The Puritans and the Salem Witch Trials

Introduction

Miss Miller's Junior English Class

Today we are going to take a look at the lives of the Puritans as an introduction to Arthur Miller's "The Crucible". As you navigate through the websites, I want you to imagine yourself in this world. How would your life be different than it is right now? Would you enjoy living in this way? What are characteristics of the Puritan lifestyle? It will be helpful to take notes as you navigate. Take note of the time, place, and beliefs of the Puritans as this will help you later on in this unit. 

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkFzjO91E4c&feature=youtu.be]

Task

People and Ideas: The Puritans

This website is from PBS. Take note of the people they mention and the ideals of the time. Was the main focus upon the individual or did they value the community as well?

http://www.pbs.org/godinamerica/people/puritans.html

During the witch trials, many unusual tests were given to would-be witches. This History Channel article shows some of these tests to see if one was a witch. Check it out! 

http://www.history.com/news/history-lists/7-bizarre-witch-trial-tests

Historians have been obsessed with what really happened in Salem. Here is a link for a two-minute video that has one theory of what really happened. 

http://www.history.com/topics/salem-witch-trials/videos/salem-witch-tri…

You do not have to watch all of this video since it is rather long. It does have historical documents and actual records of the Salem Witch Trials. 

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-dA4LIqifc]

Here are some historical documents and records. Just roam the website and see what you can find! Bring for discussion on Monday! 

https://www.createwebquest.com/jdmiller1841/puritans-and-salem-witch-tr…