Standards Correlations

R.1, R.3, R.4, R.5, R.6, R.7, W.2, SL.1, L.4, L.6

Learning Objective

Students will use text evidence to draw and support a conclusion.

Key Skills

text evidence, text features, vocabulary, sequence of events, text structure, cause and effect, author’s craft, critical thinking, informational writing

Complexity Factors

Purpose: The article explores the events of the 1692 Salem witch trials.

 

Structure: The text is informational but includes narrative elements like dialogue and sensory details.

 

Language: The article uses some vocabulary related to law and religion, which is defined in the vocabulary box.

 

Knowledge Demands: Some knowledge of colonial America and Puritan beliefs is useful but not necessary.

Levels

Lexile: 500L-600L 

Guided Reading Level: S 

DRA Level: 40

SEL Connection

This story and lesson plan promote social awareness.

Lesson Plan: Witches Among Them

Essential Questions:

  • What causes people to turn against one another in times of fear?
  • How can we recognize and resist injustice in our society?

Literature Connections:

  • Graphic novel: An Outbreak of Witchcraft by Deborah Noyes and M. Duffy
  • Graphic novel: Prudence Under Suspicion by Emma Carlson Berne

1. Preparing to Read 

Preview Text Features (10 minutes)

Guide students to locate the article in their magazines or at Action Online. Preview the text features by asking the following questions:

  • Read the article’s title and subtitle. Look at the image alongside them. What do you think the article will be about? What can you tell about the tone of the article? Make a prediction. Sample answer: It sounds like the people in the small Massachusetts town believed that witches were secretly living in their town. The image of the girls staring at the reader, with one pointing, suggests that the story will have a spooky tone.
  • Look at the map of Massachusetts Bay Colony and read its caption. What are three things you can learn from the map? Sample answers: Massachusetts Bay was an English settlement. Salem, Boston, and Plymouth were part of it. It bordered New Hampshire, New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. It was founded by the Puritans in 1630.  
  • Based on the sidebar “A World of Witches,” why did people in the past blame witches for disasters or illnesses? What does this tell you about how people often deal with fear or uncertainty? People blamed witches because they didn’t understand what caused natural disasters or sickness. Believing in witchcraft gave them a way to make sense of scary or confusing events. This shows that people often try to find someone or something to blame when they feel afraid or powerless.

Preview Vocabulary (10 minutes)

  • Point out the vocabulary box. Read the words (denied, enslaved, accused, convicted, trauma, suspicion) aloud and discuss their definitions.
  • Play the Vocabulary Slideshow.

Make a Plan for Reading

Before students start to read, walk them through a reading plan:

  • Set a purpose for reading by telling students that the article “Witches Among Them” tells the story of a young girl whose fear helped spark the Salem witch trials, which caused many people to be accused of witchcraft and killed.
  • Point out the Pause and Think boxes. Tell students they can check their understanding of what they’ve read by answering these questions.
  • Tell students that as they finish each section, they should think about how the text features on the page (e.g., photos, captions, and section headings) relate to what they’ve just read.
  • Point out the activity at the end of the article. Tell students they’ll complete it after reading. Encourage them to keep the Think About It! question at the bottom in mind as they read.

 2. Reading and Unpacking the Text

Read the article. (Higher- and lower-Lexile versions are available on the Story page at Action Online. Click Presentation View to access an audio read-aloud.) Then discuss the following close-reading and critical-thinking questions.

Close-Reading Questions (15 minutes)

  • What does the article’s opening section describe? (text structure) The article’s opening section describes a scary night when Ann Putnam thought a witch might be targeting her. 
  • What made Reverend Parris believe his daughter was being attacked by witches? (cause and effect) A doctor told Reverend Parris that his daughter was being attacked by a witch. 
  • Who was Bridget Bishop? Why do you think the author chose to include Bishop’s story in the article? (author’s craft) Bridget Bishop was the first person to go to trial in the special court for witchcraft cases. The author probably chose to include her story because she was first and also because it’s a good example of how people who were seen as different were especially likely to be accused of being witches.

Critical-Thinking Questions (10 minutes)

  • Why do you think the author chose to begin the article with a scene of Ann Putnam in bed, feeling afraid? How does this opening affect your experience of reading the article? Starting with Ann in bed, scared and imagining shadows and voices, pulls the reader into the story right away. It makes the fear feel personal and real. This opening sets the mood for the rest of the article and helps the reader understand how the panic in Salem may have started—with people feeling scared and imagining things that weren’t there.
  • How can the events of the Salem witch trials help us think about the way rumors and false accusations spread today? The Salem witch trials show how quickly fear and lies can spread when people don’t have all the facts. Today similar situations can come up on social media—people might believe and share rumors without checking to see if they’re true. This can do others a lot of harm, just as it did in Salem. The story reminds us to think critically before judging someone.

3. Skill Building and Writing

  • Have students work in pairs to complete the Spotlight Skill Workout: Text Evidence activity. As a class, discuss students’ answers and the Think About It! question.
  • Have students work independently to complete our Sequence of Events Skill Builder, available in higher- and lower-level versions. (Click here to view all your Skill Builders for this article.)
  • Writing prompt: The article states that in 1706, Ann Putnam gave a public apology for accusing innocent people of practicing witchcraft. Imagine you are Ann, writing this apology years after the Salem witch trials. Write a short speech (about one paragraph) explaining what you did, why you regret it, and what you want people to know now. Include information about what you believed when you were 12 and what you’ve come to understand since.

Language-Acquisition Springboard

Review past-tense verbs to improve students’ spelling and comprehension.

After students read the article, direct their attention to  the vocabulary box on p. 10. Point out that three of the words listed in the box (denied, accused, and convicted) are past-tense verbs.  

Remind students that a verb is an action word (for example, jump) and a past-tense verb describes an action that has already taken place (for example, jumped). 

Ask students what they notice about the spelling of these three words from the vocabulary box. What do the words have in common? Students might note that all three words end with the letters ed. Let them know that many past-tense verbs end with ed, but explain that there’s more to making a verb past tense than just adding ed. Share these general guidelines:

If a verb ends with an e, you usually just add a d to make it past tense (for example, accused is the past tense of accuse). Have students practice by writing the past-tense forms of these words:

  • dance
  • escape
  • inspire
  • realize
  • skate

If a verb ends with a y, you usually remove the y and add ied to make it past tense  (for example,  denied is the past tense of deny). Have students practice by writing the past-tense forms of these words:

  • bury
  • carry
  • fry
  • reply
  • try

If a verb ends with most other letters, you usually add ed to make it past tense (for example, convicted is the past tense of convict). Have students practice by writing the past-tense forms of these words:

  • answer
  • mix
  • push
  • twist

Looking for more ELL support? Download our full lesson plan and scroll to p. 5 to find questions that will help your ELLs respond to the text at the level that’s right for them.

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