The Salem Witch Trials
Jared Peet
Warm Up:
Were the colonists pioneers or conquerors?
Pioneer
• Definition: a person who is
among the first to explore
or settle a new country or
area.
Conqueror
• Definition: To gain or secure
control of by force of arms.
Objectives and Essential Questions
Objectives
• Use primary source
evidence to support an
argument about why the
SWT began by writing a
paragraph that includes an
appositive phrase.
• Begin outlining arguments
for the upcoming unit test
Essential Question
• What caused the Salem
Witch Trials to break out?
• Were the colonists pioneers
or conquerors?
How to Write an Essay
• On Moodle – Open file in today’s class folder
entitled “How to Write an Essay – Revised”
– Description vs. Analysis
– Incorporating Evidence into Essay
– Key Linking Terms
The Salem Witch Trials Background
• Winter 1691-1692, Salem
Village, Massachusetts
• Betty Parris, daughter of
Minister Samuel Parris, fell ill –
pinching, prickling sensations,
feeling choked
• Min. Parris suspected
witchcraft
• Betty named 3 women,
including Tituba, Parris’ Indian
slave
• Tituba, under examination,
said 4 women and a man were
causing Betty’s illness
• Betty and niece, Abigail
Williams, continued to accuse
other witches
The Salem Witch Trials Background
• The accused could either
confess and escape death,
but they had to provide the
names of other witches.
• Hard to prove innocence.
Witches thought to use
magic and could send spirits
to attack people without
appearing to do anything
• Between June and October,
1692, 20 people were
executed and over 100
jailed for witchcraft.
Purpose: What were the causes of the
Salem Witch Trials?
• Read and annotate
Documents A & B.
• Complete the
worksheet
– For “What is it” –
describe the kind of
source being used
• Based on these two
documents, why did the
people of Salem believe
the girls’ testimony?
ANNOTATING GUIDELINES
1) Underline 2 words per
sentence
2) Circle words you don’t
know
3) Put a  by the main ideas
4) Write comments,
questions, reactions
Purpose: What were the causes of the
Salem Witch Trials?
• Documents C & D
provide more
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
that will help us
understand why people
in Salem may have
behaved they way that
they did.
• With your partner, read
Documents C & D and
complete your
worksheet.
• How do these
documents help us
better understand the
causes of the Salem
Witch Trials?
Paragraph Write
• Write a paragraph that
explains the causes of
the Salem Witch Trial
• Your paragraph must
include at least ONE
appositive phrase
– Example: Hamilton Clark,
the head of ACS, went to
Harvard University.
Exit Ticket – Write a Thesis Statement
Were the colonists pioneers or
conquerors?
Was Colonial America a
democratic society?
• Pioneer: a person who is
among the first to explore
or settle a new country or
area.
• Conqueror: To gain or
secure control of by force of
arms.
• Democratic: a form of
government in which
people choose their leaders
by voting
Test Change
• Unit Test has been moved to Thursday,
February 24th – Day 4