Using Movies to Support Literature in the Classroom

Julette Grusell

“Film has the power to educate the most visually literate generation in history.” 1 - Liam Neeson

Introduction

Who does not love movies? The students in my school love when teachers show a movie in their classroom. I believe that using movies in the classroom can be an empowering experience for learners of all ages. This visual and auditory medium can be used as an educational tool for different subjects and topics we teach because movies can be applied in a variety of ways and cover many subjects. Movies present fictional and nonfictional stories about crime, drama, romance, history, science, and social reality. Many movies portray topics bearing on Math, Literature, Science, Social Studies, Health, or Physical Education. Once we view a movie, the images and plots portrayed are usually unforgettable. The visuals provide long-lasting memories that we can easily connect to ourselves, the texts we read, or real-world experiences. Movies can be used to actively engage all students in their learning. Today, many movies are easily accessible and available free on the World Wide Web for many of the topics and disciplines we teach.

There are many ways to use movies in one’s classroom. For example, you can show specific scenes or the entire movie related to what you are teaching to trigger discussion, provoke critical analytical thinking, and provide visual images for abstract concepts so that students can better understand what you are teaching. It is important to use movies in our classrooms; however, the way we use movies will determine our success with them. According to the Social Science Research Network, sixty-five percent of people are visual learners. 2 Using movies in our classroom provides us with another educational tool we can use to connect to our students through a medium they constantly use already. As the research shows, more than half of our students learn best through seeing. Using more movies in the classroom helps you teach your children.

Background

At Christiana High School (CHS) we are proud of our multicultural student body. All the staff work together with the students and the counselors to guide and provide a variety of academic and career pathways. Students can choose to enroll in College Preparatory (CP) courses, Advanced Placement (AP) courses, Honors Academy, AVID (Advanced Via Individual Determination), Business, Arts, Jobs for Delaware Graduates (JDG), The

Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (NJROTC), or English Language Learner (ELL) Reading Support classes. A large portion of our student body comes from a low socioeconomic status. These students face multiple problems and struggles in their personal lives and their learning, yet their determination to get ahead in life pushes them onward. All of us working at CHS, both instructional and non-instructional staff, do our best to meet the needs of all our students. Daily, we challenge our students to reach for higher academic achievements in all our classes, and we provide over ten after school activities they can participate in by joining a club, a sport, or volunteer service in the community. The entire staff collaborate, plan, and provide a caring and safe environment.

I am the English Language Learners (ELLs) teacher. The ELL students I teach are in 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade. All my classes are mixed-group classes, and my students are usually at different learning levels when it comes to the English language. I see them for one class period of eighty-seven minutes every day, during which time the curriculum emphasis is on speaking, reading, writing, grammar, vocabulary, viewing, and listening in English, with close support for their ELA and Math topics at the four high-school grade levels. Most of my students come from the Middle East, the Dominican Republic, the Ivory Coast, Puerto Rico, El Salvador, and Mexico. This year, most of my newcomers are in 11th and twelfth grade. They arrive with very limited Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS), which they need to assist them with their oral communication and social interactions in and outside the classroom. This year, most of my new students have an average reading fluency but little to no comprehension of what they are reading because they have been exposed only to their native language at home. From year to year, their English academic language skills vary, but most of the time they are eager to learn. They usually score high as visual learners on their learning profiles. I teach my ELL students by using pictures, demonstrations, smart boards, computers, iPads cell phones, gestures, drawings, actions, and other interactive activities.

Objectives

For my movie unit, I want my English Language Learners to become knowledgeable individuals who can analyze and understand movies they view not only in my classroom, but also in their regular classrooms and outside for years to come. Throughout this unit, I want my students to constantly ask questions, in speaking and in writing, to help them understand what they are viewing. Additionally, I want them to practice the critical thinking steps necessary to pick carefully through visual information in their ELA classes. Thus, I will encourage my students to dig more deeply and actively into what they are viewing. I will use the Salem Witch Trial Movie, which is part of the eleventh-grade English Language Arts curriculum, to build my students’ knowledge, enhance their understanding, and broaden their points of view about The Crucible. I want my students to be able to use selective attention strategy, monitoring comprehension skills and citing reasons by pointing out specific visual and auditory evidence from the movie clips. The

unit’s final objective will include the ability to critically analyze and compare the text, the movie, and its historical connections to present-day witch hunting.

Rationale

“If students aren’t taught the language of sound and images, shouldn’t they be considered as illiterate as if they left college without being able to read or write?” 3 - George Lucas

Because I would like to incorporate more movies in my ELL lessons, this unit is a bridge to using movie clips in units I already teach. My ELL students already view movies in their regular English Language Arts class that are related to the novels, plays, or short stories they read. I have noticed time and time again that whenever my ELL students are given the opportunity to watch a movie related to their written texts, they express a sense of happiness. They relax and become eager and excited. However, when my English Language Learners see movies in their core academic classes, they cannot always make the connections necessary to understand what they have viewed. They often come to me for assistance. As I work with them, I notice that they are unable to complete their handout activities because they have not understood what they saw. This problem has motivated me to look for a solution. When my students come to me after they have viewed a movie, I must help them recap, clarify, and write responses on their handouts. Usually they have a very difficult time answering the questions on their own. However, when I have them view the movie again, pausing and discussing what they are viewing, they understand it much better. Unfortunately, these repeat viewings take so much time that my students fall further behind their peers, and I have less time to assist my other needy students. I hope that understanding how movies work will help me to use movies more effectively in my teaching and provide me with ways to use movies to enhance my students’ learning. In addition, I want to explore how I can get my ELL students to view movies independently so that they will be able to do their core courses with less support.

When you teach with movies, you are providing students with an opportunity to connect visually with what they are learning. We all know that students have different learning styles, and that most of them are visual and auditory learners. Using movies in the classroom provides all learners lessons in an entertaining format that will enhance their understanding if these lessons are structured in a way that encourages them to critically analyze what they view. My English Language Learners struggle with academic learning, and using movies should be an asset for them instead of a hindrance. Therefore, it is important to teach my ELL students how to view movies for educational purposes. I fully agree with the observation of George Lucas I have quoted above. We need to teach our students how to view movies more critically. Today, most teens view movies because they speak their languages. We need to take advantage of this resource to benefit our students. My goal for my two weeks’ curriculum is to develop a unit that will help my

students to cultivate the skills to view the movies in their ELA classes with an analytical and critical eye.

The Fundamentals of Movie Viewing

Have you ever thought about what you can do to help your students view movies in your classroom with a deeper understanding? Well, in April 2016, I decided to take a seminar to help me figure out a better way to use movies in my classroom. Based on this seminar, I learned that there are certain things teachers can do to enhance students’ viewing. First and foremost, we must build the students’ background knowledge about the movie, as we do when we are teaching any new concept. Then we must help our students become critics of what they are viewing, whether it is just a scene or a movie. This second step is crucial if we are going to get our students to examine and analyze more deeply what they are watching.

Begin by stimulating your students’ interest in the movies by having them identify basic information about the movie: its title, year of release, leading performers, director, studio, rating, running time, genre classification, summary, taglines, slogan, and awards. Follow up with questions to prompt discussion. Was it made by a major studio, a minor studio, or an independent studio? Why was the movie made? What was its rating? Did any controversy surround the movie’s rating? How does the movie fit (or not fit) into a conventional genre or other recognizable classifications? Is it a hybrid (a combination of two or more genres)? What type of movie is it? Is the movie a sequel, a prequel, a remake, a parody, or an homage? Are there other versions of its story? Does it reflect high or low production values? Did it get any awards? Take this opportunity to incorporate research skills. After these discussions, ask your students to write a summary of the movie. Then get them to share their summaries. Getting students to view a movie critically and attentively is achievable if you guide them in their analysis of the movie. You can initiate this process by asking questions at first and then eventually relinquishing this role to the students. Encourage the students to ask questions and lead discussions as they grow in their analysis of movies. Asking as many questions as possible after viewing a movie clip will lead students to a deeper understanding of the movie, the development of greater thoughts and awareness. The key to enhancing the viewing experience is creating student critics.

Helping Students Analyze Movies

“Films can be read like texts. Their images should be unpacked just as we would unpack the imagery in a written passage. [Students should] think carefully about how visual or aural tools enact, reshape, change, or critique an author’s textual expressions.” 4 - Holly Blackford

How can we help our students analyze what they view? First, we must find ways to encourage our students to always ask questions, and we must teach them how to ask the right questions, to pay attention to details, to search for connections, to consider multiple sides of a problem before drawing conclusions or picking a solution, and to grow their knowledge by exposing them to multiple media that talk about the same topic and providing them with learning opportunities about that topic as it relates to the world. Yes, we teach our students analytical skills by providing opportunities for them to gather information, articulate ideas, make connections, visualize what it was and what it can be if … and by getting them to solve complex cases.

It is important to begin developing the analytical process by engaging the students first in conversation about what they are viewing. For example, have students express their opinions and then follow up with questions that get them to support their opinions and continue by asking other reasoning questions. Get your students to do this orally and in written format. Begin with short movie clips and then longer clips, each time getting them to describe what they got from the clips. Emphasize that when analyzing movies, we examine very closely what we view by asking ourselves questions about the characters, their behaviors, their actions, and their appearance. That is, we describe, interpret, draw conclusions, evaluate and make inferences about the picture. Developing analytical critics in the classroom will help our students become better at making good decisions and build their persuasive skills. Even more important, they will develop strategies to gather information, scrutinize it, and justify their responses. Therefore, it is necessary to provide direction and guidance with the process of analysis to ensure that students stay on task and address the purpose and objectives of their analysis.

When analyzing a movie segment, it is good to keep a journal to record one’s observations, opinions, judgments, descriptions, interpretations, questions, understanding, and Aha moments or insights. As students view clips from The Crucible, they can practice documenting their reactions to what they are viewing. For example, students can present their opinions about the segment’s plot, describe what they see and hear, express their likes or dislikes, or identify similarities or differences. They can answer questions like: What details do you notice? What hypotheses can you make about what you saw? What is the purpose of this segment? What other observations can you list to help others judge this segment? Who do you think was the intended audience? What feelings or ideas do you think the director wanted to communicate? If someone created this picture today, what would be different? How original is this movie clip? Why do you feel this segment is original or not original? Encourage students to describe the segment without using evaluative words like “beautiful” or “ugly.” Invite them to ask questions that lead to more observations and reflections. What do you wonder about…? How would you describe this part of the movie? How did the segment portray the main character’s personality? Are there recognizable images? Why do you think the main character was not included in this scene? In interpretation, students can describe how the movie clip made them think or feel. They can ask themselves: What are the expressive qualities in the movie? Does

the clip remind you of other things you have experienced? How is it related to other ideas or events in literature or in the world? In formulating their analysis, students can describe how the movie is structured. They can ask: How was the movie clip constructed or planned? What patterns of similarity and contrast does the movie display? What points does it emphasize? What are the relationships between or among the characters? What more do you want to know about …? How can you find out more about …? 5

As the students develop their analytical skills by examining the 1996 film version of The Crucible, they can consider how playwright Arthur Miller portrays different aspects of the history of witches, government witch hunting and the creation of a true American tragic hero. That is, students can examine the historical connections conveyed by the film’s visuals with an analytical eye. Students can also explore the ethical questions portrayed by the characters’ appearance and actions. They can discuss, make inferences, and develop their own responses to questions like: Why were the leaders of Salem’s clerical and civil community ready to condemn to death 19 of their Puritan people? Why did certain Puritans refused to admit being witches? Why would the church and the government authorities continue to credit the accusations as reliable truths? How did the Puritans’ beliefs contribute to the arrest, trial, and sentencing of respected community members like landowners, women of independent means, neighbors, and even ordained church leaders? What about this time made it possible for such hysteria and tragedy to occur? What were the leading characters’ social and economic status in the Salem community? Every time they respond to a question, have students support their conclusions with evidence or make an inference based on what they viewed or state whether there was insufficient evidence to draw a conclusion. 6

If we teach our children how to ask the right questions, it will help them to understand not only the movies they view but their own motives and actions and those of others. We need to create learning environments, to provoke deeper thinking. That is, we need to provide our students with opportunities to take time to think about things. We can indirectly or directly encourage our students to analyze more deeply by guiding them through this process. Present the first question which in turn will lead them to ask another question. Practice this method continuously, and eventually they will develop the habit of questioning what they are reading or viewing all the time.

Hollywood and the Salem Witch Trials

The Salem Witch trials have been portrayed many times in numerous movies, documentaries and television shows by Hollywood. The first movie about the trials was produced in 1937. It was a black and white film called Maid of Salem, by Paramount, which was inspired by the events of the Salem trials. In the 1970s, as public interest grew in witchcraft, the television show Bewitched became very popular. Since then, many fictionalized films and television shows have been associated with this historical event. 7

History of the Salem Witch Trials

The Salem Witch trials, which caused enormous pain, suffering and death, 8 began in February 1692 and ended in May 1693. They occurred in Salem, a Puritan community that was part of the Massachusetts Bay colony. During that time, the people believed and feared the devil and witches. Three young girls—Tituba, Sarah Good, and Sarah Osborne—claimed to be possessed by the devil when they were caught participating in unacceptable behavior in the woods of the Village of Salem. Their accusations spread panic among the other Puritan villagers. This fear led to the accusation and hanging of other people accused of witchcraft. As panic spread throughout the village, other people were put on trial before the local Salem magistrate. The first convicted victim was Bridget Bishop, who was hanged in June 1692. After her hanging, eighteen other people were executed. During this period, about one hundred fifty men, women, and children were persecuted as witches and imprisoned. However, these hearings were ruses to get rid of the accused individuals because they were not following the Puritan way of life. The Salem Witch trials were used to persecute innocent fellow worshipers to cover up the many other reasons why they were getting rid of them from their community. By September 1692, the people of Salem realized what was going on, and their hysteria stopped. Later, the guilty verdicts against the accused witches were cancelled and their families were granted protection. These trials forever changed this community, and resentment lingered. 9

The Crucible

The Crucible, released in 1996, uses a fictionalized version of the Salem Witch trials as an allegory for the McCarthy hearings held in the 1950s. Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder are the stars who play the main characters in this movie, which was directed by Nicholas Hytner. The movie was adapted from the play The Crucible, an anti-McCarthy parable written by Arthur Miller and first staged in 1953. The movie follows the play in focusing on a group of young girls in Salem in 1692 who were caught participating in prohibited magical actions. When they were accused, they lied about their activities and accused others of witchcraft. When this movie was aired, it was a hit and was nominated for four Academy Awards. It can be viewed via DVD, Amazon Instant Video, Netflix, and Google Play.

The Crucible as an Allegory

“Witchcraft was hung, in history, but history and I find all the witchcraft that we need around us, every day.” 10 - Emily Dickinson

Miller wrote in the preface of The Crucible that it is not an allegory and has nothing to do with contemporaneous historical events. However, upon closer analysis one can infer that it connects what happened to accused witches in the 16th century to the 1950s period of McCarthyism. 11 An allegory is a double story in which the characters or events represent or symbolize other ideas and concepts. 12 Why can it be said that Arthur Miller uses allegory in The Crucible? What makes The Crucible so captivating? What is it about witch hunting situations that entices the public, or movie directors? How can history be dramatic? How can drama bring history to life? By closely examining segments of the 1996 film of The Crucible, students can be led to ask questions like these to analyze the historical connections between the movie, the play, and news articles. For example, students can analyze the way in which the movie interpreted the Salem witch trials and compare this event with the historical facts of McCarthyism. Also, students can be led to examine what situations today are forms of witch hunting: revenge, superstition, extremism, marriage, gossiping, persecutions, reputation, religion, and modern-day slavery. 13

In The Crucible, Salem in 1692 is a religious community believed to be surrounded by evil. The people of this settlement consider the forest the realm of the devil or an evil place. When the Puritan girls are caught in the forest, and when they make unsupported claims about the existence of witches in Salem, paranoia spreads throughout the community. The girls have no proof, yet the community members allow their unsubstantiated claims to ruin lives and lead to increased accusations in Salem. Those who are accused are assumed guilty, put on trial, expected to confess, and expected to accuse others of being witches. Failure to confess and name other witches leads to death. The townspeople are not willing to stand up to the court for fear of being accused of witchcraft themselves. 14

Similarly, Americans feared being conquered by communist nations during the Red Scare in the 1940s and 1950s. 15 When China and the nations of Eastern Europe installed Communist regimes, Americans began to feel they were surrounded by Communists. Distrust, fear, and suspicion spread in America. Joseph McCarthy, a U.S. Senator at the time, made unverified accusations that more than 200 “card carrying” members of the Communist party had infiltrated the United States government, even though he offered no proof for his claims. The House Un-American Activities Committee, which was formed in 1938 as an Anti-Communist group, supported McCarthy’s unfound claims. His allegations ruined many people’s lives and led to blacklisting and panic. It was a very difficult time for writers and entertainers. The people who were accused were presumed guilty, put on public trials, deprived of their passports, and forced to disclose the names of other Communist sympathizers in order to receive reduced sentences. Failure to do so led to jail time and blacklisting as Communist sympathizers. The media were not willing to stand up to McCarthy for fear of being labeled Communist themselves. Arthur Miller was one of the people called before the House of Un-American Activities Committee and

later blacklisted. Eventually McCarthy was reprimanded by the senate for his improper behavior, closing one of the cruelest episodes in American politics. Even though Arthur Miller was condemned for refusing to name other individuals who had attended meetings with him, he protected himself as a writer by writing the fictional story of The Crucible. The story used a historical analogy to warn the American people about the corruption going on in the American society. 16

Strategies

For this curriculum unit, the three strategies that I have chosen are group work, guided interaction, and graphic organizers. Using these strategies will meet my students’ varied needs while engaging them in digging deeper, asking more questions, and learning how to analyze movies.

Guided Interaction Strategy

My first strategy is guided interaction, which I use daily to provide explicit instructions. This method allows me to structure my lessons in different ways because I am guiding my students through each step of the process. I notate and tell my students exactly what they need to do so they can understand what they are expected to learn and how they will do this learning. I model first, then we practice as one whole group, in small groups, in pairs, and lastly independently. Some guided interaction activities include Peer-to-Peer Interactions, Partner Interviews, Class Surveys, Think-Pair-Share, Numbered Heads Together, Four Corners, Poster Projects, Group Presentations, Perspective Line-ups, and Readers’ Theatre. 17 Guided interaction will help my students to think, ask questions, and analyze what they are viewing.

For example, I will present questions like: What does this character do for a living? Is he or she well off? Would he or she be considered educated, upper class, middle class, lower class, or poor? How old is the character at the time of the trials? Is the character married or single? Is the character regarded as a good Christian? Is there any gossip swirling about the character? What is the character’s reputation in the community? Does the character suffer from ill health or any other sort of hardship? Does the character bear a grudge against anyone in the community? Is the character accused of witchcraft? Or is he or she an accuser?

To build content knowledge about the movie through the guided interaction strategy, I will structure multiple opportunities for my students to work together as they model and follow my directions. I will also post and provide opportunities for my students to clarify expectations, paraphrase expectations and outcomes, and explain procedures. In addition, I will allow for primary language interactions among students who use a similar language

so they can assist each other if there is confusion or misunderstanding. I will support and help my students through direct modeling, previewing, restating, and giving them the opportunity to help each other as they listen, speak, read, and write.

Group Work Strategy

The second strategy I will use to get my students to think and analyze what they are viewing is group work. I like this strategy because it gets my students to develop skills such as teamwork, communication, and cooperation. When they work together, they get ideas from each other, and they build their knowledge. It usually takes one student to begin the brainstorming process and turn on the light bulb. You hear “Oh, is it …? Aha! Hmmm!” This strategy not only encourages students to help each other understand concepts but also exposes them to different ways of thinking about a topic. They learn that working together both helps them understand how their classmates are thinking and enables them to explore multiple perspectives before drawing conclusions or making decisions. Regardless of the subject, it is always a good idea to have students think about what they will be learning, or in this unit to develop a habit of talking about what they are thinking as it relates to the movie clips. It is necessary to provide brief instructions, guide each group, and model my learning expectations and goals for them. At the beginning of group work, I always have students begin the process of analysis by providing guiding questions. I begin with low-level questions such as “Who were the two girls that initially began acting strangely?” or “Who were executed?” Then I move to higher level questions, like “Why did the witch trials occur in Salem?” or “How could witch hunting be prevented?” I always provide opportunities for the students to express their points of view so that they can become critical thinkers instead of passive learners. Using this strategy helps my students develop their analytical and problem solving skills. Whenever they are presented with any situation that requires thinking outside the box, they will be able to handle it because they will have learned to take themselves through the thinking and decision-making process of collaboration. It is important for students to know how to work with one another, but more important is the variety of questioning skills that they will develop as they interact with one another and learn from one another. By using group work, I prepare my students to be collaborative, responsible, independent, reflective thinkers who can succeed in the real world.

Graphic Organizers Strategy

The third strategy I will use is graphic organizers. While there are many kinds of graphic organizers, I prefer the ones that help my students understand essential information. I usually choose graphic organizers that allow me to target specific skills and concepts. In this unit, I will use compare/contrast, persuasion, and story map graphic organizers to target specific skills for evaluating and analyzing movie clips. 18 These will help my ELLs

record, illustrate, compare, and organize the information and ideas they are learning. As mentioned earlier, visuals make both the language and the content more accessible to all my ELL students.

I will use this strategy throughout my unit. Whenever I use graphic organizers, I always provide hard copies of them. Later, I have students create and complete their own graphic organizers. I like using graphic organizers because they provide my students with the opportunity to interact with the information, their peers, and themselves. They explicitly guide my students to focus, chunk, and document their learning. In addition, graphic organizers help my students understand and remember what they learn, engaging my students in organizing their thoughts and giving them many opportunities to practice talking, writing, and thinking about the lesson’s concepts. Graphic organizers help my students develop confidence and chunk the task at hand so that they can synthesize and understand difficult concepts. I usually introduce and model how to complete the graphic organizer with a familiar topic first, then I have my students complete their own organizers in groups, in pairs, and independently for the concepts they are learning.

Classroom Activities

Three activities that I will use with my ELL students are Web Research, Text to Movie Comparison, and Game Generating Higher Order Questioning. Each of these lessons will take one to two days for eighty-seven minutes each day. Before I engage my students in analyzing the movie, I will explicitly teach creating and asking higher level questions and require the students to read the play The Crucible. Afterwards, I will provide them with opportunities to compare the movie to the play, use a specific web engine to conduct research, and create and ask questions that dig deeper into what they are viewing. I will encourage my students to develop more thoughtful questions as they discuss the movie clips and converse outside of class about the movie.

Activity One – Game Generating Higher-Order Questions

This is a game that can be used to get students to ask higher order questions in a fun way. It offers a tangible reward for the group that creates the questions that most successfully get their classmates to ask other questions. I will use this activity as an introduction to what we need to do to analyze information. To play this game, I will divide the class into groups of two or three students and give each group the same question words—for example, “Why, How, and What,” though other higher order question prompts can also work. Each group will work independently, using the movie clips viewed or the text of The Crucible to create as many higher order questions as possible within a certain time limit (like ten minutes). The group with the best higher order questions about the scene wins a prize. For example, students can ask, “How is the movie like the play?” or “What part of the movie is different from the play?” or “Why is The Crucible important?” After

the groups have created their questions, they will take turns sharing them with the class, and the class will determine whether or not the question was a higher order question, explaining themselves orally. I will follow up this activity by having groups exchange their questions and allowing students to discuss the questions and any other questions triggered by the original question. Then they will provide an agreed group response to share with the entire class. Based on these responses, the group with the most additional questions wins the grand prize.

Activity Two – Web Search

This technology activity will get my students to visit many search engines to find additional information about the movie’s plot, characters, and historical connections. This activity can be used to research information about any topic on their own at home or in class. For this activity, I will write the words and put them in a container so that students can choose topics to research. The topics I will include are the Salem Witch Trials, McCarthyism, playwright Arthur Miller, The Crucible, Senator Joseph McCarthy and his censure, the Red Scare, the Hollywood Blacklist, the Hollywood Ten and McCarthyism, Communism, the House Un-American Activities Committee, and the Salem Witch Trial Museum. I will also provide specific questions students can use to guide their research. For example:

This activity provides questions I want students to investigate and learn about. Depending on the amount of time, I will probably begin this activity in class and then have them complete it as an assignment. Then I will have them document the name of the search engine used and what they learned to organize a PowerPoint or booklet presentation. After, they will present their research findings.

Activity Three – Media Comparison

The second to last concluding activity for my unit will invite students to compare the play to the movie. Once the students have read the play and seen the movie, they can do some critical thinking about the two. To promote rigor, I will expose them to news and historical articles about the movie and the play so that they can build and draw inferences, reach conclusions, and provide evidence from these media to conduct their comparison. I will have my students complete a media comparison worksheet with the following headings: Literary Questions, Play, Movie, Inferences, and Conclusions.

I will give them a graphic organizer, with the five columns noted, which they will use to fill in the comparison and contrast about the characters, the setting, and the plot. Students will collaborate via Think-Pair-Share. Then with a peer they will organize their interpretations, process the similarities and differences of the characters, settings, plot, and purpose. Additionally, they will draw conclusions, inferences, and opinions about the movie and the play within the different information presented in the media analyzed.

I will begin this activity by telling my students that once they have read the play, news articles, and seen the movie of The Crucible, it is time for them to do some more critical thinking with what they learned through these media. I will distribute the chart with some questions I want my students to use to guide their comparison and have them fill out the Play and Movie column part of the chart as an assignment. Then in class they will share their responses with their partners and discuss what they wrote, completing the last two columns of inference and conclusions drawn. They will share and discuss what they wrote on their graphic organizers with each other. I will have my students display and conclude with a gallery walk in which students will use sticky notes to post comments and questions and each pair of students will respond orally to the comments and questions their organizers have generated.

Final Activity- Modern-Day Witch Hunting Drama

To conclude this unit, I will have my students create their own representation of a modern witch hunting drama using either a story board, PowerPoint, or a video.

Appendix A

Common Core Standards

1.Key Ideas and Details:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the visual text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the visual text, including determining where the visual text leaves matters uncertain.

2. Integration of Knowledge and Ideas:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.7 Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.9 Analyze seventeenth-, eighteenth-, and nineteenth-century foundational U.S. documents of historical and literary significance for their themes, purposes, and rhetorical features.

3. Comprehension and Collaboration:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.1 Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.1.A Come to discussions prepared, having read and researched material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence from texts and other research on the topic or issue to stimulate a thoughtful, well-reasoned exchange of ideas.

Appendix B

Graphic Organizer: Comparison Chart

Say how the play and the movie are the same and different for each element.

Bibliography/Resources

The websites below contain links to movies, documentaries, PowerPoints I have explored that provide an array of topics for different approaches educators can examine and incorporate into their curriculum. In addition, it contains references for The Crucible and the research used in this document.

http://cruciblewebsite.weebly.com/ , accessed on December 1, 2016. This website provides the definition for allegory and the connection between The Crucible and the Red Scare.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1daufSe4K44FGur_uoOcgUdpBvW7O8Gag8cofLAFHobw/edit?hl=en#slide=id.p , accessed on November 10, 2016. This website provides the PowerPoint that explains guided interaction strategy and includes an explanation about each activity.

https://faculty.washington.edu/mlg/students/readafilm.htm , accessed on November 21, 2016. This website provides suggestions about how to read a film.

http://historyofmassachusetts.org/salem-witch-trials-movies-t-v-shows/ , accessed on November 21, 2016. This website provides information about the Salem witch trails movies and television shows.

http://journeysinfilm.org , accessed on April 15, 2016. This website includes Liam Neeson’s remark quoted above.

http://journeysinfilm.org/downloads/subject-areas/ , accessed on April 15, 2016. This website provides films and lesson plans arranged by subject areas.

http://liznicjackcaitlyn.weebly.com/index.html , accessed on November 15, 2016. This website provides information about the Salem Witch Trials, Senator Joseph McCarthy, Salem life in 1692, and The Colonial Life Period of 1692.

http://moviesfoundonline.com/ , accessed on July 28, 2016. This website provides free movies and documentaries about a variety of topics.

http://moviesheets.com/ , accessed on July 27, 2016. This website provides a collection of worksheets that coincide with movies submitted by teachers from all over the world.

https://prezi.com/zxtjiarsnlj_/mccarthy-trials-vs-salem-witch-trials/ , accessed on November 6, 2016. This website provides a Prezi presentation comparing of the Salem Witch trials and McCarthy’s trials of the 1950’s.

http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/home.html , accessed on October 26, 2016. This website provides documentary archives about the Salem Witch trials.

http://theredscare1950s.weebly.com/connections-to-the-crucible.html , accessed on Nov. 15, 2016. This website describes the similarities, differences and connections between The Crucible and the Red Scare of the 1950s.

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/ , accessed on July 25, 2016. This website offers free documentaries that covers many topics applicable to a variety of disciplines.

https://udlibsearch.lib.udel.edu/ , accessed on November 15, 2016. This website provides databases for elementary, middle and secondary school with primary and secondary resources. Students can use this website to conduct research.

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~cap/puritan/purhist.html , accessed on October 28, 2016. This website provides context and information about the Puritans in the United States.

http://www.adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au/media/3750/film-analysis-in-classroom.pdf , accessed on December 5, 2016. This website provides a guide to film analysis in the classroom. It also contains a graphic organizer and questions about literary and movie analysis.

http://www.azquotes.com/quote/503122 , accessed on November 27, 2016. This website provides different types of quotations.

http://www.classbrain.com/artmovies/publish/cat_index_21.shtml , accessed on July 25, 2016. This website contains several options such as permission slips and recommended movies organized by subject matter and audience level.

http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/columnists/dyck/dyck035.shtml , accessed on August 5, 2016. This website provides resources that help teach visual literacy and highlights George Lucas’s warning about not knowing the language of sounds and images.

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/graphicorganizers/ , accessed on October 10, 2016. This website provides an array of graphic organizers.

http://www.freedocumentary.tv/ , accessed on July 30, 2016. This website provides free documentaries about many different topics or categories.

http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/red-scare , accessed on November 28, 2016. This website provides an explanation of the Red Scare.

http://www.history.com/topics/salem-witch-trials , accessed on October 16, 2016. This website provides an auditory historical documentary of the Salem Witch Trials.

http://www.lcps.org/cms/lib4/VA01000195/Centricity/Domain/3511/Outline%20The%20Crucible%20as%20an%20Allegory%20for%20McCarthyism.pdf , accessed on November 21, 2016. This website provides a definition of allegory. It is a PowerPoint with the synopsis of the relationship between McCarthyism and The Crucible.

https://www.mapquest.com/ , accessed on November 28, 2016. This website helps students find places and distances between places.

http://www.math.harvard.edu/~knill/mathmovies/ , accessed on July 16, 2016. This website provides a collection of movie clips in which math is involved, making it ideal for math teachers’ use.

https://www.middleweb.com/33351/how-we-can-make-kids-active-video-viewers/ , accessed on October 16, 2016. This website provides information about how to help kids be active video viewers. It also contains the Holly Blackford quotation above.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/arthur-miller-mccarthyism/484/ , accessed on October 16, 2016. This website provides information about Arthur Miller and the Blacklist.

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/crucible/ , accessed on October 16, 2016. This website provides chapter summaries, analysis, themes, plot overview, and a list of symbols in The Crucible.

http://www.teachhub.com/video-writing-prompts , accessed on August 2, 2016. This website provides short videos to kick off free writing or journal activities, with timely video writing prompts ELA teachers can use every week.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Pf8wsR1NAw , accessed on October 16, 2016. This website presents the 1996 film version of The Crucible online.

Notes