LESSON DAY 7:
TITLE:
Crucible Act II: Viewing, Reading, Discovering Meaning
SUBJECT:
American Literature and Composition
GRADE:
10th
QCC(s):
29, 36, 38, 41
GENERAL
OBJECTIVES: (IRA/NCTE standards for the English Language Arts)
Students will:
•
Apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and
appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with
other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts,
their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual
features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context,
graphics). (No. 3)
•
Participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a
variety of literacy communities. (No. 11)
SPECIFIC
OBJECTIVES: (Georgia’s Quality Core Curriculum)
Students will:
•
Read, discuss, and analyze American literature representing diversity (e.g.,
gender, ethnicity). (Topic: Reading/Literature – L.A.
9-12 No. 29)
•
Engage in discussion as both speaker and listener, critically and
constructively interpreting, analyzing, and summarizing ideas. (Topic:
Reading/Literature – L.A. 9-12 No. 36)
•
Evaluate messages and effects of mass media (newspaper, television, radio,
film, and periodicals). (Topic: Speaking/Listening – L.A.
9-12 No. 38)
•
Write in narrative, descriptive, persuasive, and expository modes with emphasis
on exposition. (Topic: Writing/Usage/Grammar – L.A.
9-12 No. 41)
PROCEDURES/TEARCHER
NOTES:
Daily Writing
Prompt:[10
minutes]
As
students enter the class each day they will be given a new expository prompt
either in a handout, written on the board or projected by an overhead. Students
will respond to the text by writing a paragraph.
Prompt:
"We
must scrupulously guard the civil rights and civil liberties of all citizens,
whatever their background. We must remember that any oppression, any
injustice, any hatred is a wedge designed to attack our civilization."
-Franklin
D. Roosevelt
Question
the students will answer: Think about
what you have just read. Write an expository paragraph to turn in explaining
your response to the text.
Quick
Write: Students will create a fast response paragraph as quickly as possible.
When the students have finished their fast response, they should place it in
their class folder, put their pen/pencil down and remain quiet.
Overview of
main lesson:
The teacher
will
review Act I with students. The teacher will assign The Crucible final writing
project, so students can begin to think and plan their writing as they work
through reading and viewing the play. The students will receive a handout (see
attached) that gives them directions and the grading criteria.
Step
1: [10 minutes]
Introduction
– The teacher will ask a few review questions to get students focused on the
material. Possible questions could be:
Act I
1) Why has Reverend Parris sent for a doctor as the play
begins?
2) What does Parris question his niece Abigail about?
3) What did Parris see in the woods the previous night?
4) What has Elizabeth Proctor said about Abigail?
5) Who does Abigail accuse of conjuring spirits?
6) What happened in the past between John Proctor and Abigail?
How do each of them feel about it now?
7) How does John Proctor feel about Reverend Parris?
8) Who does Tituba accuse of being a witch?
Step
2: [10 minutes]
The
teacher will review the essay paper that she is assigning. The essay paper will
be DUE on the following Monday (Day 11). She will go over the handouts (see
attached) that outline the paper’s instructions, writing tips, and the topic
choices. She will remind the students to refer to the 6-Trait Scoring Rubric
they received with their syllabus at the beginning of the year (should be in
the CLASSWORK section of their notebooks).
Step
3: [30 minutes]
The
students will view the next 30 minutes of the film The Crucible. This amount of the movie will cover the events in Act
II.
Step
4: [20 minutes]
The
students will take turns reading Act II aloud.
CLOSING:
Students
will be reminded to review Acts I & II of The Crucible, and informed
that tomorrow (Day 8) there will be a quiz on Acts I & II.
Homework:
If the students have not finished the reading of Act II by the end of class,
the students will finish it at home.
MATERIALS:
The Crucible, TV/VCR, Film The
Crucible, dry erase markers
ADDITIONAL
TEACHER NOTES: What also needs to be touched on in discussion is the difference
between the film version and the text version of The Crucible. Possible
questions:
a)
Are the differences, confusing or distracting?
b)
Does the film version give too much additional information?
c)
How do the differences effect your view of the characters:
their personalities and their motivations?
SUPPLEMENTARY
MATERIALS: Students will need to have paper, pen/pencil.
EVALUATION:
Discussion:
The students’ response to Act I prompter questions will show how well students
understand the film and the text of The Crucible.
Essay:
The students’ essay paper will provide a final assessment of the level of
understanding each student has reached on The Crucible.
ACCOMMODATIONS: See accommodation sheet
REFERENCES:
Roosevelt,
Franklin D. Favorite Quotes. 22 Nov 2001.
http://www.lasalle.edu/~smithsc/personal/GreatQuotes.html
Miller,
Arthur. and Weales, Gerald, ed. The Crucible: Text and Criticism. New
York: Penguin Books, 1996.
The
Crucible: Unit Plan [English Online]. 22 Nov 2001.
http://english.unitecnology.ac.nz/resources/units/crucible/home.html
The Crucible, Dir. Nicholas Hytner. Perf. Daniel
Day-Lewis, Winona Ryder, Paul
1) You
will be given a choice of topics. Read each topic carefully and choose the one
on which you feel you can do your best writing.
2) Start
planning your paper as soon as you have decided on your essay topic. Make an
outline or notes about your plans as we read and watch The Crucible.
3) Organization
of your essay is important. Your paper should be 2 to 3 typed pages or 4 to 5
written pages in length. A good essay will have a central idea that is directly
related to the chosen topic; have a clear organizational plan; develop points
with evidence and details in a coherent, logical, and non-repetitious way; and
avoid frequent or serious errors in grammar, mechanics, word choice, and
sentence structure.
4) Refer
to the 6-Trait Rubric as a guide on how your paper’s grade will be evaluated.
Writing
Choices for The Crucible
1) One of the
themes that this play explores is the fact that people can give into their fear
and superstition. When people succumb to this fear they often act unlike
themselves. Describe an event or situation in another story or event in history
where this theme applies. Compare and contrast the two situations.
2) One
of the reasons Arthur Miller wrote this play was because of an historical event
in American history. Not the witch trials of Salem, but the movement in the
1950’s led by senator Joe McCarthy to seek and identify members of the
Communist Party that he felt were trying to overthrow the government. This
movement ruined many innocent people because of its drive to seek what it
thought to be the truth no matter who was hurt in the process. Write about
another American historical event that might be considered similar to
this one, that is, people doing what they think is right no matter who it hurts
or how badly people are hurt.
3) Many
of the characters go through changes because of the intensity of the play. In
fact the title of the play, crucible, means a severe test or trial. Write a
character study on one of the main characters, which discusses his or her
change or lack of change in the play.
Tips on
writing a good essay:
Make an argument.
Your thesis needs to make an argument. Preferably it should
answer a "WHY?" question. The thesis is generally (though not
always) the last sentence of your introductory paragraph. If your thesis
is clearly stated, it will be much easier for your reader to understand your
argument. Your thesis should not only be clear, but it should be interesting.
In addition to stating a clear thesis, you need to make sure that the evidence
and analysis of the subsequent paragraphs support the stated thesis.
Have specific evidence, and cite it properly.
In order for an essay to be convincing, specific evidence must be
provided in support of the thesis. Furthermore, since you know none of
the evidence first hand, you must include references to the places where you
found the evidence. The form for such references in this essay must be in
text references.
For example:
Mary Warren is torn on what
to do when she cries out, “I cannot do it, I cannot.” (Miller, 80)
In addition there must be a works cited page at the end of your
essay following the MLA format (refer to the MLA handout attached to you
syllabus).
REMEMBER: At the least you are using the play and/or the film as
evidence.
REMEMBER: You must cite your sources even when you are not using a
direct quote.
Analyze the specific evidence.
Evidence is meaningless unless it is accompanied by your analysis
of it. Tell your reader why the evidence supports your argument.
Your reader is not necessarily thinking along the same lines you are, which is
why you need to tell your reader what to think of the evidence you provide.
Correct all structural errors.
If your argument is brilliant but your reader can't figure it out
because the structural errors get in the way, then your brilliance will be
irrelevant. Give yourself a chance to really shine by making sure all the
words mean what you think they mean, the sentences are comprehensible and
arranged in a logical order within the paragraphs, each paragraph is a coherent
whole, and the paragraphs are arranged in a logical order within the essay.
Also, make sure you provide transitions from one thought to the next, both
within and between paragraphs.