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Teaching The Canterbury Tales: The Miller's Tale

He's got nothing on The Shmoop's Tale.

  • Activities: 15
  • Quiz Questions: 20

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It's time to teach students about the OM: the Original Miller.

In this guide you will find

  • an activity creating Facebook profiles for characters in "The Miller’s Tale."
  • pop culture connections like cartoons and raps based on the tale.
  • literary resources on Chaucer, the "General Prologue," "The Reeve’s Tale," and more.

Now gyt to teechying.

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Shmoop is a labor of love from folks who love to teach. Our teaching guides will help you supplement in-classroom learning with fun, engaging, and relatable learning materials that bring literature to life.

Inside each guide you'll find quizzes, activity ideas, discussion questions, and more—all written by experts and designed to save you time. Here are the deets on what you get with your teaching guide:

  • 13-18 Common Core-aligned activities to complete in class with your students, including detailed instructions for you and your students. 
  • Discussion and essay questions for all levels of students.
  • Reading quizzes for every chapter, act, or part of the text.
  • Resources to help make the book feel more relevant to your 21st-century students.
  • A note from Shmoop's teachers to you, telling you what to expect from teaching the text and how you can overcome the hurdles.

Want more help teaching Teaching The Canterbury Tales: The Miller's Tale?

Check out all the different parts of our corresponding learning guide.



Instructions for You

Objective: Students will create Facebook profiles for the major characters in "The Miller's Tale." This will allow them to think critically and creatively about each character's attributes, motivations, appearances, personalities, and interactions with other characters. This exercise should take approximately 2-3 class meetings, depending on the size and duration of the class.

Materials Needed: Text of "The Miller's Tale" and access to the Internet, computer connected to projector (optional)

Step 1: Break students into groups of 3-4, depending on class size.

Step 2: You may either assign each group a character from "The Miller's Tale" or ask each group to choose one. It is possible that you will need to have two groups working on the same character.

Step 3: Ask each group to create a Facebook profile for their given/chosen character. This can be done in one of two ways: they might actually create a page on Facebook for their character, or they can simply look at the template for a Facebook page and do the rest of the work on paper or in a Word document. In either case, they should make sure to include the following:

  • A profile picture of the character or a pictorial avatar
  • Personal information, including items like Education and Work, Philosophy, Favorite Quotes, Favorite Music and Books, Activities and Interests, Something Interesting about You
  • A status update
  • Games or Apps that they might use
  • Friends
  • Any notes that the character might circulate
  • A timeline, where the character interacts with friends (for an example, see Shmoop's timelines for mythology characters)

Ask each group to consider also how their character would likely use Facebook (i.e., for what purpose?).

Step 5: Allow each group the opportunity to present their finished product to the class, and ask them to be prepared to answer questions.

(California English Language Arts Standards Met: Grades 9 and 10: Reading 3.3, 3.4, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9, 3.11, 3.12; Writing 1.2, 1.3, 1.8, 1.9, 2.2; Written & Oral English Language Conventions 1.2, 1.3; Listening & Speaking 1.1, 1.7, 1.8, 1.9, 2.4, 2.5. Grades 11 and 12: Reading 3.17; Writing 1.5, 1.6, 1.9, 2.1, 2.2, 2.6; Written & Oral English Language Conventions 1.1, 1.2, 1.3; Listening and Speaking 1.8, 2.3, 2.4.)

Instructions for Your Students

Create Facebook profile for one of the major characters in "The Miller's Tale." This exercise is meant to help you think critically and creatively about each character's attributes, motivations, appearances, personalities, and even interactions with other characters.

Step 1: Form a group of 3-4 students, according to your teacher's instructions.

Step 2: Your teacher may assign each group a character from "The Miller's Tale" or ask each group to choose one.

Step 3: Your group will be creating a Facebook profile for your given/chosen character, according to your teacher's instructions. As you build the character's profile, you should make sure to include the following:

  • A profile picture of the character or a pictorial avatar
  • Personal information, including items like Education and Work, Philosophy, Favorite Quotes, Favorite Music and Books, Activities and Interests, Something Interesting about You
  • A status update
  • Games or Apps that they might use
  • Friends
  • Any notes that the character might circulate
  • A timeline, where the character interacts with friends (for an example, see Shmoop's timelines for mythology characters)

Ultimately, you must consider how your character would likely use Facebook (i.e., for what purpose?).

Need a refresher on your character's personality? Check out Shmoop's "The Miller's Tale" Characters.

Step 5: Each group will present their finished product to the class – make sure you are prepared to explain your decisions and to answer questions.