The Crucible Pre-Reading Group Project
Task: Each group will prepare a PowerPoint presentation and a BRIEF handout that addresses the topic assigned. The presentation
should:
1. Include 4-5 slides. You may add more if you wish. (Anyone want to use Prezi or Movie Maker for the project?)
2. Address the guiding questions for your group
3. Contain a mix of pictures, graphics, readable text related to the topic
4. Have an additional Works Cited slide at the end of the presentation. I will allow URL links to the websites used instead of full
citations. Future research assignments will follow the MLA standards for citing sources.
Tips: Assign each member of the group 2-3 questions to research on Wednesday. Record your information on a note card or in your
notebook. Every person in the group is responsible for researching information to share with the class. You do not need to create a
slide for each guiding question. Summarize! Do NOT COPY AND PASTE!!! You should not have paragraphs of information on
each slide; instead, create bulleted lists of essential information. On Thursday, use the entire class period to put together your
presentation and create the BRIEF handout.
GROUP
Group 1 – Daily
Life in Salem
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GUIDING QUESTIONS
What type of people settled Massachusetts?
How did they survive?
What were their main fears and anxieties?
Describe the Puritan society, clothing, family life,
religious beliefs, jobs, etc.
How did their clothing support their religious views?
Describe the types of homes that probably existed in
Salem.
Describe the family life of Puritans.
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RESOURCES
Puritan Life
Puritanism in New England
Puritanism
Massachusetts Bay - "The City Upon a
Hill"
Group 2 Witchcraft
Background
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Group 3 - The
Salem Witch
Trials of the
1690s
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Group 4 – Arthur
Miller
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Explain how the Puritans thought of witches.
Which type of person was most likely to be considered
a witch?
Define Clinical Hysteria. Explain how stress and
clinical hysteria could account for some of the unusual
behaviors observed.
In what forms does witchcraft exist today?
How are modern day witches treated or viewed? (Think
about what is known and how they are portrayed in
movies/tv)
What events led to these trials? What behaviors started
to appear among the villagers?
What is a theocracy and how would it affect the view
of Salem residents toward witchcraft?
Who were these people and what happened to them in
1692? Giles Corey, Martha Corey, John Proctor, and
Sarah Osbourne
Who were Betty Parris, Abigail Williams, and Tituba?
What were the outcomes of the trials?
How do historians interpret these events?
Describe some of the tests for a witch.
Key event of his life
Other works produced
Beliefs/political outlook
Appearance before the House Un-American Activities
Committee
Effect of the HUAC appearance on his career
Common themes in his works
Reasons for writing The Crucible
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A Brief History of Witchcraft
Persecutions before Salem
Witch-finder witch?
European Witch Hunts
The Burning Times
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Salem Witchcraft Trials 1692
Salem Witchcraft Hysteria
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The Carey Document: On the Trail of
a Salem Death Warrant
Salem Witch Trials: The World
Behind the Hysteria
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Arthur Miller Biography
Arthur Miller
Group 5 Communism
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Group 6 McCarthy Witchhunts
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What is communism? Where did it come from?
What is the Cold War?
Who was involved in the Cold War?
What was the outcome of the Cold War?
Describe life in the US at the time and the views of
Russia.
What is the American Communist Party? How did it
impact the lives of Americans?
What was blacklisting and who was affected by the
entertainment industry blacklists?
Define a witch-hunt (be sure that you don’t simply say
hunting a witch)
Who was Joseph McCarthy and what did he
investigate? Why were Americans concerned about
Communism during the 1950s?
What was the HUAC? What happened to people
brought before the HUAC?
What happened when the McCarthy hearings were
televised and he began to accuse Army officers of
being Communists?
How was McCarthyism a witch-hunt? How might the
events in the 1692 witch-hunts be compared to those of
the McCarthy era in the 1950s?
RESOURCE FOR ALL GROUPS:
Arthur Miller's The Crucible Project
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Cold War
Cold War History
Red Scare
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McCarthyism
Senator Joseph McCarthy,
McCarthyism, and the Witch Hunt
McCarthy's Downfall
Joseph R. McCarthy
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MY RESOURCES
Mr. Pandolfini's English/Language Arts Website
Mr. Burklund's Webpage
Ms. Smith's English Class - Clovis High School
Mansfield Independent School District