THE CRUCIBLE Complete Unit Presentations Reading Guides Activities Assessments

This complete, no-prep comprehensive unit for Arthur Miller's play, The Crucible includes reading and discussion guides, formal and creative assessments, activities, and presentations to engage your high school ELA students as they study American literature, modern drama, investigate history including the Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism, explore character motivation and dynamics, and recognize literary elements such as exposition and irony. Includes detailed answer keys, scoring rubrics, and completed examples of activities to model expectations.

Printable PDF or TPT Digital Easel Activity

• This unit of resources for The Crucible includes diverse activities for comprehension, analysis, and synthesis of the play.

• The collection is teacher-tested and student-approved.

• There are resources for individual student evaluation and many opportunities for student collaboration.

Included in the unit:

Colonial America- Introduction to the Puritan Age PowerPoint Presentation

• An introduction to the Puritan age, perfect for providing exposition for The

Crucible.

• There are 41 slides and over 45 graphics and maps.

• Literary excerpts

Please click here to see a detailed description and preview of the presentation:

Introduction to the Colonial Period Presentation

"Why I Wrote The Crucible" Article by Arthur Miller

This resource includes:

• The complete text of the essay highlighted to correspond with questions.

• 50 questions requiring higher-order thinking skills

• Questions task students with rewording Miller’s remarks, identifying and discussing the effectiveness of figurative language, responding to reading comprehension prompts, and more.

• One graphic, a photo of Miller.

• An identical answer key with detailed responses

I use a clear font and allow space for students’ responses.

Please have a look at the preview.

Abigail Williams Compatibility Test

This one-page "quiz" has 15 questions asking students if they've ever done anything that parallels Abby's mischief.

Some questions are

Have you ever...

• laughed in church?

• been a bad example for a younger relative?

• flirted inappropriately?

There are yes/no 15 questions.

Students then calculate their scores to discover if they are as evil as Abby Williams.

Clear font with engaging format and graphics.

Act 1 Questions for Comprehension and Analysis and Annotation of Dramatic Exposition Activity

• Students read, analyze, and annotate the dramatic exposition in Act 1

• Dramatic exposition is reproduced; students highlight and write comments about the text on the handout.

• There are 63 tasks requiring students to

• ---identify allusions,

• ---define terms, and

• ---analyze plot and character.

• Students paraphrase each paragraph on lines provided on the handout.

• There are 88 questions (some questions within questions)

requiring students' close reading of Act 1.

• The resource could also be used as a discussion guide or a very detailed

reading check.

Questions cover:

• The girls' indiscretion in the forest

• Characterization of the main characters

• Contention among Salem townspeople

• The pros and cons of there being witchcraft in Salem

• The interrogation of Tituba and the girls

• The flurry of accusations

Act 2 Questions for Comprehension and Analysis

• 61 questions (some questions with questions within the questions)

• There are questions requiring varying levels of higher-order thinking

• Topics include:

• John and Elizabeth Proctor's relationship

• Symbolism

• Mary Warren's report about court activities

• John's inner conflict resulting from his adultery

• Reverend Hale's disassociation and defense of the court

• The poppet and the evidence against Elizabeth

• The arrests of Rebecca, Martha, and Elizabeth

• John's vow to bring his wife home

• Speculation on how John Proctor will approach the court

Act 3 Questions for Comprehension and Analysis

• 50 questions (some questions have questions within the questions)

The focus is on:

• Characterization

• Plot

• Symbolism

• Irony

• Allusions

Act 4 Questions for Comprehension and Analysis

• 52 questions (some questions with questions within the question)

• There are two charts and one simple graphic organizer to diversify activities.

• Some questions require recall and check comprehension, other questions

require higher-order thinking and analysis.

• Many questions provide a quote for examination or require the student to

provide a quote as an illustration of his response

All act activities include a detailed answer key, pages identical to student handouts.

Resources for Evaluation of Student Learning:

Act 1 Essay Prompts

• One prompt addresses the opportunity that the people of Salem had to publicly

air long-standing jealousy and accuse neighbors whom they disliked.

• The second prompt notes the possible reasons for Parris's outrage and concern

over Betty's illness.

The last two prompts question students' impressions of the Putnams and

Reverend Hale and what each of these characters stands to gain during the trials.

Act 3 Essay Prompts

The prompts address:

• The prosecution's methods

• The villain of the play

• Elizabeth as a victim

Final Objective Test and Key

• There are 4 multiple choice questions about the history of the witch trials and a

question about the metaphor for McCarthyism.

• There are 45 multiple choice questions for Acts 1 and 2.

• These questions are on various depth of knowledge levels.

• Some questions include a quote from the text for analysis.

• There are then 10 quotes or situations from Act 3 requiring students to

explain the irony.

• Following this are 10 questions about the final act including questions about plot characterization, motive, and quote analysis.

Final Analysis and Reflection Essay

• There are three prompts from which to choose.

• Each prompt has an analysis component followed by relevant reflection

questions.

• The topics of the prompts are:

• the development of Proctor's character and reflection on heroism,

• the townspeople's and judges' willingness to believe the accusations and a reflection on taking advantage of situations for one's personal gain, and the

• sacrifices that the characters make to restore social order with reflection questions about sacrifice and developing integrity.

• Included with the prompts is the essay organizer that my students use to pre-write (a bonus!).

Creative Activities and Opportunities for Student Collaboration:

PROJECT #1 DANGEROUS IDEOLOGY THROUGHOUT HISTORY—

GROUP RESEARCH AND PRESENTATION PROJECT

• The project is a great way for kids to apply their understanding of the literature

to real-world events.

• This activity focuses on the rigid ideology of the Puritans as portrayed in The

Crucible and by the accusers during the McCarthy trials.

• There is a brief discussion of the theme, “dangerous ideology."

• There is a subsequent discussion of other times in history where we can

observe ideology falling into corruption and tyranny.

• The group project requires students to research people or events in history that

illustrate rigid ideology becoming corrupt and tyrannical.

INDUCED HYSTERIA—

RESEARCHED FORMAL SPEECH

• This researched formal speech activity requires students to research The

Second Red Scare and McCarthyism, take notes, outline, cite sources, and

prepare and deliver a formal speech.

• I use this as an introduction to our studying The Crucible.

• The activity includes fundamental information about McCarthyism and a brief

discussion of how Miller created The Crucible, a play about Salem's witch trials

as an allegory for America in the early 1950s.

• Included are 25 possible research topics from which students can choose.

• Examples:

• The Cold War,

• Edward R Murrow,

• The Rosenbergs,

• J. Edgar Hoover.

• Included is information on reading, researching, and citing information.

• A speech outline template is provided.

• There is a general discussion on speech delivery: voice, eye contact, gestures,

etc.

• A grading rubric is provided.

THE IMPURE-ITAN—

A CREATIVE WRITING “TABLOID” ACTIVITY

• This is a project that I assign after reading and discussing Act 3 of The Crucible;
however, it can be used at any point after that.

• The project begins with a brief discussion of how scandalous Proctor and Abby's affair would be to the citizens of Salem in 1692.

• Following that is a discussion of how people in our society are intrigued by

scandal and are drawn to tabloids that reveal the mishaps and misfortunes of

celebrities.

• I've included an excerpt that discusses tabloid circulation numbers and the

transition from print media to TV and the Internet as a source of rumor

collection.

• Students are assigned the task of creating a Puritan tabloid.

• They must include titles, headlines, and bylines.

• They must discuss the events of Salem using Who, What, Where, Why, When,

and How. (I provide a chart to help them organize their information.)

• They must also include their speculation about the fall-out from the revelation of

John and Abby's affair.

• Students are asked to include three minor articles after reviewing the play

through Act three including dramatic exposition and dialogue to determine

topics (land-lust, working on the Sabbath, etc.)

• Students are required to include graphics.

• There are remarks about recognizing one's audience where students are told to

maintain decorum suitable to Puritan sensibilities; maintain a tone in both words

and graphics that are appropriate for a school assignment.

• Students may submit page(s) or a poster.

• I include complete tabloid to model expectations.

• This assignment includes a grading rubric and graphics.

Characterization Activity--Character's Phone

Enhance students' understanding of character development!

The directions for the activity are as follows:

• Imagine that your character exists in our society.

• Imagine a phone homepage that displays his or her apps.

• Choose apps from the following options, and then complete the illustration/discussion component for each. (Brief description= 150-225 words).You may be comical, but be sure to accurately represent your character’s traits as we’ve discussed them so far in the play.

• You will be evaluated on creativity and evidence of your understanding of the plot and character.---

• I provide a blank cell phone where students draw or paste a background.

• They must then choose options under categories that include:

• Entertainment (Netflix, Spotify, YouTube),

• social connections (Facebook, Instagram, match.com),

• shopping on Amazon,

• legitimate news, and

• self-indulgence (selfies, avatars, ringtones, games).

• Students are required to discuss why their character would have accessed or posted various items.

AN ENGAGING ONE PAGER FOR ILLUSTRATION OF THEME, CHARACTERIZATION, AND IRONY IN THE CRUCIBLE.

• Students receive a template on which they write a theme from the play and doodle or draw illustrations or symbols that depict the theme.

• I provide spaces in which they provide a quote with a citation that they’ve chosen to represent the following characters:

• ABBY

• PROCTOR

• PARRIS

• HALE

• ELIZABETH

• REBECCA

• MARY

• DANFORTH

• They include an illustrated depiction of the character in the block as well.

• Another space prompts kids to write a quote that is irony in the play. Then they must doodle their depiction of the irony in the block.

• I provide clear directions for the activity with the template.

• I’ve included a scoring rubric.

I’ve also included a completed sample.

Finally, there is a PowerPoint Presentation discussing the historical accuracy of the play:

• To begin, there is a Miller quote in which he comments on the historical accuracy of his play and screenplay.

• There are 21 slides providing the historical account of the witch trials.

• Following are 22 slides pointing out historical discrepancies in the play and in

the movie.

• Finally, there are two slides with discussion prompts regarding Miller's reasons

for straying from history.

• Each slide has a relevant graphic.

• There is a total of 59 interesting graphics.

Enhance critical thinking skills by comparing witch trials to McCarthyism:

Good Night and Good Luck Movie Guide:

The movie, Good Night, and Good Luck details Edward R. Murrow’s pursuit of justice for those falsely accused, unfairly prosecuted, and sadly convicted of crimes for which they were innocent.

This movie guide prompts students to identify the parallels between the two historical events proving Miller’s play to be an accurate analogy.

A buyer commented, "I was impressed with the overall quality, and though I may not use the entire plan, I will certainly be using parts of it. "

Thank you for considering this resource.

To browse my resources for The Crucible, click below:

THE CRUCIBLE RESOURCES

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