Reeve's Tale: A tale about a dishonest Miller whose home is "violated" by two young students. 2-3 students
The Summoner's Tale: A tale about a hypocritical friar who does not practice what he preaches. 2-3 students
LEARNING TARGETS:
 Summarize and analyze one of Chaucer’s tales, noting the key events and moral of the tale.
 Analyze the tale for its appropriateness to the speaker/pilgrim and what the tale reveals about him/her.
 Evaluate why this tale should be considered the winner of the group.
SCORING RUBRIC:
Exceeds Expectations: You must complete ALL of the Meets Expectations requirements in addition to:
 Imply or state explicitly the subtexts and/or multiple meanings of your pilgrim’s tale.
 Select visual aids – costumes, props, filming techniques, narrative structure – that deepens the audiences’
understanding of your pilgrim’s tale and shows a deeper interpretation of the tale.
 Set the retelling in an appropriate context that clearly demonstrates, without being explained, why this context
is insightful and relevant to your interpretation.
Meet Expectations: You must complete ALL of the following in your power point:
 Summarize the pilgrim and assigned tale accurately in your introduction.
 Retell your pilgrim’s tale using accurate, relevant information from the story, including the moral of the tale.
 Create an appropriate video or visual storybook for your tale that presents your pilgrim’s tale for the class.
 Analyze the pilgrim’s tale for appropriateness to the pilgrim’s class/background and its revelations about the
subject.
 Presentation Concepts 1: Demonstrate that presentation is practiced – follows general storyline and script;
improvisation is consistent with interpretation of the story. All members participate. Group grade
 Presentation Concepts 2: Use a clear, strong voice and posture that can be heard by entire audience, inflection
and articulation are clear, tone is appropriate for the speech, gestures are tied to the content and not
distracting. Individual grade
Partially Meet Expectations:
 Meet 4-5 of the Meets Expectations requirements.
Does Not Meet Expectations:
 Meet less than 4 of the Meets Expectations requirements.
11.4.3.3 – Analyze the impact of the author’s choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set,
how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed)