S. Miller
English 11 AP
“The
Crucible” by Arthur Miller Unit Plan for AP English Language
and Composition
I. Characters chart, vocabulary and quiz
II.
Watch the video (4-5 days)
III.
In a group of 3-4 develop a power point presentation that answers the following
question:
How did the political events of the 1950s
influence the writing of “The Crucible”?
Ideas
to get started:
1. Look for ways that
Senator McCarthy and the members of the HUAC examined witnesses; then recall how
Judge Hathorne and others in the play asked questions. Compare and contrast the
two methods.
2. Compare/contrast the hysteria in the play with the Red Scare hysteria of the
1950s.
3. Use visual aids to emphasize the common themes and related events of “The
Crucible” with those of the 1950s.
4. Be sure to include information from all relevant perspectives, using credible
sources.
5. Include at least one question to generate class discussion and/or journal
writing.
Suggested
websites:
“Secrets of the Dead: The
Witches Curse” http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/case_salem/index.html
Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” Fact & Fiction (Or Picky, Picky,
Picky...)
http://www.17thc.us/docs/fact-fiction.shtml
Victor Navasky's Naming Names http://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/navasky-chap10.html
Witchcraft or Witchhunt (The
Salem
Witch
Museum
)
http://www.teachtheteachers.org/projects/DJacobs/index.htm
Ayn Rand’s HUAC Testimony http://www.noblesoul.com/orc/texts/huac.html
Elia Kazan: Postage Paid http://www.moderntimes.com/palace/kazan/
Elia Kazan (PBS program) http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/kazan_e.html
McCarthyism: The Great American Red
Scare http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAmccarthyism.htm
Why did Arthur Miller Write “The Crucible”? http://www.geocities.com/ResearchTriangle/Lab/4191/MILLER/millers.html
McCarthy Era Writers Relied on Metaphor... http://www.advance.uconn.edu/2001/010212/01021209.htm
V. Presentation of power points to the class (2-3 days).
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