Introduction

Use this Real-Life Lens Plan to help students dive deep into Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and examine the play’s themes, action, and characters through the lens of judgment. What influences the judgments made in the play? What makes them just or unjust? What does Miller have to say about the theme of judgment?

Materials

Introduce the Lens

To activate students’ thinking, choose one or two of the following resources to use in an engagement activity. Have students read or watch and discuss the content. Encourage students to jot down notes, or record class notes on the board for future reference.

Pose the following Big Idea Questions to the class:

What factors make a judgment fair or unfair? 

Who has the right to judge? 

How hard is it to undo a judgment that has been made?

Engagement Activity

Have students write quick initial responses to the questions. Then discuss the questions either as a class or in small groups. Prompt students to consider when a judgment equals justice and when it does not. Invite them to consider the emotions and motivations that influence judgment positively or negatively. Following discussion, give students time to revise their initial responses, and ask volunteers to share what they wrote with the class.

CCSS

Introduce the Driving Questions

Begin by having students write their own questions about the lesson topic. Encourage them to think about what they already know about judgment and what they’re interested in exploring further.

Hand out the Driving Questions Worksheet. Review the questions as a class. Students should enter initial answers to the questions before and as they read The Crucible. They will revisit the questions and revise their answers following the lesson activities, classroom discussion, and the completion of the text. Remind students to support their responses with text evidence.

Integrate the Driving Questions into your classroom discussions. Use them to help guide students’ thinking about the Big Idea Questions. 

1. What types of judgments are made in The Crucible aside from the ones about who has been worshipping the devil? 

2. How does Abigail Williams influence the judgments made in The Crucible? 

3. What grievances inform the judgments made in the play? 

4. How specifically do hearsay and gossip affect the judgments made in the play? 

5. How does the issue of reputation influence the judgments that are made in the play? 

6. What efforts are made to undo the judgments in the play, and how successful are those efforts? 

7. What informs the judgments made about John Proctor, and why does he make the choice that he does in response? 

8. How is what Giles Corey says to the court and what happens to him in the end a comment on fair judgment?

CCSS

Introduce the "Through the Lens" Activity

Activity: Personal Experience

In this activity, students will explore what makes a judgment fair or unfair. Ask students to write about each of the following in note form:

  • An experience when they were judged negatively and, in their opinion, inaccurately 

  • An experience when they were judged negatively but, in their view, accurately 

  • An experience when they were judged positively but, in their belief, inaccurately 


As students write notes about these experiences, ask them to reflect on the factors that influenced their assessment of the accuracy of the judgment (i.e., the person who was judging them, the judger’s motivation, what they were being judged about, the result of the judgment, who else knew about the judgment); how they responded to the accurate and inaccurate judgments; and whether they felt it was preferable to avoid negative judgment or to be judged fairly. 

In small groups, students can discuss these personal experiences and make observations about the challenges of making and accepting judgments. 

Collect students’ observations on the board. These observations can be revisited while students read The Crucible through the lens of judgment to see how their understanding of making and accepting judgments develops.

CCSS

Differentiated Instruction

This activity can be modified to help all students access learning.
Decrease difficulty

Divide students into six or more small groups. Assign each group one of the three scenarios. Students will reflect on their personal experiences with their assigned scenario and write notes about the factors that influenced the accuracy of the judgment, how they responded to the judgment, and whether they felt it was preferable to avoid negative judgment or to be judged fairly. Each group will then share their observations with the class.

 

Increase difficulty

Instead of taking notes, ask students to write a one-page essay about each type of experience. They can then write an additional one-page essay that makes observations about the challenges of making and accepting judgments.

Introduce the Final Project

Before moving on, introduce the final projects to the class (see below for details). Have students choose the project they will complete and encourage them to keep their project in mind as they read the text. Facilitate the formation of project groups if necessary.

Assign the Midpoint Activities

Activity 1: Theme and the Author’s Choices

Ask students to review Acts One and Two of The Crucible to observe how the theme of judgment is shaped by the way Miller opens the play and orders the action, and by the order in which he introduces the characters. Create a chart on the board with three columns. Title each column: The opening of the play; The order of action; The order the characters are introduced. Have students take notes in each column about their observations. Remind them to cite specific examples from the text to support their thinking. 

Students should then discuss their observations with a partner and revise their charts as necessary. 

Hold a class discussion about the information in the students’ charts. Encourage students to expand on one another’s ideas and offer supporting textual evidence as they recall it.

CCSS

Differentiated Instruction

This activity can be modified to help all students access learning.
Decrease difficulty

Students can complete the charts in pairs and discuss in groups.

Increase difficulty

After completing this activity, have students write an additional one-page essay in which they describe another possible opening for the play and comment on how this opening would influence the theme of judgment.

Activity 2: Close Reading

Ask students to read the Psychology Today article titled “Are You a Good Judge or Just Judgmental?” (Or review the article briefly if you already discussed it in “Introduce the Lens.”)

Then ask students to review Acts One and Two of the play to find five instances in which a judgment is being made. Have students determine whether the instance reflects a character making a fair judgment or merely being judgmental. Using the Making a Judgment or Being Judgmental? Worksheet, students should record the five instances in the first column, record a supporting quotation with page citation from the text in the middle column, and then highlight specific language from the quote to support their assessment in the third column.

In small groups or as a class, have students discuss whether the play presents more instances of characters making judgments or being judgmental.

CCSS

Differentiated Instruction

This activity can be modified to help all students access learning.
Decrease difficulty

Instead of five instances, students can focus on Act One and choose three different instances of a character either making a judgment or being judgmental.

Increase difficulty

In addition to the original activity, students can write an imaginary cross-examination of a character in the play they think is particularly judgmental. The cross-examination should be crafted in to reveal the bias of the judgmental character. Students can then perform this scene for the class.

Final Projects

Students will work on their final projects after they have finished reading the complete text of The Crucible. Project 1 calls for students to work individually, while Project 2 calls for small groups.

Final Project 1: Persuasive Essay

Students will write a five-page persuasive essay assessing the two factors most responsible for the unfair judgments made in The Crucible. Students should support their claims with sufficient textual evidence. 

As students read the play, have students record instances where an unfair judgment has been made.  

After completion of the text, have students review their list of these instances in small groups. Once they have compiled a complete list, have them brainstorm a list of factors responsible for these unfair judgments. 

Compile a list of these factors from all the groups on the board or on a large piece of poster paper. Hold a class discussion in which you debate which two factors might be most responsible for the unfair judgments in the play. Encourage students to support their opinions with text evidence when speaking. 

Have each student choose the two factors they believe are most responsible and want to write about in their essay. Before starting a first draft, have students create a brief outline with a thesis statement including their two chosen factors and a list of supporting reasons and evidence from their small group work.

CCSS

Differentiated Instruction

This activity can be modified to help all students access learning.
Decrease difficulty

Decrease the length of the essay and have students produce two to three pages instead of five.

Increase difficulty

After writing their persuasive essay, have students turn the points made in their essay into a three- to five-minute persuasive speech and present their speeches to the class. Listening students can then vote on who gave the most effective persuasive speech.

Final Project 2: Comparing the Play and Real Life

Students will create individual multimedia presentations that illustrate the similarities between Danforth’s approach to making judgments in The Crucible and a more current real-life situation of their choosing. 

As students read the play, have students mark instances where Danforth passes judgment. 

After they have read the play, have students review these instances, listing them on paper or in a computer document. They should then briefly characterize Danforth’s approach to justice in each instance in order to see the pattern of his behavior.  

To test and develop their understanding, have students gather in small groups to discuss their observations about Danforth’s approach to making judgments. Based on their group’s understanding of Danforth’s behavior, students will brainstorm current, real-life situations that seem to mirror Danforth’s approach. 

Students will then research one of these current situations of their choosing. 

Using the information discussed in their groups and found through individual research, students will then write a one- to two-page explanation of the similarities between their chosen real-life situation and Danforth’s approach to justice. Consider checking over students’ explanations to confirm the aptness of the comparison before students begin their multimedia presentations. 

Have students create presentations based on their group discussions and research. This can be done in any format they choose and you approve but can include any or all of the following: text, images, audio, video. Encourage students to consider mood and tone in their presentations in addition to text evidence and research. 

Before presenting to the class, students should practice giving their presentations to one or two peers for feedback. Then hold full-class presentations.

CCSS

Differentiated Instruction

This activity can be modified to help all students access learning.
Decrease difficulty

Students can create the multimedia presentations in groups instead of individually.

Increase difficulty

Have students create a multimedia presentation that illustrates the similarities among Danforth’s approach to making judgments in The Crucible, Senator McCarthy’s approach to the hearings of the House Un-American Activities Committee, and a more current situation of their choosing. Be sure to allow students time for research as needed.

Assess the Assignments

Use the Rubric for Student Assessment to evaluate student work on the lesson assignments. 

Distribute the Student Reflection Worksheet. Guide students through the self-assessment and reflection questions.

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