Name: Period: Date:

Final Project:

Modern Day Interpretations of The Crucible

Presentations on: ______

In the play, The Crucible, many of the characters learn things about themselves, as well as others. Of course, the play is set in 1692, but what if these characters lived in the year 2008? How would their conversations have sounded? Would the play’s outcome have been different?

Choose ONE of the project ideas below to create a modern day interpretation of the play.

  1. Headline News Story – Choose an event that occurred in the text. Next, create a headline news webpage (real or an imitation) where you feature the event as a news story, as if it happened in 2008. On the webpage, you will have smaller “blurps” about at least 2 other stories, and3 links (headings only) linking to other stories. To get an idea of length, format, and the kinds of links typically included in such stories, visit news sites on the web.
  2. Blog – Rewrite monologues from the text (the speeches of one person) as a series of blog entries (real blog or imitation). Include appropriate links to other web pages AND comments that other characters from the text might leave on blog entries. For example, you can create a blog called “Tituba’s Tales” where Tituba writes about her experiences during the trials, and how other characters responded to it.
  3. What if? – Find a scene in the text that you believe would have been radically different if a certain piece of advanced high-tech equipment existed at the time (ex: cell phones, internet, etc.) Name the item and rewrite the scene. Show how the events turn out differently and how it impacts the outcome of the play.
  4. Digital Artifacts – Imagine that you find a portable disk next to the computer of one of the characters from the text. It might be a floppy disk, USB drive, CD, etc. This storage disk contains personal documents – letters from other characters, “to do” lists, data, and poems written by the character for his or her eyes only. Decide on 4 to 5 documents, recreate them, invent file names for each, and create a (fake) printout of the disk directory. Put all the documents and the disk directory in a packet about the character.
  5. Reality TV Show – Imagine that the characters from the text are part of a reality TV show. Rewrite a scene from the text as it would have been caught on the surveillance camera of your show. Film your scene using a video camera and provide the transcript (including details on background sounds, setting and props).

This is an individual project. The only project where you may work in group for up to 3 students is option #5.

All projects will be presented in front of the class, on the date listed above. You have almost a MONTH to work on this project. Therefore, I will NOT accept any late work.

Have fun and good luck!