GUIDELINES FOR CANTERBURY TALES PRESENTATIONS
Presentations begin Thursday, October 13
In the General Prologue to The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer introduces a group of travelers making a pilgrimage to Canterbury.
Each of you will present one (or more) of the pilgrims to the class. For your presentation, you must explain the section of the Prologue
that covers your character(s). (You are not responsible for the tale told by your pilgrim.) Among the questions your presentation should
answer are these: Who is he/she? What is his/her job? What was his/her role in society during Chaucer’s time? What does he/she look
like? What clothes does he/she wear? What is Chaucer’s opinion of him/her? How do we know Chaucer’s opinion? What words need
explaining to the class? Explain any jokes, obscure references, hidden meanings, etc. (This list is not exclusive—you may bring other
things that you believe to be important to the class’ attention.)
Your presentation must include a PowerPoint component (you may use a PowerPoint rip-off or similar presentation program, if you
wish), but you may supplement that if you wish with something creative. At minimum, however, you must answer the questions
posed above and explain any other material required for your classmates to fully understand the character. You are responsible for
answering any questions your classmates may have about your section of the General Prologue. THIS WILL BE A TEST GRADE!
Some advice and suggestions for your presentation:
1. Two good places to start your research: the Chaucer Metapage (http://www.unc.edu/depts/chaucer/; this link is on my website)
and A Time Traveler’s Guide to Medieval England by Ian Mortimer (available in the school library; I also have a copy to lend).
2. Make your presentation colorful and interesting. I will be demonstrating two sample presentations (the opening 40 lines and
the Knight), as well as showing you “Practical Pointers for Powerful PowerPoint Presentations.” Try to follow my guidelines.
Regardless of how you present your character(s), remember that, as is true for any presentation, you must retain your audience’s
attention to be successful.
3. Be as thorough as possible. Every student is responsible for having read the entire General Prologue before the presentations. (It
appears on pp. 3–26 in The Canterbury Tales). Every student is responsible for gaining at least a basic understanding of the entire
General Prologue before the presentations. However, the presenter is responsible for explaining any material that any student does
not understand. I WILL INTERVENE AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE—usually only to correct a factual error. If a student read the section
and did not understand a reference or an allusion, and that reference or allusion was not explained during the presentation, he or
she must ask the presenter to illuminate, elucidate, explicate, and otherwise make clear the material. The presenter is responsible
for all material in his or her section and must be prepared to answer any questions that may arise. I reserve the right to ask
questions about points that I do not feel were adequately covered; however, I expect the members of the class to ask whatever
questions are necessary. If you fail to understand something in the General Prologue and don’t ask questions, you will continue to
fail to understand—and I will not necessarily rescue you. Be an active learner!
4. The due date (October 13) is the first day of presentations. Obviously, not all of you will present that day. Presentations will
be given in the order the characters appear in the Prologue and I expect to cover up to four presentations a day. However,
EVERYONE MUST BE PREPARED ON OCTOBER 13. If a student is unprepared or absent when his or her turn comes up, the
class will proceed to the next presentation. Is it likely that enough students will be absent on October 13 that the person responsible
for the Reeve will present that day? No. Is it possible? You never know. (N.B. Anyone unprepared to present when his or her turn
comes up loses 10 points on his or her grade every day until he or she is ready to present.)
5. If you are having any difficulty with your presentation, I will be happy to answer any and all questions through the morning of
Wednesday, October 5. After that, you are on your own. Do not e-mail me the day before the due date and say, “Mr. Leib, I can’t
find any material on my character.” My response? “Tough.” START YOUR RESEARCH NOW!
6. A portion of your grade (at least indirectly) relates to whether you answer the needs of your audience, while 20% of your grade
directly represents your presentation skills. This requires that you retain your audience’s attention. Think about that when you
are listening to others’ presentations. You are expected to pay close attention, ask intelligent questions and show the respect to
the presenter that you expect to receive when you are the presenter—or maybe even a little more than you expect.
“The Canterbury Pilgrims” by William Blake (yes, that William Blake—author of “Songs of Innocence” and “Songs of Experience”)
Name ______________________________ Period ________ Character(s) ____________________
RUBRIC FOR CANTERBURY TALES PRESENTATIONS
F=5
D = 6.2
C = 7.4
B = 8.6
A = 9.8
Score Weight
Eye contact
Never
×1
Rarely
Infrequent
Often
Regular
Not all of
presentation
audible; some
words not
pronounced clearly
Most of
presentation
audible; most
words pronounced
clearly
All of presentation
audible; most
words pronounced
clearly and
correctly
All of presentation
audible; all words
pronounced clearly
and correctly
Presentation
unclear. Character
unclear. Many
unfamiliar words
undefined.
Underlying
meanings not
addressed.
Presentation needs
additional material
for clarity.
Insufficient
explanation of
underlying
meanings.
Good presentation.
Character is welldefined. Most
unfamiliar words
defined. Most
underlying
meanings
explained.
Excellent
presentation.
Character is clearly
defined. All
unfamiliar words
defined. All
underlying
meanings
explained.
×6
Little structure of
information.
Some information
structured in a
logical and easy-tofollow order.
Most information
structured in a
logical and easy-tofollow order.
Entire presentation
structured in a
logical and easy-tofollow order.
×2
Voice projection
Inaudible; many
words not
pronounced clearly
×1
Scope
Insufficient effort put
into presentation.
Character unclear.
Words not defined.
Organization
Information not
structured in any
order.
Up to 10 bonus points for quality of supplemental materials
Grade
Total
PAGES
14–5
15–5
25–6
66–7
67–8
68–10
66–10
10–11
11–12
11–12
12–13
13–14
14–15
15–15
16–17
15–17
17–18
18–19
19–20
20–21
21–22
23–26
CHARACTER(S)
Knight
Squire
Yeoman
Nun
Monk
Friar
Merchant
Oxford Cleric
Sergeant-at-the-Law
Franklin
Guildsmen/Cook
Skipper
Doctor
Wife of Bath
Parson
Plowman
Miller
Manciple
Reeve
Summoner
Pardoner
Host
PRESENTER
Martini
Griep
Kalarickal
Ellis
Rhee
Esteban
Han
Engkvist
Vitale
Waletzki
Bevacqua
Hayward
Bookstaver
Holden
Shea
Shames
Mitchell
Moody
Covello
Hoffer
Casalino
Amos-Flom