West Virginia State University

College of Professional Studies: Department of Education

Lesson Plan Format
Teacher Candidate: Jennifer Herscher____________________Date: 10/31/2018_____________
School: St. Albans High School__________________________ Grade/Subject: English 12______
Lesson Topic: The Pardoner’s Tale - Allegory_________________________

INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES/ STUDENT OUTCOMES

1. Students will be able to identify words and phrases that contribute to the symbolism within an allegory.
2. Students will be able to paraphrase selections from “The Pardoners Tale” in a way the preserves the
allegorical meaning found in the original text.
3. Students will be able to decipher the allegory within “The Pardoner’s Tale”.

WV CCRs
ELA.12.7
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a variety of literary texts, including figurative and
connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with
multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful. (Include Shakespeare as well as
other authors.)

NATIONAL STANDARDS
NCTE.2
Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding of the many
dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience.
NCTE.3
Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on
their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of
other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter
correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).

ASSESSMENT

Diagnostic/Pre-Assessment:
During the introduction, ask students the following questions:
“What do you recall about the pardoner from The Canterbury Tales prologue? ”
“What is/was a pardoner?”

Formative Assessment
While students are working individually and in pairs, the teacher will walk around and observe their work
and listen to their conversations in order to assess their understanding and/or guide their progress.

Summative:
An in-class assignment will require students to analyze a portion of the text, write down key words and
phrases, paraphrase the excerpt, and identify any symbolism related to the larger allegory.

TIME MANAGEMENT

Overall Time: 60 min

Time Frame: 5 min – introduction
10 min – pardoners prologue: read-aloud and think-aloud
 15 min – the pardoner’s tale: read-aloud
10 min – individual analysis
5 min – collaborate in pairs
10 min – share with the class
5 min – closure: What is the allegory? What is the pardoner trying to say?

DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION/ ADAPTATIONS/ INTERVENTIONS

Learning Styles:
Visual – Following along with the text; think-aloud strategy
Auditory – read-aloud, think-aloud
Kinesthetic – Breaking down the text and analyzing it

Learning Ability:
Higher-level – Individual analysis of the text
Lower-level – Working in pairs; think-aloud strategy

PROCEDURES

1. ANTICIPATORY SET
Briefly discuss the role of a pardoner and some background on their function in medieval society.

2. INTRODUCTION
Ask the students to recall the pardoner from the prologue. How was he described? What was Chaucer’s
opinion of him and why? (They can refer back to their prologue list if needed.)

Discuss the importance of thoughtful reading in regards to The Canterbury Tales

3. BODY & TRANSITIONS

Think-aloud

Read the pardoner’s prologue; demonstrate how to analyze the text as you read
Identify key words and phrases, and explain why they should be noted/highlighted

Demonstrate how to paraphrase each stanza, using context clues for difficult words.

Read-aloud

Read The Pardoner’s Tale aloud as they follow along, ending on line 298

Assign pairs to each of the following sections:

1. Lines 58-98
2. Lines 99-148
3. Lines 149-200
4. Lines 201-251
5. Lines 252-298

Instruct students to get out a piece of notebook paper and pencil and set up their paper like the example
on the smart board.

Students will work individually at first to identify key words and phrases in their section of the text,
paraphrase it, and determine the symbolism.
 Once they have completed the individual work, instruct them to pair up with the person who was
assigned the same section to compare and discuss their interpretations.

Each group will then share with the class, in the order of the events of the story.

4. CLOSURE
Close with a brief discussion about what the pardoner’s overall message was with this allegory.
Instruct students to read the last part of the tale at home and determine the pardoner’s purpose for telling
this tale.

5. ASSESSMENT
The in-class assignment will require students to analyze a portion of the text, write down key words and
phrases, paraphrase the excerpt, and identify any symbolism related to the larger allegory. It will be
collected and graded.

STRATEGIES
Read-aloud, think-aloud, individual analysis, pair collaboration, student presentation (pairs), scaffolding

MATERIALS
Copies of the pardoner’s tale from the “Close Reader” book
White board
Dry erase markers
Highlighters
Notebook paper and pencil (students)

EXTENTED ACTIVITIES
If Student Finishes Early
Tell student to predict the overarching allegory in The Pardoner’s Tale and note how it relates to their section
of the text.

If Lesson Finishes Early

Read the closing part of The Pardoner’s Tale (lines 299-340)
Paraphrase and discuss irony

If Technology Fails
n/a

POST-TEACHING

Reflections

Data Based Decision Making (If Needed)