Assessment for the Cruciblefishbowl DISCUSSION

Assessment for The CrucibleFISHBOWL DISCUSSION

FISHBOWL DISCUSSION

What is a Socratic Seminar discussion?

Socrates was a famous philosopher and teacher who was well known for asking questions. He taught his students to think critically by teaching them to question the world around them and ideas presented to them. A Socratic discussion focuses on conversation for understanding and learning. It is not a debate to be won, or where there is one right or wrong answer.

Ground Rules for Group Participants:

1. Respond to questions and point to evidence in the text to support your answers, providing page numbers for easy reference.

2. Listen to what others say and BUILD on their comments, offering additional evidence, when appropriate.

3. Ask questions to clarify and/or to “probe” another participant’s thoughts and ideas.

4. Don’t step on each other’s talk; be patient and stay focused (do not raise hands).

5. Be open to new ideas and interpretations.

6. Watch your “air time” both in terms of how often you speak, and how much you say when you speak.

While you are an observer, answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper:

1. How did listening to the conversation increase/reinforce/cause you to question or change your initial response to these inquiry questions?

2. Identify a point or opinion with which you particularly agree or disagree. What was it and why do you agree/disagree with it?

3. Identify a point or opinion which you would like to build or extend. Explain how/why you would do this.

4. What question would you ask a participant or the group as a whole? Why would you ask this question and how would you answer it?

5. Which of the questions asked during the discussion would you like to answer and what would your answer be?

The purpose of a Socratic Seminar is to achieve a deeper understanding about the ideas and values in a text. In the Seminar, participants systematically question and examine issues and principles related to a particular content, and articulate different points-of-view. The group conversation assists participants in constructing meaning through disciplined analysis, interpretation, listening, and participation.

QUESTIONS/TOPICS

1. A tragic hero - A tragic hero is a literary character who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his/her own destruction.

Many characters in The Crucible have personal flaws that lead/contribute to tragedy. Argue whether John Proctor OR Reverend Hale is the tragic hero of the play. Discuss the character’s strength(s)/noble quality (or qualities) and tragic flaw(s), how his flaw(s) lead to his downfall and/or death. Furthermore, consider how forces beyond his control combine with his own inner flaw to cause his downfall/death.

1. John Wooden, a legendary basketball coach, wrote, “Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.” Connect this quote to John Proctor’s actions at the end of the play.

1. As the action heats up, some of the characters in The Crucible stay the same, but a few of them change. Prepare a detailed character study on one of the play’s dynamic characters who undergo some sort of change from the beginning of the play to the end. You must incorporate textual evidence.

1. Analyze the title of the play.Justify Miller’s use for the words as the title of his play.

Crucible - as defined in dictionary.com, one of the meanings of "crucible" is "a severe test, as of patience or belief; a trial. A "crucible" is also "a vessel made of a refractory substance such as graphite or porcelain, used for melting and calcining materials at high temperatures."

1. At the end of the play, Reverend Hale insists that John Proctor’s design to hang instead of admitting that he was consorting with the devil is an act of excessive pride or stubbornness. As the old saying goes, sometimes people do "bite off their nose to spite their face." Do you think that Proctor’s last act was an act of excessive pride or honor? Were his actions foolish or noble? Please explain your choice.

1. Why does Danforth rejoice when Proctor confesses? What does this imply about the purpose of the trials? What does it imply about Danforth? Why must Danforth hang Proctor?

1. . Arthur Miller has been quoted as saying “The tragedy of The Crucible is the everlasting conflict between people so fanatically wedded to this orthodoxy that they could not cope with the evidence of their senses.” What does he mean by “this orthodoxy”? What is “the evidence of their senses”? Do you agree that this is the basic conflict?

1. Compare and contrast the play version with the film version. Did you like one more than the other? Why or why not? Please discuss various scenes and why you believe the director of the film chose to embellish or drop a particular moment of the play. What are your thoughts about these choices?

1. Think about the language Miller uses to describe Abigail Williams’ indiscretions. When Proctor finally gathers his courage to “out” Abigail, he calls her a “whore.” What are your thoughts about Miller’s word choice? Could this play be written the same way in this day and age without criticism? Are there parallels you can draw to modern portrayals of women in film/shows/culture? (feminist criticism)

1. What does Elizabeth mean by: “He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him”?

1. Think about what can tear a society apart. We are in a “Fake News” crisis where the truth or lack thereof is creating a divisive culture. What factors contributed to Salem’s downfall in the play? Analyze the political, social and emotional factors in Miller’s Crucible. I also would you like you to make modern-day connections. Feel free to bring in your historical knowledge as well.
2. A modern day witch hunt is described as a situation where a mob attacks someone or something while operating on dubious (doubtful) premises. It is essentially a situation where paranoia and suspicion are taken to another level through a mob mentality.

Discuss Jon Ronson’s TED talk titled, “How One Tweet Can Ruin Your Life.” Prepare to discuss modern day shaming. How is this like a witch hunt? Feel free to bring in real-life examples from your own life, current events, fictional stories, etc.

1. After watching Philip Zimbardo’s “The Psychology of Evil” TED talk, make connections to The Crucible. Be prepared to make connections to The Crucible and to Elie Wiesel’s Night.

1. There will be two Night questions that will follow the assembly. I will provide them to you before 11/15.
   

Research Based Questions

1. McCarthyism. The primary reason Arthur Miller wrote this play was to comment on the movement in the 1950’s led by Senator Joe McCarthy to seek and identify members of the Communist Party that he felt were trying to overthrow the government. This movement ruined many innocent people’s lives because of its drive to seek what it thought to be the truth no matter who was hurt in the process. Did you know a documentary could be a source? Did you know you could use a film as a source too? Just make sure you double check your facts if you use a film as a source.

a)Compare and contrast at least two events of the Salem Witch Trials to the events of the McCarthy trials.

b)Be prepared to explain why The Crucible is an allegory. An allegory is a complete narrativewhich involves characters, and events that stand for an abstract idea or an event.

1. ) Mass hysteria – research this phenomenon and report back your findings. Include real-life examples and be prepared to relate the information back to The Crucible.

1. ) Mob Mentality - follow the same guidelines as mass hysteria

RESEARCH – 1 to 2 Annotated Bibliographies per topic

Annotated Bibliography

Essential Question: How does this connect to The Crucible?

This is what you will be thinking about when you are researching.

Structure:

1)Site the source using MLA citation – I will show you how

2)Annotate (this is not the same annotation that you do when you annotate an article)

An annotation is a summary and/or evaluation. Therefore, an annotated bibliography includes a summary and/or evaluation of each of the sources. Depending on your project or the assignment, your annotations may do one or more of the following.

a)Summarize: Some annotations merely summarize the source. What are the main arguments? What is the point of this book or article? What topics are covered? If someone asked what this article/book is about, what would you say? The length of your annotations will determine how detailed your summary is.

b)Assess: After summarizing a source, it may be helpful to evaluate it. Is it a useful source? Is the information reliable? You will take this step further when you move on to 10th grade. For the sake of this assignment, simply rate the source and why.

c)Reflect: Once you've summarized and assessed a source, you need to ask how it fits into your research. Make sure that you answer the question: “How does this connect to the Crucible?” How does it help you shape your argument? How can you use this source during the fishbowl? Has it changed how you think about your topic? If so, how?

The annotations: The annotations for each source are written in paragraph form. The lengths of the annotations can vary significantly from a couple of sentences to a couple of pages. The length will depend on the purpose. If you're just writing summaries of your sources, the annotations may not be very long. However, if you are writing an extensive analysis of each source, you'll need more space.

Sample

WEBSITE

Lazar, Hank.Interview by Chris Mansel. Interviews by Chris Mansel. Blogspot.com, 10 Apr. 2006. Web. 14 Feb 2010. <
interview-with-hank-lazer.html>.

The interview with famous poet and critic Hank Lazar discusses where he sees poetry going. I can compare it to his earlier article about the democratization of poetry in the 21st century. Including an interview is a good idea because Manel also asks Lazar what it takes to become a poet in the first place. Manel’s whole blog consists of interviews with writers.

Have your annotated bibliographies from your research days ready. Be prepared to discuss your findings about mob mentality and mass hysteria. You will present your findings in a way that connects to our discussion about the role of Salem’s repressive Puritanical life and the girls’ hysteria. Think about the message that this play conveys about how groups of people can influence each other. Your goal is to have a research-based intellectual discussion

I have read over the questions for homework. I understand that I have over two weeks to prepare for this and I will have time in the computer lab to learn how to create annotated bibliographies. I will also have ample time in class to ask questions and discuss these questions.

I understand that I must have thorough notes prepared for the Fishbowl discussion. I will probably have around 3 pages of notes and two-three pages of annotated bibliographies.

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Student Signature

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