Digital Unit Plan Template

Unit Title: Fear as a Motivator in The Crucible

Name: Michelle Ratn

Content Area: English

Grade Level: 11th grade

CA Content Standard(s)/Common Core Standard(s):

3.8
Analyzetheclarityandconsistencyofpoliticalassumptionsinaselectionofliterary
worksoressaysonatopic(e.g.,suffrage,womensroleinorganizedlabor).(Political
approach)
-CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.1http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/RL/11-12/1/
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text,
including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.
-CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.10http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/RL/11-12/10/
By the end of grade 12, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, at the high end of the grades 11-CCR text
complexity band independently and proficiently.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.7

Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually,
quantitatively) as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem.

Big Ideas:

-Analyze and Integrate aspects of The Crucible into an argumentative essay.

-Connect themes of The Crucible to current events.
Explore the themes:
-Is fear an effective motivator?
-How can media manipulate public opinion in times of panic?

Unit Goals and Objectives:

-Students will be able to analyze literature and informational text by composing their own unique arguments.
-Students will be able to view political publications with a critical lense by analyzing and comparing differing views.
-Students will be able to synthesize thoughts by creating clear claims and arguments.
-Students will be able to close read by analyzing and identifying themes and providing evidence from both literary and informational text
in writing an argumentative paper.

Unit Summary:
This unit explores the theme of fear as a motivator as seen throughout Arthur Millers play, The Crucible. Now that students have
finished reading the play, they will start to delve into writing an argumentative essay on The Crucible. Students will learn the
basic elements of an argumentative essay through a teacher lecture and guided notes. Students will then complete a webercise
in which they will explore and analyze aspects of the U.S. government document, The Patriot Act, and eventually connect their
analysis to themes seen in The Crucible by completing an Argument Worksheet. Students will then start to synthesize their
claims/arguments regarding the topic of fear as a motivator in The Crucible by using a graphic argument organizer. From this
graphic argument organizer, students will draw the thesis from which to center their argumentative essay around.
Assessment Plan:
Entry-Level:
Guided Notes

Formative:
Webercise
Wordsearch
Graphic Argument Organizer

Summative:
The Crucible Argument Worksheet
The Crucible Argumentative Essay

Lesson 1
Student Learning
Objective:

-Students will be able

to synthesize thoughts
by creating clear
claims and arguments.

Acceptable Evidence:
Students should know
the different elements
that go into writing an
argumentative essay:
Theme, topic, thesis,
rebuttal, debate,
evidence, assertion as
shown in their Guided

Instructional
Strategies:
Communication
Collection
Collaboration
Presentation
Organization
Interaction

Lesson Activities:
Students will access lecture and fill in their guided
notes.
-Students will follow links to videos that will help
them in understanding a thesis statement.
-Students will practice writing their own thesis
statement in their guided notes.
-Students will then complete the word search linked
in the assessments section to check their
understanding of the different elements of an

argumentative essay.

Notes and Word

Search.
Lesson 2
Student Learning
Objective:

-Students will be able

to view political
publications with a
critical lense by
analyzing and
comparing differing
views.

Acceptable Evidence:
Students should begin
to draw themes from
The Patriot Act that
are similar to those
seen in The Crucible.
Students will later
connect the answers
in their webercise to
their The Crucible

Instructional
Strategies:
Communication
Collection
Collaboration
Presentation
Organization
Interaction

Lesson Activities:
-Students will first Read through the Patriot Act as linked in
the webercise.
-Students will then watch a video summarizing events
surrounding the Patriot Act.
-Students will complete seven short answer questions about
the video.
- Students will then watch a debate between two politicians
with opposing views on the Patriot Act.
-Students will then complete six short answer questions
about the debate.

Acceptable Evidence:
Students will
demonstrate clarity
and poignancy in
generating an
argument or claim.
Students will provide
reasoning and
evidence from the
text. Students will
create a debatable
assertion.

Instructional
Strategies:
Communication
Collection
Collaboration
Presentation
Organization
Interaction

Lesson Activities:
Students will complete their The Crucible argument

Argument Worksheet.

Lesson 3
Student Learning
Objective:

-Students will be able

to synthesize thoughts
by creating clear
claims and arguments.
-Students will be able
to analyze literature
and informational text
by composing their
own unique
arguments.

Unit Resources:

worksheet in response to reading the examination

of Tituba. This worksheet contains eight short
answer questions similar to those answered in
Lesson two regarding the Patriot Act.

Students will compare both activities (webercise and

Tituba worksheet) and begin to make connections
between the two topics.

Students will use their The Crucible Argument

Worksheet to start creating claims and opinions in

their Graphic Argument Organizer.

Students will work to take a stance on whether fear

is or is not an effective motivator.

They will fill in the graphic organizer stating their

claim or argument.

Students will then fill out their reason for this claim
or why a reader should accept the claim.

Students will then provide three concrete pieces of

evidence citing quotes and the page number.

Students will then acknowledge counterarguments

and respond to those oppositions.

-The Patriot Act

http://www.justice.gov/archive/ll/highlights.htm
-Patriot Act Summary video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aq-qAXcZAko
-Patriot Act debate video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBSqtGX-alc
-The Examination of Tituba
http://www.hawthorneinsalem.org/Literature/Quakers&Witches/YoungGoodmanBrown/MMD823.html
-Thesis Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sx42_C10zw

Useful Websites:
-Easy Bib Citation Machine
http://www.easybib.com
-Purdue Owl thesis help
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/588/01/
-Purdue Owl MLA formatting help
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
-Patriot Act pros and cons article NPR
http://www.npr.org/news/specials/patriotact/patriotactdeal.html