TYPE OF SCAFFOLD: BACKGROUND INFORMATION
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Teacher-led:
About Geoffrey Chaucer:
Geoffrey Chaucer, an English poet, was born in 1342. Historians are uncertain
about his exact date of birth. Geoffrey's well-to-do parents, John Chaucer and
Agnes Copton, possessed several buildings in the vintage quarter in London. Not
much is known about Geoffrey's school career. He must have had some education
in Latin and Greek. Out of school he went on as a page in the household of the
Countess of Ulster. Chaucer rose in royal employment and became a knight of the
shire for Kent. As a member of the king's household, Chaucer was sent on
diplomatic errands throughout Europe. From all these activities, he gained the
knowledge of society that made it possible to write The Canterbury
Tales. Chaucer died in October 1400 and was buried in Westminster Abbey in London.
He was the first of those that are gathered in what we now know as the Poet's
Corner in Westminster Abbey.
About The Canterbury Tales:
Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales, a collection of
stories in a frame story, between 1387 and 1400. It is the story of a group of
thirty people who travel as pilgrims to Canterbury (England). The pilgrims, who
come from all layers of society, tell stories to each other to kill time while
they travel to Canterbury.
If we trust the General Prologue, Chaucer intended that each pilgrim should
tell two tales on the way to Canterbury and two tales on the way back. He never
finished his enormous project and even the completed tales were not finally
revised. Scholars are uncertain about the order of the tales. As the printing
press had yet to be invented when Chaucer wrote his works, The
Canterbury Tales has been passed down in several handwritten
manuscripts.
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Student-led:
You can elicit the following types of information
from your students--
1) What
is Springtime like in places where you have lived or visited?
2) What
kinds of activities do people do in Springtime?
3) Are
there famous religious monuments/pilgrimages in places you have lived or
visited?
*examples include: Turn and Talk, Illustrations,
Whole-group or small-group share, Compare/Contrast personal experiences with
Venn diagrams… all depending on how much time you have and how engaged the
students are in sharing their experiences. Allowing entering/emerging ELs to
draw or gesture (or use a bit of their first language) rather than speak in
English can further scaffold participation.