Standing up to the girls of Salem Summary: Create a character who would be able to stand up to the girls of Salem. The girls of Salem are central figures in the play; their actions (dancing in the woods) aroused suspicion of witchcraft and their accusations result in many people from their community being accused and hanged. They carry some responsibility for the tragic events at the end of the play. Although it is unlikely that these consequences were intended, this activity gives students the opportunity to think about the motivations, behaviour and relationships of the girls and how this contributed to the hangings. The main activity asks students to create their own character who may be able to prevent the terrible consequences. In so doing they will consider what makes groups behave the way they do, and what kind of person may have been able to stand up to the others. This activity should encourage students to think about peer pressure, bullying and moral courage. Learning objective: To consider the power of peer pressure and bullies and the personality traits needed to stand up to them Key words: peer pressure, group dynamics, moral courage, conscience, bullying Key questions: How did the relationships between the girls help to bring about tragic consequences? What prevented any of the girls doing the right thing? Do you think the actions of the girls are realistic? What kind of person would have been able to stand up to Abigail Williams and the others? Have you ever experienced a group situation where the dynamics of the group have meant that events have got out of hand and something bad has happened as a consequence? National curriculum links: Citizenship Programme of Study: 2a, 2c, 3a PSHE National Framework: 1d, 3b Guidance on how to carry out activity one in class: Starter: Introducing the concepts of peer pressure and bullying To introduce the concepts of peer pressure and bullying, ask the students if they have ever been involved in a situation with a group of young people which has got out of hand because no member of the group put a stop to the activity. An example of this could be a fight in the playground or a bullying situation. Main activity: Create your own character for The Crucible Students will create a new character for the play who will stand up to the girls. The aim of this activity is to encourage students to think about the individual personalities of the Salem girls and how this led to the situation getting out of hand. A key question in this activity is: What made the girls behave the way they did? You could approach this activity in 3 stages: 1. Check the students’ factual understanding- what did the girls actually do? 2. Discuss the reasons for their behaviour - bullying? Peer pressure? The group dynamics/relationships between the girls? Draw out the differences in the behaviour of Abigail, Mercy and Mary. 3. Create a new character who would be able to help to avert the tragic outcome. What kind of person would it be? What is their motivation for behaving in that way? - Show the class the factfiles on Abigail Williams, Mercy Lewis and Mary Warren (it would be good to use an interactive whiteboard here). - Look at the video footage as this provides background information about the behaviour of the girls. - Explain that the task is to create a similar factfile for a new character. - A slide has been provided with questions to guide thinking. - Students should present their characters to the class who could select the most realistic one. Plenary: Making it real As a plenary, you could ask the students to imagine they have the chance to spend a minute with the girls of Salem - what would they say to them? Alternatively, you could ask if there are any lessons to be learnt from how the girls behaved. Extension activity: Write a scene including your new character Students write a scene, including their character, which immediately follows the scene of the girls in Betty’s bedroom. It might help if the students imagined what they themselves would say to persuade the girls to tell the truth. This scene could then be acted out in class. | 
