Process

Quickwrite:

Look at the pictures and poem above and do a quickwrite in your journal about one time you've been falsely accused.  Consider what led up to the accusation and what the results of the accusation were.  Also, discuss what could have been done to prevent the false acusation.  Fill at least 1/2 page.

1. Go through this Salem Virtual Witch Hunt.  You will be experiencing what it was like to have been accused of witchcraft in Salem during the Salem Witch Trials.  Your job is to experience the emotions and feelings of being falsely accused.  Write one page about your experience, what it felt like, and what you learned.

 2. Next, you will separate into groups of 3 (or 4) students and will need to choose one of the following roles:

3. Once you have picked a role, you must begin researching your topic and summarizing/journaling on  the information you read and learn.  You must summarize/journal on a minimum of 4 articles.  Your entries must be 1/2 a page long.

4. For your role, chart out the following: (click here to get role chart)

5. Compile the information (charts and summaries/ journals) your group has collected and compare:

6. Create a Venn Diagram to show similarities of each point.  You should have at least one Venn Diagram for each point.  (click here to get Venn Diagram,) 

7. Now you must begin your letter to the editor.  To start, use the thesis builder and outline builder to generate your thesis and your outline.  Be sure to print your work.  (click here for thesis and outline builder)

8. Write the letter to the editor--each member contributing information on which she/he is an expert.  Discuss the issues, causes, consequences, and the main solution.  Write as if to a newspaper. (click here for sugestions and sample letter to the editor)

 

Role of Expert on The Salem Witch Trials

For this role, you must gather extensive background information related to the Salem Witch Trials, identifying

Research links for Expert on Salem Witch Trials
Role of Expert on McCarthyism

For this role, you must gather extensive background information related to McCarthyism, identifying

  • their causes (focus on the beliefs of the people of the time),
  • their consequences (both for individuals accused and accusing, and for the society)
  • possible ways to have avoided them.  Be sure your solutions are applicable to the people at that time period and in that situation.

 

Research links for Expert on McCarthyism

  • Excellent Summaries of McCarthyism Era
  • Short Biography of Joseph McCarthy
  • CNN Cold War - Episode Script: Reds
  • Congressional Committees and Unfriendly Witnesses
  • CNN - Virtual McCarthyism Trial
  • Different View of the 1947 HUAC Activities
  • HUAC
  • HUAC and Censorship
  • Famous American Trials
  • Age of McCarthyism (brief history with documents)

    • Role of Expert on Related Persecutions 

     

    For this role, you must gather information on at least two related persecutions, and identify the following for each:

    Research links for Expert on Related Persecutions

    Searchable sites