The Crucible: Plot, Theme, Characterization, Irony
Lesson Description
For this lesson, the students will use their close reading skills to determine the characteristics of the main characters, the various themes presented in Act I, and the author’s of irony to add deeper meaning to the text. This lesson will be implemented in an eleventh grade English class during the reading of Act I of The Crucible and may take up to two days to perform. The primary goal of this lesson is to familiarize students with the art of close reading and being able to delve deeper into the meaning of the text. The length of the lesson is one to two class periods, depending on size of class and diversity of learning styles.
Standards
Standard 1.0: Writing: The student will develop the structural and creative skills necessary to produce written language that can be read and interpreted by various audiences.
1.01: The student will write to process knowledge, to clarify thinking, to synthesize and evaluate information, to improve study skills, to gain confidence, and to promote lifelong communication.
1.06: The student will recognize that language has several levels of diction determined by audience, purpose, and occasion.
1.08: The student will use a variety of prewriting activities to generate, focus, and organize ideas.
Standard 2.0: The student will develop the reading skills necessary for word recognition, comprehension, interpretation, analysis, evaluation, and appreciation written text.
2.05: The student will increase fluency in oral reading.
Performance Objectives
Students will able to create a written explanation to a selected topic/problem by analyzing characters and their traits for a formative assessment grade.
Students will be able to use a variety of prewriting strategies by determining the plot of Act I, labeling it on a plot diagram, and discussing it with classmates for a formative assessment grade.
Students will be able use a variety of prewriting activities such as brainstorming, listing, and discussing with peers the thematic and ironic elements of the text that are appropriate to the assigned task for a formative assessment grade.
Students will be able to participate in a variety of oral reading experiences to be informally assessed by the teacher.
Assessment
Identify character traits of each character on a character analysis worksheet. (Students will analyze, outline on a chart, and report to the class the traits of each character in Act I (and determine the voice of reason) for a formative assessment grade.)
Complete Plot Diagram Worksheet for Act I. (Students will be able to determine the plot of Act I and label it on a plot diagram for a formative assessment grade.)
List various themes of Act I and place in “The Crucible” folder. (In a small group setting, students will be able to determine and locate the thematic elements within the text for a formative assessment grade.)
Write definition of irony and ironic elements present in Act I in folder. (Students will be able to define irony, identify ironic elements within the text of Act I, and present their findings to the class for a formative assessment grade.)
Instruction
Part A: Introduction (also known as anticipatory set, bell ringer).
Class will begin with students writing in their journal for approximately ten minutes about the following prompt:
“Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person is a little like expecting the bull not to attack you because you are a vegetarian.” by Dennis Wholey
What do you think the above quote means? Do you agree or disagree? Why? Is the author using irony to present his message? What exactly is his message?
Part B: Instruction
After completing the journal entry, I will discuss with the class their feelings toward the quote. Direct Instruction: I will give a brief lecture discussing the definition of irony, theme, plot elements, and characterization. After the students have taken notes and placed the definitions in their Crucible folders, I will tell the students to think about theme, plot, characterization, and irony as we begin reading Act I.
Direct Instruction: As a class, we will read the first half of Act I. I will then place students in four groups of 4 or 5 students per group (of various sex, intellect, class, race, etc.) and give each group one of the following elements to define: theme, irony, characterization, and plot.
Indirect Instructions:
Group One: Discuss with your peers the possible themes presented within the first half of Act I. Make of list of these themes and find instances within the text (provide page number) to support your answers. The teacher may choose to provide students with a certain theme and have them go through Act I to look for instances in which the selected theme is addressed. These will be listed on the board and shared with the class. Students can select scenes from the play in which aspects of theme are introduced and, if they want, they can present these dramatically to the class.
List of themes:
- Human cruelty in the name of righteousness
- The Individual and the Community
- Justice vs. Retribution and revenge
- Godliness vs. Worldliness
- Ignorance vs. Wisdom
- The Puritan Myth
- Order vs. Individual Freedom
(Each can be posted on the top of a sheet of chart paper on a "theme chart" and evidence of it can be added during the reading of the play.)
Group Two: Brainstorm with members of your group the characters of Act I and list human frailties (provided by the teacher) found in these characters. Make a list of context clues or examples (including page numbers) to support your answers. Give reasons for determining these characteristics. In Act I, the voice of reason is Rebecca Nurse. Students will examine the ways in which Rebecca attempts to apply reason to the situation.
List provided by teacher:
- lust: (John Proctor)
- pride: (Reverend Hale)
- greed: (Reverend Parris)
- revenge: (Mrs. Putnam)
- ignorance: (Giles Corey)
- self-indulgence: (the girls)
- dishonesty: (Abigail, the girls, John Proctor)
(The development of the characters and their relationships in Miller's play is particularly interesting. To introduce students to these characters, the teacher will provide them with an annotated list of characters and point out the relationship of the characters to the students. Students can develop "character charts" on each character similar to the theme charts suggested above in Group One’s activity.)
Group Three: The students will examine the act for conflicts between characters. These conflicts can be listed on the board. They will then develop a chart that visually presents the rise of action in the plot. Because we will have only read half of this act, the students will be asked to make predictions of the falling action and resolution. They will present their findings to the class by drawing the diagram on the board for everyone to see and copy into their notes. Dramatic readings of sections of the Act that are key to plot development can be presented to the class.
Group Four: This group will find instances of irony within Act I (ex. “I’d almost forgot how strong you are, John Proctor!” “ I never knew the lying lessons I was taught by all these Christian women and their covenanted men!” “The marks of his presence are definite as stone.”) Group four will also find instances of color words such as white, black, and blush and discuss the various meanings of these words.
As the students are working in their groups, the teacher will walk around the class and informally assess their progress and provide assistance where needed. She will direct them toward the desired path according to the lesson and give feedback. After all the groups have completed their assigned tasks, they will present their findings to the class. The entire class will take notes from each presentation and place in their folders for a formative assessment grade of 100 points (20 points per group and 5 points for presenting).
After briefly discussing the author’s use of gender specific pronouns (ex. witches are always “she” until the end of the play) and asking students to think about why the author chose the word “crucible” for the title, the class will watch the video of the portion of the text they read in class.
Part C: Closure
For homework, the students will be asked to define the word “crucible” along with a list of vocabulary words.
Part D: Modifications to instruction
Rather than having students get into groups to complete the tasks, the teacher may give the task as individual assignments. Direct instruction of the material would be presented and the students would begin each activity in class and complete the rest as homework. This would be especially beneficial if the group activity took up too much time or if students had difficulty learning from their peers.
Rather than writing their findings of the board, some groups may opt to give a dramatic interpretation of their findings by acting out their answers. This would be turned into a game where the class would guess what the group was trying to say.
Materials
markers, dry-erase board, worksheets, list of themes, list of characteristics
Reflection
This lesson may take up more time than anticipated and not allow for the viewing of the video. Also, it may need to be altered for those needing more direct instruction.
