The Crucible
Unit Wrap Up
FEBRUARY 9-13, 2015
FEBRUARY 9, 2015
EQs: What are my strengths and weakness in
literature? How may I improve my strengths and
weaknesses? What skills can I strengthen?
 Quickwrite: If you could change one thing in the
world, what would it be? Why would you make
this change? Would it help improve the world?
Explain.
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ASSIGNED STATIONS
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Textual Evidence –
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Annotations


Reviewing how to find and use appropriate textual
evidence within writing and short answers.
Reviewing what annotations are, why they are used,
and the benefits of.
Writing
Peer Review / Self Revise Native American Myths
 Begin writing Native American Myths if not started.
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
Binder Set-up

Chance to check for missing work and update binders.
THE CRUCIBLE – ACT IV
FEBRUARY 10, 2015
EQs: What current world events are similar to
the events in The Crucible? How are the events
similar?
 Quickwrite: Has there ever been a moment
where you stood up for something/someone
despite the consequences? What was it and
what were the consequences for standing up
for what you believed in? Do you believe the
accused in The Crucible should admit to being
witches or stand firm that they are innocent?

FEBRUARY 11, 2015

EQs: What is a Socratic Seminar? How may I
effectively engage in a Socratic Seminar?
Quickwrite: T-Chart
http://youtu.be/QxZMGK6IdEs?t=35s
 4 positives of the video, 4 negatives. Pay
attention to the students and the way they
interact rather than the video quality.

SO WHAT IS A SOCRATIC SEMINAR?

Socratic Seminars are class discussions
generated by asking questions, inspired by the
Greek Philosopher Socrates who believed
learning was generated through inquiry and
discussion.
CLAIMS & COUNTERCLAIMS
Claim: an argument or opinion that is powerful,
unique, and can be supported by evidence.
This is another word for “thesis” or “controlling
idea.”
 Counterclaim: the prefix “counter” means
against, so the counterclaim to your claim is
any opposing idea. Anticipate, mention, and
disprove counterclaims as a part of presenting
your claim.

ACADEMIC VS. CASUAL LANGUAGE
Academic Language: language used in
textbooks, in classrooms, and on tests. It is
different in structure and vocabulary from the
everyday spoken English of social interactions.
In other words, it is FORMAL English.
 Casual Language: Language used in everyday
communication. Informal English.

USING APPROPRIATE LANGUAGE

What is appropriate language for a scholarly
setting? Academic language. You shouldn’t use
curses or slang within a scholarly setting.
What other ways do we communicate outside
of using words? Hand gestures and body language.
 Why is it important to be mindful in how we
present ourselves in conversation? To give a

good impression, a credible presentation of ideas, and
provide a positive academic environment.
APPROPRIATE LANGUAGE
 What
is the importance of using
appropriate academic language while
in a scholarly setting?
 Why is it important to be respectful
while building off claims, refuting
claims, or presenting new evidence?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Discussion questions are questions that have
no real right or wrong answer, but require
deeper thinking than a simple “yes” or “no”
answer.
 Discussion questions generate conversation.
 Discussion questions are debatable.
 Discussion questions should promote further
thinking and discussion.

ROLES
 Speakers:
participate directly in
discussion using claims/counterclaims in
an appropriate and respectful manner.
They take notes of key points in
discussion or ideas/ thoughts/ questions
that they have during discussion.
ROLES
 Coaches:
take key notes of discussion
and take notes of the things their
speaker does well and things their
speaker can improve on. They also
take notes on what they think might
help strengthen their speaker’s
arguments or credibility.
HOW IT WORKS
You will choose a partner to work with. The
Socratic Seminar is split into two discussions—
Discussion A and Discussion B.
 During Discussion A, one person will be
speaker and the other will be the coach.
 During Discussion B, the roles will switch
between partners.
 EVERYONE WILL BE A SPEAKER OR A COACH.

DURING THE SEMINAR
You are not only answering the discussion
questions, but promoting discussion by asking
others related questions, building off the
claims/counterclaims of others, and being sure
to include everyone in discussion.
 EVERYONE who is a speaker at that time MUST
SPEAK.
 The only person speaking should be the person
holding Dr. Wiggles. Do not throw him to the
same people over and over again. Be sure
everyone gets a chance to speak.

CREATING DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
You have two minutes to find a partner. After
the time is up, I will simply pair you up if you
have not found one.
 Next you will create two discussion questions
about The Crucible. You should consider the
historical context, themes, conflicts, etc.
 Remember, discussion questions should
generate discussion! It can not simply be YES
or NO for an answer.

WITH YOUR PARTNER

After you are done with creating your two
discussion questions, I want you to come up
with two rules that you think we should have
during the Seminar. Be prepared to explain
WHY you think those rules should be
implemented.
TOMORROW (ASSUMING WE GET THE LAB)
I will give you a handout with some starter
questions for you to prepare for.
 You will come up with a stance for these starter
questions, then conduct research to support
your claim.
 When we come back to the room, you will then
strengthen your claim with evidence from the
text, informational articles we’ve read, and
whatever you found during your research.

FEBRUARY 12, 2015
EQs: How can I best support my stance in a
Socratic Seminar? How can I determine if
information is credible or not? How may I
properly implement evidence into a
collaborative / Socratic discussion?
 Quickwrite: None
 Tasks: Socratic Seminar Notes

FEBRUARY 13, 2015
Sit with your partner. One person in front, one
behind them!! Keep the literature book at your
desk! You need it!
 EQs: How may I properly engage my peers in a
Socratic Seminar? How can I best support my
claims/counterclaims in discussion? How may I
build off the claims of others? How can I help
propel the discussion at hand?
 Quickwrite: What are your goals for today’s
Socratic Seminar? How do you plan to reach
these goals? (Have at least 2 goals)
EVALUATION
There are two sides: self-evaluation and coach
evaluation.
 Self-Evaluation you evaluate yourself!
 Coach Evaluation you evaluate your partner!
 Please put the correct names in the correct
spaces or grading might get messed up!
 Be sure to take down key points during BOTH
discussions. Remember, coaches, you are to
aid your speaker! Be sure to pay attention so
you can adequately help them!

GROUP A

How do the witch trials empower individuals
who were previously powerless?

Consider: What made someone powerful in The
Crucible? Who was in power? How were they in
power? What did they do to maintain that
power? Why might it have been important to
them to be in power?
5 MINUTE BREAK

Coaches and speakers are to discuss courses
of actions, areas of strengths, areas of
improvement, and what key points have been
made.

We will then resume the discussion.
NEW QUESTION OR…NAW?

What were the Puritan ideals/beliefs of the
time? What characters went against these
ideals/beliefs? How did they go against these
ideals?

Consider: What characteristics the characters
had that were OPPOSITE of typical Puritan
behavior.
GROUP B

What events have we seen in current societies
that are similar to the witch hunts of Salem?
How are these events similar and what do you
believe it says about society and history?

Consider: Power struggles, discrimination,
oppression, intolerance, crimes/punishments,
and the motives of people’s actions.
5 MINUTE BREAK

Coaches and speakers are to discuss courses
of actions, areas of strengths, areas of
improvement, and what key points have been
made.

We will then resume the discussion.
NEW QUESTION OR…NAW?

Why do you believe John Proctor refused to sign
his name despite that it would save his life?
What did Proctor’s name mean to him? Why
might not signing the confession be important
to him?

Consider: What is in a name? What sort of
significance comes with a name? Consider
personal experience, what Proctor says in the
text, and any cultures you can think of.
CLOSING - REFLECTION

Did you meet your goals for the Socratic
Seminar? How? What do you feel went well with
the Seminar? What do you feel needs
improvement?

BE DETAILED.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
All make up work needs to be in by Wednesday
at the LATEST (Feb. 18, 2015).
 PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE get this work done. I
want you to succeed and it’ll be a hard thing to
do when you have fallen behind in only the first
six weeks of the semester.
 I love all of you, have a good and safe weekend!
