Historical and Cultural Connections - History of the Salem Witch Trials, McCarthyism, and Allegory

You have been studying and learning the history of America since elementary school when you were first introduced to the pilgrims who landed on Plymouth Rock. But what do you know about the Puritans who settled in Massachusetts? What do you know about their feelings about God, religion, the devil, and witchcraft? More specifically, what do you know about the Salem Witch Trials of 1692?

Before reading The Crucible, access the KWL Chart and complete the first two columns with complete sentences describing what you know and want to know about the play and its historical background. You will revisit this chart to add information to the third column "What I Learned" throughout the topic.