Exploring the
Salem Witch Trials
Introduction
You are part of a special group of historical fiction
writers, and a major book publisher has decided to
send you on a special mission. They are transporting
you (all expenses paid) to a new time period - more
than three hundred years ago. Your group lands in
the middle of 1692 Salem, Oregon. You see neighbor
accusing neighbor of the strangest crimes: demon
possession, broom flying, even book reading. Your
mission is to research this situation and create a piece
of historical fiction that will bring the Salem Witch
Trials alive for a 21st century audience. What will
your group discover? How will they bring it back to
the present time period?
Understanding Your Task
Your group must work together to
fulfill its mission. First, the
publishers require that your
group does adequate
research. In the research
portion of your project, your
group must create a time-line
that covers at least fifteen
important events in the Salem
Witch Trials, a chart that lists
the accusers, accused,
"afflicted girls", jurors, judges,
and Puritan clergy involved in
the trials; an in-depth
summary of the trials (your
own words please) at least one
page in length, and a one and
half page essay that describes
Puritan life during the trials.
Understanding Your Task (cont.)
Next, your group must create a compilation
of four short works that reflect the most
interesting aspects of the trials. Your
book publisher has given you some
leeway here. Your works must contain
historical facts, but you can use your
imagination, and make some things
up. Also, your works can be written
from the point of view of someone (or a
group of people) directly involved in the
trials or from the point of view of a
bystander who was not directly
involved. You can choose a genre that
works best for your writing: pretend
journals from one Puritan to another,
poems that give the reader a glimpse of
the situation, or a short story that
depicts a particular moment during the
trials.
Understanding Your Task (cont.)
Whatever you choose, the
supervisors demand that you
must work as a group. That
means that your final product
should reflect a sincere effort
on everyone's part and the
works in your compilation
should fit together.
Procedures – Form Your Group
1.Form your group. Your group should have four members. Once
you have decided who your group members are, submit the
names to your teacher for approval.
2.Next, decide as a group what role each person should
play. First, you will need an editor. This person should be in
charge of leading the group. They make final decisions, and
they make sure everyone in the group completes their
assignments and everything fits together. Next, you will need
an illustrator. This person is in charge of making everything
look nice. They organize the research, do some drawing, and
make sure that the presentation of the final document is
flawless. Next, you will need a technical advisor. This
person is in charge of helping the group on the computers and
also checking grammar in the final drafts. Finally, you will
need a creative engineer. This person is in charge of
making sure that your documents contain accurate historical
data. They are also responsible for making sure your writing
both entertains and educates your audience.
Procedures – Task One:
Research


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Now, use the Internet to research the Salem Witch
Trials. Each group member should be in charge of a
different part of the research. While you can modify
this format to meet your needs, this is probably the
best case scenario:
Editor - Summary of Salem Witch Trials Illustrator
- Time-Line Technical Advisor- Chart of
Accusers/Defenders/"Afflicted Girls"/Accused/Puritan
Clergy/Judges/Jurors Creative Engineer Description of Puritan Life during the Salem Witch
Trials
You will have an hour and a half to complete this
part.
Resources for Task One
Charts for Accusers, Defenders, Accused,
etc.
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/salem/witchcraft/
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/salem/witchcraft/texts/
Time-Line of Events
http://www.salemweb.com/memorial/default.htm
Summary of Events
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/s
alem/SAL_ACCT.HTM
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/97/s
alem/
Resources for Task One (cont.)
Life During the Time of the Salem Witch
Trials
http://www.school.discovery.com/schooladventures
/salemwitchtrials/life/index.html
http://www.school.discovery.com/schooladventures
/salemwitchtrials/life/religion.html
http://www.school.discovery.com/schooladventures
/salemwitchtrials/life/divisions.html
http://www.school.discovery.com/schooladventures
/salemwitchtrials/life/children.html
Procedures- Task Two: Historical
Fiction
1. After you have had your time to complete
your research in the lab, each group will
come together to have a "group
think". This is a time to come together to
share information, come up with ideas, and
do pre-writing. Your "group think" must be
thorough. You will have one hour to do it.
Procedures – Task Two:
Historical
Fiction cont.
2. After your group is done with the "group think". You
will have forty five minutes of drafting time. This
should be done in complete silence unless your group
has been given permission to confer quietly.
3. Next, you will have group conference time. During this
time you will share drafts, give feedback, and make
revisions. This will take about forty five minutes.
4. Finally, you will have an hour and a half to work in the
computer lab. During this time, you will make word
documents of your drafts, group conference again, do
final editing, and print your last copy. If you have time,
your group should create an illustrated cover page and
possibly a table of contents for your work.
Additional Resources
Consider consulting these other piece of
historical fiction and/or poetry for ideas:
1.
Teacher Model - “A Witch in Time” by Ayn Nys
2.
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
3.
*Witness by Karen Hesse
4.
*Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters
5.
Beyond the Burning Time by Katheryn Laskey
6.
A Break with Charity: A Story about the Salem Witch
Trials by Ann Rinaldi
*Use these books to give you ideas for format and style but
not content.
Evaluation.
1. Using a Round Robin format, each group will
have five minutes to share with each of the
other groups. You will be required to do peer
feedback with each group. This will take
about an hour.
2. In the final part of the mission, you will fill
out a debriefing sheet and participate in a
class discussion. This part will take about
thirty minutes.
Evaluation - Continued
3. Your works be evaluated based on their
thoroughness, creativity, depiction of actual
events, and accuracy in following directions.
Your classmates’ comments will figure into
your overall grade. You will receive the
following grades:
Major Grade - Historical Fiction Pieces
Minor Grade - Research
Other Grade – Participation
Other Grade – Peer Feedback
Conclusion
At the end of all this, you should be able to
answer the following questions with insight and
adequate elaboration:
1.
2.
3.
Why were the Salem Witch Trials a significant
part of American history?
What do the Salem Witch trials show us about
human nature and peer pressure?
What aspects of the Salem Witch Trials can
we relate to in present American society?