The Crucible: Exploring key themes
Learning Materials
Lesson Introduction
Activities:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Witches and Outsiders
Staging the Play
Extended oral and drama work
Developing written responses
Aims and Learning Outcomes
What students can expect to learn and achieve
Plot Synopsis
A synopsis of the plot and background to The Crucible
Curriculum Context
How the materials relate to the Programmes of Study for English at Key Stages 3 and 4
Extending the Topic
Ideas for taking activities further.
Lesson Introduction
The Crucible is a fabulously rich play, and one which can be explored by students in many
ways. The activities here are therefore bound to be selective, but they are designed to offer
the chance for students to engage with some of the key ideas in the play, whilst keeping an
emphasis on the play as performance. There is a stress on active teaching approaches
promoting collaborative group oral work thoughout.
Aims and Learning Outcomes
Each of the four activities consists of a series of related ideas which enable students to
explore a particular aspect of the play. Activity 1 offers students the opportunity to explore
some of the play’s central ideas related to witches and witch hunts in both literal and
metaphorical senses. Activities 2 and 3 explore the text in performance, initially considering
staging and directorial decisions, then contrasting aspects of stage and film interpretation,
before offering the opportunity to script and perform an extra scene. Activity 4 looks at
supporting two extended written responses to the play; these could be used as a means of
summative assessment, perhaps as part of GCSE coursework.
Each activity is discrete, offering perhaps a sequence of two or three lessons’ work.
Plot Synopsis
The play is set in the fiercely religious community of Salem, Massachusetts and dramatises
the horrifying witchcraft trials that took place there in 1692. Arthur Miller, the playwright,
has taken the bare bones of archive fact and fleshed them with a tale which shows the
extremes to which the members of a society gripped by fear will go to protect themselves.
Central to the plot is the story of Abigail Williams who exploits the hysteria generated in the
community to seek her own vengeance, following her rejection by John Proctor, an
essentially good, but flawed, family man. As events unfold, and fear and suspicion take hold
of the village and its inhabitants, Proctor himself is faced with a question of conscience, the
answer to which will determine his very existence.
Many choose to read Miller’s story, written in 1953, as an allegory relating to Senator Joseph
McCarthy’s anti-Communist persecutions which took place in the United States in the early
1950s. While such a perspective brings another dimension to interpretation, the power of the
tragedy and the universal emotions on which it draws, mean that the play is rightly regarded
as more than simply a commentary on contemporary events.
Curriculum Context
As a text, The Crucible directly addresses requirements in the Key Stage 3 and 4 Reading
Programme of Study for students to study a range of literature including drama by major
writers from different cultures and traditions. Study of the play, and use of the activities here,
will address a range of strands within the National Curriculum, including those relating to
Drama and group work in the Speaking and Listening Programme. If studied at Key Stage 3,
Reading and Drama Objectives from the Key Stage 3 Framework are explicitly covered,
while the extended oral and written activities are designed to fulfil assessment criteria at Key
Stage 4, should the play be used as a GCSE text.
Extending the Topic
There are clear ways that each of the first three activities can be taken further.
Activity 1, for example, can be broadened out to go beyond the play and further consider the
idea of outsiders (be they individuals or groups) being marginalized or demonised and held
responsible for society’s ills.
Activity 2, focusing on the staging of the play and alternative interpretations, offers the
opportunity to explore more of the web-based material relating to the recent production,
including interviews with actors, directors and technical crew. Also, more extended
consideration of questions of interpretation and adaptation to different media are opened up
by work on the two versions of the bedroom scene.
Activity 3, though here intended as a piece of scripted classroom drama, could easily be
extended into a piece of media production work – a radio or video version of the scene.
Activity 1
(Links to sheet of witch stories; link to story grid; link to ‘History of Witches’ worksheet)
These activities are designed to encourage students to explore myths and legends about
witches and witchcraft, to get some sense of the kinds of superstitions held by people at the
time the play is set. This takes students into the play, considering what sorts of characters
become the object of suspicion and why, and deeper issues about why communities ‘turn on’
outsiders.
As a pre-reading activity, brainstorm in groups around the idea of ‘witches/witchcraft’ to
activate students’ existing knowledge. This is a topic they will know lots about, perhaps from
areas as diverse as film, history lessons or reading of Shakespeare or Harry Potter. Group
oral work, organised perhaps as a jigsaw activity, can lead to whole class feedback to share
ideas, relating to traditional and contemporary notions of witches and typical representations.
Asking students to reflect on why there is a fascination with witchcraft is a way to develop
discussion further.
Next, students read a range of traditional witch myths/legends. The linked document has a
wide selection of short and longer tales – a selection of these can be used:
Link to witch stories
This reading can be done in groups, with each group having two or three stories to read, and
then ‘jigsawing’ the groups so that information from all the stories is shared. For each story,
students should record information, perhaps on a grid like the following:
Link to witch story grid
After sharing information within groups, whole class feedback/plenary can draw out any
common ideas about witches/witchcraft: are they any particular types of places where such
stories come from? Are there particular types of people who are represented as witches? Are
there typical victims of witches? What might the answers to these questions suggest?
This work on myths can then be followed up by the non-fiction work on the ‘History of
Witches’ worksheet. The information and questions here direct students to consider the
‘reality’ of witches and witch hunting, and develop ideas about the questions raised from the
story reading.
Link to History of Witches worksheet
The outcomes of the work on fiction and non-fiction can then form a backdrop to work on the
opening Act of the play.
After/during reading of Act 1, encourage students to explore the nature of the community and
the characters, relating back to the work done on witch myths, and begin to uncover how it is
the ‘fever’ begins to grip the town and how characters begin to use the situation to protect
themselves. Particular areas of focus might be:
What actually happened in the night prior to the opening of the play? How does this relate to
‘traditional’ ideas and images of witchcraft?
On the surface, the society is a strict, god-fearing community, but what evidence is there of
individuals or groups or people with things to hide, or with fears or suspicions?
The way in which the finger is pointed at Tituba – look closely at her interrogation by Hale:
how ready is he to believe she is the cause? How does Tituba respond?
Why do Abigail and the other girls join Tituba in naming other villagers?
These questions should lead to some consideration of Tituba as an outsider in the community.
Thinking back to the earlier work on witch myths can generate discussion as to how far
Tituba ‘fits’ the profile of those blamed for witchcraft.
Specific work here could focus on issues of race, but further plenary/extended work could
grow from this work, to consider notions of how a community’s problems and fears can be
‘taken out on’ outsiders and vulnerable groups. There are many historical and contemporary
examples that cold be drawn on – current controversies over refugees or travellers, perhaps,
or ‘classic’ cases such as the origins of the Holocaust.
Activity 2
Links to Stagework Crucible materials – Act 1 Lighting; Set design; Scene in bedroom;
link to extract of Crucible with stage directions removed
The sequence here encourages students to explore the text in performance, looking
specifically at the scene with the girls in Betty Parris’ bedroom in Act 1.
Begin by giving students pictures (or roughly drawing on board) main types of stage
construction – i.e. proscenium arch, ‘in the round’.
Re-read with students the stage set description at the beginning of Act 1. ask them to
highlight, or quickly jot down the a list of the contexts of the bedroom. In books/on paper,
students to choose a type of stage, and then draw a quick labelled sketch of their own idea of
a set design for this opening scene. Students should also offer some idea about how they
think the stage should be lit. Written or oral feedback can offer explanations as to decisions
made.
Next, provide students with the section of Act 1 from Abigail’s line ‘How is Ruth sick?’ to
the entrance of John Proctor. Provide this section but with all stage directions removed.
Link to extract from play, with stage directions removed
In pairs, students read through the scene and work to provide stage directions to create the
scene. They should be aiming to think about how to use movement and tone of voice to
create/add to the tension in the scene. Once completed, pairs can join up to form fours and
compare the differences in the directions they are giving to the actors.
The groups of four could then be asked to produce an agreed final version of the scene.
Different groups could then walk through/present their scenes to the class.
A plenary could ask students to reflect in writing on the decisions they made, and what key
ideas they had for creating tension in the scene.
Following these activities, students could then watch/listen to the comments of those
responsible for the recent production, and discuss as a group how these decisions differ from
their own ideas:
Link to clips on Set Design and Lighting of Act 1
Next students should watch the clip from the production inside Betty Parris’ bedroom
Link to video clip
A set of prompt questions should encourage students to reflect on the effectiveness of this
interpretation of the scene, e.g.: what did they notice about the stage set? Did the lighting
help to create the setting? How?
To extend this work, and to reinforce the idea of different interpretations, students could
watch the corresponding clip from the recent film version of The Crucible (starring Daniel
Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder). Students should identify key ways in which the film and
stage version differ. This could lead them to consider ways in which the medium can
influence production – e.g. looking at the film version, they could note down which elements
of this would prove very difficult to produce on stage, look at how camera techniques (e.g.
close-ups) help create tension, examine how editing techniques (e.g. cutting from one
character to another) create effects/pace. This could lead to some quite high level work on the
media adaptation of the text.
Activity 3
Link to task sheet ‘The Trial of Goody Osburn’
This sequence of activities allows students to script and perform an additional scene for the
play, based on Mary Warren’s recounting of events, in the courthouse in Act 2. This kind of
extended oral/drama work would be ideal to use as Speaking and Listening coursework in
Key Stage 4.
Begin by reading with students the section of Act 2 beginning with Mary’s line ‘Goody
Osburn – will hang!’ to Proctor’s line ‘You will not go to court again, Mary Warren.’
After reading as a group, divide students into groups of 4, 5 or 6. In groups, students reread
this extract, and create a simple set of bullet points, or a flow chart to clearly record the
events that occur as Goody Osburn is interrogated.
Using the task sheet, explain the group oral/drama task they have to complete
Link to worksheet
The group might be given preparation time of 1 –2 lessons, depending on the nature of the
final product. The final presentation could be recorded as a ‘radio adaptation’ of the play (in
which case less time is needed to practice elements of performance) or performed for the
class as a whole – in which case more extended time might be needed for practice/learning of
lines.
Following performance/recording of the scene, class as a whole can offer some peer
evaluation of each other’s work, before individuals write their own evaluation/reflection of
the activity, their input into it, and the success of the finished piece.
Activity 4
Links to ‘Reasons’ worksheet and ‘End of Act 3’ worksheet
This activity describes the approach and support for two different extended writing tasks.
Extended Writing Task 1:
‘Why did events in Salem spiral out of control and lead to so much tragedy?’
In order to tackle this extended discursive essay, students begin by completing the group
discussion activity using the statements on the ‘Reasons’ worksheet. This worksheet has
fourteen statements offering possible answers to the central question.
Link to ‘Reasons’ worksheet
These statements should be cut up and students’ first task is to read and discuss the
statements and then place them in ranking order from one to fourteen, with one being what
they feel is the most important reason, and fourteen the least. They can remove any reason
they feel is not relevant.
Class feedback can share ideas and prompt discussion about the question.
Students can then be asked to read the statements again and to group them into categories.
Ideally they should decide on categories themselves – though these can be given (e.g. a group
of ‘long term’ causes and a group of ‘short term’ causes; a group relating to ‘individual
responsibility’ a group relating to ‘community responsibility’, etc….). Alternatively, students
can put the question in the middle of the table, and position the other statements at a distance
depending on how important they are (i.e. near to the centre for very relevant, further away
for less relevant).
These ideas are inspired by work on writing discursively in history by Christine Counsell. At
the end of a period of time discussing and arguing about the statements and how to group
them, students should begin to see different ways to structure an essay answer to the central
question, and have had the chance to refine their views on the issues of the play.
To extend the work and support essay writing, students should be asked to find one or two
quotations from the play to support the statement on each card. This textual evidence will be
used in their extended writing.
Extended Writing Task 2
This task, perhaps better suited to GCSE with its focus on dramatic impact, asks students to
analyse the climax of Act 3 in the play, from the moment Elizabeth is taken away to the end
of the Act.
Students work through the activities on the ‘End of Act 3’ worksheet, which encourage a
close reading of the episode, from the point of view of different characters in the scene.
Link to ‘Act 3’ worksheet.
The title for the final written piece (possibly coursework) is:
Consider the climax of Act 3. Write an analysis of this part of the play, thinking about:
What we learn about key characters in this scene
The dramatic impact of the scene
The importance of the scene to the play as a whole.