Name: ___________________
Block:
The Modern Canterbury Tales
February/March Monthly Madness Rubric
Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales is about a group of 14th century
pilgrims from all walks of life who travel together for several days on their
way to a shrine in Canterbury. They entertain each other on this journey by
telling stories. The person who tells the most entertaining story wins dinner at
the local tavern, courtesy of the other story-telling pilgrims.
Your task for this month’s madness is to create a contemporary version of The
Canterbury Tales. This means acting out a fictional scenario in which a group
of diverse people find themselves traveling together toward a common
destination. It also means creating your own character and rhyming story. As in
the original contest, whoever tells the most entertaining story wins dinner with
one friend from our sophomore class and Mrs. Kaplan, Ms. Horowitz, and Ms.
Zinn.
Below is the imaginary scenario for our modern tales:
Destination: Campsite in upstate New York
Mode of transport: Coach bus departing from CSIHSIS
Narrator: the bus driver (Chuck)
Story-telling Theme: Each person on the bus will be giving a testimonial
during the final night of the camping trip during a marshmallow roasting.
These testimonials will serve as our “stories”. They will, 1) recount an unusual
or entertaining experience you have had at CSIHSIS during the year and a half
you’ve been a student and 2) be written in rhyme (like the original tales). They
should also aim to be clever and entertaining, as those are among the criteria
the judges will use to determine who wins the free dinner. **Please see notes
on appropriate content.
Madness Details:
1. We will dress in character on the judging days, both semi and final rounds,
March 8 and 9, 2007. How well your costume captures the personality of your
character and/or period dress (1300’s/Middle Ages) will be one of the judging
categories.
2. You will read your testimonials aloud in small groups during the Monthly
Madness festivities on Thursday March 8. The judges, myself, Ms. Horowitz,
and Ms. Zinn of course, will be in the audience. One semi finalist will be select
from each block. Refreshments and good cheer are expected during the semi
final round. All testimonials should be placed in the homework tray as usual at
the end of the festivities.
3. During the Final Round, on March 9, semi finalists (one per small group) in
each class will read their testimonials to the entire audience (your block). A
copy of each testimonial must be given to the judges prior to the reading (make
sure you have 3 copies). The audience will cast their votes in a secret ballot.
The judges, Mrs. Kaplan, Ms. Horowitz, and Ms. Zinn will use these votes to
determine the winner of The Modern Canterbury Tales.
4. Entrance to the semi and final rounds will be granted upon a monetary
contribution (suggested donation $1) to be put toward the winner’s dinner with
a friend, Mrs. Kaplan, Ms. Horowitz, and Ms. Zinn.
Important Dates:
1st Draft of Testimonial: Wednesday March 7, 2007
Typed Final Draft of Testimonial with 1st draft attached: Thursday March 8
Reading/Semi Finals in costume with refreshments: Thursday March 8
Finals (both finalists and audience in costume): Friday March 9
Judging and Grading Criteria of Testimonial and Reading
Description of self as a CSIHSIS student: 10
Hook: 10
Body (the tale!): 30
Closing: 10
Use of Rhyme and Rhythmic Beat: 10
Grammar/mechanics of testimonial: 10
Costume: 10
Delivery/Performance: 10
Total Points: 100
Notes on Taste and Appropriateness:
While humor, wit, and social satire are encouraged in this project, it is
important to respect the 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.
Not appropriate:
1. excessive alcohol references
2. drug references
3. sexual references
4. swearing
5. any comments that are derogatory or could be offensive to members of
racial, cultural, religious, sexual orientation, or gender groups.
Tips for writing a testimonial:
Before You Begin Free writing Exercise
Start off by writing down thoughts freely about your year and a half at
CSIHSIS
1. What do you most remember about your first days here?
2. Why did you choose CSI as your high school?
3. How would you describe a typical day at CSI? What are the first five
adjectives that come to mind?
4. What was your old school like? How is CSI different?
5. What do you like/dislike most about CSI?
6. If you are were to tell a student who has been accepted at CSI about
CSIHSIS, what advice would you give him/her?
7. Are there any particularly amusing anecdotes that sum up your experience
here so far?
Use the results of this free write to put your tale together as follows:
Beginning of your Tale
Start off by describing yourself as a CSI student, as if not everyone knows who
you are.
You might say "Excuse me everyone, if I could have your attention for a
moment. I'd like to take a few moments to introduce myself. I'm_______, a
sophomore at CSIHSIS . . .
Condense what you wrote about yourself in the character description handout
to compose this part of your tale.
Hook
Explain your thoughts on being in high school or briefly explain how you
ended up at CSIHSIS without excessive moaning or groaning.
Body
Recount an unusual or entertaining experience you have had at CSIHSIS
during the year and a half you’ve been a student. Give interesting details. At all
costs, be entertaining and keep it rated PG.
Closing
Describe how you've changed as a student since coming here or wrap up with
a wish, traditional toast, or blessing for the next two years of high school.
Raise your glass with resounding cheers, and don't forget to drink to your own
toast.
Adapted from Canterbury Tales Remix