Full Class Discussion:

Essential Question:
All students are cheaters -- never trust them with anything.

Journal Response: What does it feel like to be falsely accused?

Arthur Miller's The Crucible, in the context of the historical Salem Witch Trials, shows many innocent people being accused of crimes/sins they did not commit.  Throughout history, society has been blinded to similar occurrences, or "witch hunts."  Indeed, Miller wrote The Crucible in response to one of those "witch hunts" that took place in his time period--McCarthyism.

Individual Journal Exploration:

Go through this Salem Virtual Witchhunt .   You will be experiencing what it was like to have been accused of withccraft in Salem during the Salem Witch Trials. Experience the emotions and feelings of being falsely accused. Write one page in your journals about your experience, what it felt like, and what you learned.
 

Group Responses -- Powerpoint Presentations:

Each group will take on one of the following roles: an expert on the Salem Witch Trials, an expert on McCarthyism, or an expert on another persecuted group (Jews, Arabs, Japanese, other-Bosnians, South African Apartheid). Be sure to include in your presentation images, as well as causes, consequences, and solutions.

Expert on the The Salem Witch Trials (context of The Crucible)
You must gather extensive background information related to the Salem Witch Trials, identifying their causes (focus on the beliefs of the people of the time), their consequences (both for individuals accused and accusing, and for the society), and possible ways to have avoided them (the resulting consequences).  Be sure your solutions are applicable to the people at that time period and in that situation (the Puritans).

Research links for Expert on Salem Witch Trials
Timeline of Salem Witch Trials
Puritan History
List of Accused
Example of Martha Carrier's Trial
Shows Background of Feelings and Superstitions of Salem

Searchable Sites:
The Salem Witch Museum
Witchcraft in Salem Village
The Crucible project

Expert on McCarthyism

For this role, you must gather extensive background information related to McCarthyism, identifying
their causes (focus on the beliefs of the people of the time), their consequences (both for individuals accused and accusing, and for the society), possible ways to have avoided them (the consequences).  Be sure your solutions are applicable to the people at that time period and in that situation.

Research links for Expert on McCarthyism:
Excellent Summaries of McCarthyism Era
Short Biography of Joseph McCarthy
CNN Cold War - Episode Script: Reds
Congressional Committees and Unfriendly Witnesses
CNN - Virtual McCarthyism Trial

Expert on related persecutions of innocent people
For this role, you must gather information on at least two related persecutions, and identify the following for each: the causes (focus on the beliefs of the society and of the leading characters), the consequences (both for individuals accused and accusing, and for the society), possible ways to have avoided these consequences.  Be sure your solutions are applicable to the people at that time period and in that situation.

Research links for Expert on Related Persecutions:

THE HOLOCAUST AN HISTORICAL SUMMARY Holocaust
The Jewish Resistance & Rescue
Japanese Internment Camps
--personal accounts
Arab Americans following the tragedies of 9/11/01
    --world view
    --news accounts
Other persecutions of large groups of people
(be sure to view the bibliography section to use the original sources)

Searchable sites:
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Simon Wiesenthal Center

Individual Response to the Question:
What should be done to keep the innocent from being accused and presumed guilty?

Coming from your experience as an expert on a certain area of persecution, write a letter to the editor of the newspaper (PERSUASIVE ESSAY-- 2 TYPED PAGES W/ A THESIS STATEMENT GUIDING CONTENT)  telling what society should do to prevent innocent people from being accused and presumed guilty in the future.