Kohl Kristina Fall 2017

Is Taylor Swift the New Abigail Williams? Connecting The Crucible

to Today’s Popular Culture & Current Events

Step 1—Identifying Desired Results

NCTE/IRA Standards:
 1. “Students read a wide range of print and non-print texts to build an understanding of texts, of
themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to
respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among
these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.”
 11. “Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of
literacy communities.”

Missouri Learning Standards:

 Reading Literary Texts 1D “Using appropriate text, determine two or more themes in a text, analyze
their development throughout the text, and relate the themes to human nature and the world; provide
an objective and concise summary of the text.”
 Speaking and Listening 1C: “Respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives including those presented
in diverse media; synthesize claims made on all sides of an issue, and, when warranted, qualify or
justify their own views and understanding and make new connections in light of the evidence and
reasoning presented.”

Learning Targets:
 I can support my analysis of fiction and nonfiction pieces with appropriate lead-ins, evidence, and
warrants that explain the quote and its significance in the larger piece.
 I can participate effectively in whole-class and small group discussions.

Step 2—Formulating Engaging Essential/Guiding Questions

Essential Questions:
o Where in Taylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do” do we see similar themes of The
Crucible?
o Where else in our lives today do we see the themes/issues of The Crucible still taking place
today?

Step 3—Learning Plan

“Establish Set” 10 Minutes
 As students enter the room they respond to the following prompt: “Is Taylor Swift the new Abigail
Williams? Why or why not? Respond in 2-3 sentences.”
o First have students share with their group
o Then have students share with the whole class
“Explanation” 5 Minutes
 Send out information ahead of time and have students refer to it now
o Song lyrics,
o A reminder of themes:
 Lies and Deceit
 Jealousy and Lust
 Justice and Forgiveness
 Reputation and Respect
 Superstition and Religion
 Kohl Kristina Fall 2017
 Instruct student to be ready to annotate any part of the lyrics which they feel represent one of our
themes or characters from The Crucible
 Have a brief discussion with students to serve as a reminder to why are we doing this?
o Connect to Socratic seminar and final project expectations

“Watch, Listen, Annotate, Discuss” 10 Minutes

 Play the music video
 Walk around encouraging all students to participate
 Gently remind students when important lyrics appear
 Allow students to continue annotating after the song ends—allow the high energy to transfer into
discussion

“Coggle Mind Mapping Activity” 15 Minutes

 Pull up the online Coggle mind mapping tool
 Facilitate a class-wide discussion over any themes, characters, or other comparisons students could
draw between the deeper meaning of Taylor Swift’s lyrics and The Crucible
 Record discussion through Coggle
o Transfer Coggle ideas to document outline for Focus Student 1

“Exit Slip” 10 Minutes

 Have students consider at least two other connections they could make between The Crucible,
popular culture, current events, or other aspects of their lives today
 Allow students to discuss with their groups their choices between turning in their exit slip at the end of
class

Materials needed
 Projector
 Computer w/ internet access
 Youtube access for music video “Look What You Made Me Do”
 21 copies of “Look What You Made Me Do” lyrics
 Access to Coggle
 21 index cards
 Highlighters