An Exploration of The Crucible through Seventeenth-Century Portraits

Materials and Technology

Student Interactives

Printouts

Websites

Preparation

 

MATERIALS AND TECHNOLOGY

• The Crucible by Arthur Miller
• The Crucible Trading Cards
• “Early American Paintings” at the Worcester Art Museum
• Portraits of the Chosen Leaders and the Clergy at The Winthrop Society
• Materials for art project:  butcher paper or poster board, paint or markers, glue, scissors and magazines for collage, etc.  and to hang portraits in the classroom
• Internet access

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STUDENT INTERACTIVES

Grades   3 – 12  |  Student Interactive  |  Organizing & Summarizing

Trading Card Creator

This tool provides a fun and useful way to explore a variety of topics such as a character in a book, a person or place from history, or even a physical object. An excellent tool to for summarizing or as a prewriting exercise for original stories.

 

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PRINTOUTS

• Example Trading Card
• Puritan Portrait Response handout
• Character Portrait Assignment
• Character Portrait Assignment Rubric
• The Crucible Characterization handout

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WEBSITES

• PAL: Perspectives in American Literature - A Research and Reference Guide Chapter 1: Early American Literature to 1700 - A Brief Introduction
  

  Professor Reuben provides background information about Puritan literature along with study questions.

• The Cambridge History of American Literature: 1590-1820 By Sacvan Bercovitch, Cambridge University Press, 1997
  

  Pages 226-229 in the chapter on “Poetry” offers a historical view of the Puritan’s aversion to art.

• Portraits at the Worcester Art Museum’s on-line gallery,
  

  The Worcester Art Museum provides free-online access to four portraits of Puritans painted by an unidentified artist.

• Multiple portraits of the Chosen Leaders and the Clergy at The Winthrop Society
  

  While the Winthrop Society is primarily dedicated to preserving family history for descendants of the Puritans, their page that includes multiple portraits of political and religious leaders proves to be an invaluable resource for this lesson.

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PREPARATION

1. Students should have finished reading act 1 of The Crucible. You might choose to assign the character before they start reading, so that students could trace and take notes on the characterization as they read.  Students may use the Crucible Characterization handout to assist them with notetaking.
2. Preview background material related to early American art and portraiture at such websites as those listed below.  After reviewing these, select background information to share with the students during Session Two.
   • PAL: Perspectives in American Literature - A Research and Reference Guide Chapter 1: Early American Literature to 1700 - A Brief Introduction
   • The Cambridge History of American Literature: 1590-1820 By Sacvan Bercovitch, Cambridge University Press, 1994
3. Arrange access to computers with Internet access for all sessions.  Prepare bookmarks of the online gallery, “Early American Paintings” at the Worcester Art Museum and portraits of the Chosen Leaders and the Clergy at The Winthrop Society.  Also, familiarize yourself with and prepare a bookmark of the Character Trading Cards.
4. Gather an LCD projector and materials for art project:  butcher paper or poster board, paint or markers, glue, scissors and magazines for collage, etc., and to hang portraits in the classroom.
5. Photocopy Character Portrait Assignment and Rubric.

 

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