Integrated Lesson Plan: The Crucible

For my integrated lesson plan, aimed towards 10^th grade American Literature English students, I will be focusing on The Crucible. This lesson is an introduction to the play and the historic events that take place within the play, the Salem Witch Trials. This classroom activity is a combination of individual and group work which includes a pre-reading plan to introduce the Salem Witch Trials, a group Internet project to research the facts and events surrounding the trials, and a journal entry for homework.

The purpose of this learning activity is to introduce the Salem Witch Trials, explore students pre-existing knowledge about the Salem Witch Trials, and correct any misconceptions students may have about this time in history. This learning activity will support a student’s ability to change their attitude or disposition towards a specific event and develop their own educated opinion. This learning activity is the first class period on a unit of study of The Crucible. This learning activity supports The Crucible unit of study by introducing the play and the themes within it. With this lesson students are to gain a foundation of knowledge about the time period, the characters, and the plot.

Objectives:

a. Students will participate in a pre-reading plan that aims to uncover students pre-existing knowledge surrounding the Salem Witch Trials. Students will share words that they associate with the words “Salem Witch Trials” with the class.

b. Students will utilize the internet using credited web cites to research questions regarding the Salem Witch Trials.

c. Students will re-evaluate the words “Salem Witch Trials” based on what they learned in class.

Specific curriculum objectives:

Language Arts:

RL.9-10.2. Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.

SL.9-10.4. Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task

Technology:

8.1 Educational Technology: All students will use digital tools to access, manage, evaluate, and synthesize information in order to solve problems individually and collaboratively and to create and communicate knowledge.

8.1.8.A.5 Select and use appropriate tools and digital resources to accomplish a variety of tasks and to solve problems

Substance of the Lesson:

Technology will be an important part of this lesson. The technology used in this lesson will be the internet.

Students will be assigned a list of questions that they must answer using specific web cites, which can be found on the teacher’s web page. It is important to make sure students are using credible web cites because it provides the students with facts and information regarding an event in history and the main theme in The Crucible. In addition, this lesson also demonstrates the student’s ability to navigate the teacher’s web page and find the information they are looking for. It is important for students to build up their knowledge before reading the text because it will enhance their reading of The Crucible.

Students will be utilizing their technology skills of extracting important information from a web page and the ability to navigate the school and teacher web page.

This lesson will take one day to complete. It is a part of a two-week unit on The Crucible.

a.     The lesson will begin with a pre-reading plan.

a.     I will write the words “Salem Witch Trials on the board. I will then ask the students what comes to mind when they heard the words “Salem Witch Trials.”

b.     Students will write the responses in their journals

c.     After 5 minutes students will share their responses with the class

d.     I will ask how students came up with certain responses, and continue with a class discussion about student responses. At the end of the class discussion I will ask if students have any new ideas about the Salem Witch Trials based on our class discussion.

b.     Next, I will break the class into four groups. Each group will be assigned a list of questions that they will answer using the internet. Students must go to my teacher web page to find the web cites they will use to answer the questions. The questions and web cites are as follows:

a.    Group 1: http://school.discovery.com/schooladventures/salemwitchtrials/

                                    i.         Where did the Salem Witch Trials occur?

                                  ii.         What year did the Salem Witch Trials start?

                                 iii.         How were Puritan children expected to behave?

b.     Group 2: http://www.salemweb.com/memorial/chronology.shtml

                                       i.      How long were the Salem Witch Trials?

                                      ii.      How old was Abigail Williams when she began to exhibit strange behavior that was believed to be caused by witchcraft? What was this behavior?

                                    iii.       In Mid- February 1692, why did the physicians conclude that the girls were under the influence of witchcraft?

c.    Group 3: http://school.discovery.com/schooladventures/salemwitchtrials/

                                       i.      What were the cornerstones of Puritan religion?

                                      ii.      Who is Tituba? Where was she born?

                                    iii.      Who is John Proctor? What did he believe about witchcraft?

d.     Group 4: http://www.salemwitchmuseum.com/education/faq.shtml

                                       i.      Who was the Chief Justice during the trials?

                                      ii.      What was the difference between the “afflicted” and the “accused”?

                                    iii.      Where only women accused of witchcraft?

c.     After students have completed the group activity the class will participate in a discussion where each group will share the answers to their questions. 

d.     After the class discussion students will separate from their groups and form back into rows. Again, I will write the words “Salem Witch Trials” on the board and ask the class if their views have changed. Why have changed? How?

e.     At the end of class students will be asked to write down their homework:

a.     Homework: Respond to the following question in your journal, Is it better to die for what you believe in or lie to save your life? Responses must be one-page, hand-written.

b.     READ: pages 1-20 in The Crucible

c.     Homework will also be listed on the teacher web page

Assessment

Throughout the lesson I will assess student achievement. I will assess how well the learning objectives have been met through the participation of each student in both the individual and group activities. I will assess how well each group found the answers to their questions and followed directions while using the internet. I will remind students that participation is key to their final grade, so participation in this activity will be encouraged.

My criteria of success is based on student participation, how efficient students were in using the internet, and students ability to follow directions.

I will know that this learning experience accomplished the learning goals I set out for at the end of the class when I ask my students if their beliefs have changed towards the Salem Witch Trials. This will demonstrate that the students got something out of the lesson and learned something new about a time in history.

Sexting

Sexting is a term used to describe the sending and receiving of inexplicit messages, pictures, and/or videos. These messages can range from partially clothed pictures, to videos of undressing, or sexual behavior.

This week we viewed two videos which showed the repercussions of sexting. The first was the story of Hope Witsell, an 8^th grade girl who sexted a topless picture of herself to a boy in her class. The boy then proceeded to send the picture to his friends and the picture was circulated around the school. Hope was crushed and humiliated, a humiliation that eventually led to her suicide.

The second video told a similar story. It discussed multiple stories of sexting and its influence on young teens. One girl swallowed a bottle of pills after an ex-boyfriend circulated naked photos that she had sent to him while they were dating.

Sexting is a serious issue. These videos show the impact sexting has on adolescent’s lives and the aftermath of pressing send. A surprising statistic brought up in both videos is that one in five teenage girls have sent or received a sext. Students need to be educated on the impact sexting can have on their lives and what its means to send and receive a sext.

It is the schools responsibility to educate their students on the safe texting. While I was in high school I attended many assemblies that addressed the issue of drinking. The affects of drinking, the repercussions of it, and how it can ruin your life. Sexting is another issue that adolescents need to be made aware of. Similar to drinking, teens don’t see the repercussion of their actions. They don’t understand how undressing and sending a naked picture to another person can eventually ruin their lives. They need to be made aware of how their actions in the present can affect them in the future.

With technology at the fingertips of many adolescents it is important to teach them how to navigate the web safely. This is something thirteen-year-old Megan Meier became a victim of on the social networking cite MySpace. The article, Parents: Cyber Bullying Leds to Teens Suicide, discusses how a mother of Megan’s peer made a MySpace page and befriended Megan, leading her to believe she was a boy her age.  The article continues to discuss how Megan and the “boy” Josh became close friends until one day Josh told Megan he no longer wanted to be her friend. Megan, crushed by what Josh had told her, later killed herself.

Cell phones are used by a vast majority of students. They are a method of communication, information, and social networking. But are cell phones appropriate in a learning environment? This is the question the article, Schools, States Review Cell Phone Ban, raised. Cell phones can be a distraction to students but after 9/11 parents want to be in contact with their children if a disaster should occur. This is why many states are considering allowing cell phones in the schools but turned off.

What these videos and articles illustrate is the responsibility of having a cell phone. It’s something small such as having it turned off during school hours, to something big such as using it to circulate something that can be considered child pornography. Students need to be educated on these responsibilities and the repercussions of their actions.