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English Language History

A Journey with the Bards

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NYS English Language Arts Exams Review

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Table of Contents

Overview / Old English--Beowulf / Middle English--The Canterbury Tales / Modern English--Works of Shakespeare / Student Handouts / Teacher Resources

 

Overview

Although the adult tales in this unit were originally told in verse by bards, English poets, we are going to read prose versions for young audiences.  Studying the prose versions of classical literature is a means of introducing children to the history of the English language.  Our goal is to study the elements of fiction through historical English literature beginning with one of the first great epics, Beowulf.  After, we will travel into the middle ages with a few of the Chaucer's humorous pilgrims as they journey to Thomas Becket's shrine, a religious temple, in The Canterbury Tales.  Last, we will be entertained by the father of English literature, Shakespeare, whose plays and poetry continues to influence writers today. 

(Adobe Reader or MSWord are required to open many of these documents)

Old English

(500 - 1100 A.D.)

Beowulf (8th Century) --unknown author

Student Handout (Tara McCarthy, The Middle Ages , 14-21)

• "Beowulf"

On-Line Text

• Audio of Beowulf in Old English

• Out of Print Illustrated Book (Permission granted to print for student use, 3.5 MB format)

• "The Stories of Beowulf Told to Children" by Henrietta Elizabeth Marshall

Buy the Book...

Middle English

(1100 to 1485 A.D.)

The Canterbury Tales (1387) --by Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales (Tara McCarthy, The Middle Ages Stories,  88-103)

• Introduction to The Canterbury Tales

• "The Nun's Priest's Tale"

• "The Pardoner's Tale"

• "The Wife of Bath's Tale"

On-Line Text

• Audio of Tales in Middle English (Chaucer Metapage)

• The Canterbury Tales (Bibliomania: Middle English)

• Original Electronic Version (Hyperlinked Middle English Glossary)

• Tales from Chaucer by John Dryden (Bibliomania: translated verse)

 

The Wife of Bath

 

Modern English

(1845 to 1603)

The Historic, Comic, and Tragic Works of Shakespeare

Student Tales

• Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare (World Wide Schools, E. Nesbit--illustrated)

• Tales from Shakespeare (Charles and Mary Lamb, Macmillan 1963)

On-Line Text Original Version

• The Oxford's Shakespeare: Bartleby Shakespeare Collection

• Folgers' Shakespeare Library

• Virtual Tour of the Globe Theatre (www.shakespeare-globe.org --> Education --> Distant Learning --> Virtual Tour)

William Shakespeare

 

Student Handouts

Beowulf

• Vocabulary Prediction Graphic Organizer

• Vocabulary:  Write Words in Sentences

• Character Poster Directions

Canterbury Tales

• Coming Soon!

 

Shakespeare

• Coming Soon!

The Pardoner

Teacher Resources

Old English

• Beowulf: Out-of-Print Illustrated Book (3.5 mb file)

Middle English

• The Geoffrey Chaucer Page (Harvard: Old English w/summarized translation)

• Chaucer Clip Art: University of South Florida, Educational Technology Clearinghouse

Modern English

• http://www.umm.maine.edu/faculty/necastro/story/index.asp

• Tales by Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb

• The Witches' Spell in Macbeth (http://www.folgers.edu)

• Videoconference at the Globe Theatre

On-line Text Libraries

• Classic Reader

• Bibliomania

• East of the Web (collection of contemporary and classical short stories)

• On-Line Literature

• Popular Short Stories for Kids

• University of Maine: Storybooks of the Middle Ages

• University of Pennsylvania (search by title/author/etc.)

• University of Virginia (E-books--Illustrated Classics)

• Victorian Ghost Stories

Writing Resources

• Elements of Fiction (Read Write Think)

• Read, Write, Thinks Student Resources

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Thanks to Educational Technology Clearing House, USF for the use of the Chaucer Clip Art.

Please contact me if you  have any questions or want to report technical difficulties:

mblow@lacs.moric.org