Politics and theatre
The Crucible by Arthur Miller
Essential Questions: What are the responsibilities of a citizen of the United States? How, in your opinion, can theatre help to educate the public about citizenship? What things in your own time and experience have been influenced by theatre/entertainment as it pertains to your world view?
Enduring Understanding: Since the ancient Greeks, theatre has been a tool for education of democratic principles. We are influenced today by entertainment and theatre, but also by social media in the form of uncensored, public, personally created theatre in the form of YouTube, Snapchat, Instagram, etc. Understanding how to filter and draw our own conclusions about what it means to be a good citizen and responsible for other humans and ourself is essential to democracy. In this unit, we will learn how mob mentality, the separation of church and state, and social media all work. By studying The Crucible by Arthur Miller, we will see how the Red Scare affected America through Miller's allegory based in our own colonial history prior to the institution of our current democracy.
Students will know:
1. How to identify a mob mentality
2. Why we see the necessity of division of church and state
3. What in our past we have learned through theatrical intervention
4. What we have repeated despite the warnings of artists
5. How to identify social media algorithmic mob mentality
Students will be able to:
1. Identify the correlation between the events of The Crucible and The Red Scare
2. Identify the correlation between the events of The Crucible and current events
3. Contemplate and grow in understanding of their civic responsibility as artists
4. Perform a scene from The Crucible with accuracy of intent
Assessments
1. Formative assessments of class participation during the reading and discussion of The Crucible
2. Reflections on the reading and personal opinions of the work
3. Performance assessments in the creation of alternate scenes described but not a part of the text
4. Finally performing a scene from the text with understanding of its meaning
Activities
Activity 1: Read aloud the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller. After each act, have a discussion of what happened and the characteristics of the persons depicted in the play.
Activity 2: During the course of reading, after Act 2, students will group together and create what happened in the courtroom from the perspective of one of the characters. This is accomplished by having the students separate into groups of three or four and re-read the section of Mary Warren's speech in which she describes the conviction of Goody Good. They will then create a short scene of no more than ten lines in which they enact the scene from the perspective of one of the characters mentioned in Mary Warren's account.
Activity 3: In the weekly Journal, students will give impressions of the script and how it affected them as a person
Activity 4: In synopsis, the students will discuss the various components of the theme of the play and make relationships to their own experience.
Activity 5: Students will separate into groups of three or four and create scenes from the script. They will perform these scenes in class and receive a project grade on the performance.
Standards
TH:Cr2.1.HS
a. Explore the function of history and culture in the development of a dramatic concept through a critical analysis of original ideas in a drama/theatre work.
b. Investigate the collaborative nature of the actor, director, playwright, and designers and explore their interdependent roles in a drama/theatre work.
TH:Pr5.1.HSI
a. Practice various acting techniques to expand skills in a rehearsal or drama/theatre performance.
TH:Pr6.1.HSI
a. Perform a scripted drama/theatre work for a specific audience.
TH:Re8.1.HSI
b. Identify and compare cultural perspectives and contexts that may influence the evaluation of a drama/theatre work.
TH:Re9.1.HSI
a. Examine a drama/ theatre work using supporting evidence and criteria, while considering art forms, history, culture, and other disciplines.
TH:Cn11.1.HSI
a. Explore how cultural, global, and historic belief systems affect creative choices in a drama/theatre work.
Essential Questions: What are the responsibilities of a citizen of the United States? How, in your opinion, can theatre help to educate the public about citizenship? What things in your own time and experience have been influenced by theatre/entertainment as it pertains to your world view?
Enduring Understanding: Since the ancient Greeks, theatre has been a tool for education of democratic principles. We are influenced today by entertainment and theatre, but also by social media in the form of uncensored, public, personally created theatre in the form of YouTube, Snapchat, Instagram, etc. Understanding how to filter and draw our own conclusions about what it means to be a good citizen and responsible for other humans and ourself is essential to democracy. In this unit, we will learn how mob mentality, the separation of church and state, and social media all work. By studying The Crucible by Arthur Miller, we will see how the Red Scare affected America through Miller's allegory based in our own colonial history prior to the institution of our current democracy.
Students will know:
1. How to identify a mob mentality
2. Why we see the necessity of division of church and state
3. What in our past we have learned through theatrical intervention
4. What we have repeated despite the warnings of artists
5. How to identify social media algorithmic mob mentality
Students will be able to:
1. Identify the correlation between the events of The Crucible and The Red Scare
2. Identify the correlation between the events of The Crucible and current events
3. Contemplate and grow in understanding of their civic responsibility as artists
4. Perform a scene from The Crucible with accuracy of intent
Assessments
1. Formative assessments of class participation during the reading and discussion of The Crucible
2. Reflections on the reading and personal opinions of the work
3. Performance assessments in the creation of alternate scenes described but not a part of the text
4. Finally performing a scene from the text with understanding of its meaning
Activities
Activity 1: Read aloud the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller. After each act, have a discussion of what happened and the characteristics of the persons depicted in the play.
Activity 2: During the course of reading, after Act 2, students will group together and create what happened in the courtroom from the perspective of one of the characters. This is accomplished by having the students separate into groups of three or four and re-read the section of Mary Warren's speech in which she describes the conviction of Goody Good. They will then create a short scene of no more than ten lines in which they enact the scene from the perspective of one of the characters mentioned in Mary Warren's account.
Activity 3: In the weekly Journal, students will give impressions of the script and how it affected them as a person
Activity 4: In synopsis, the students will discuss the various components of the theme of the play and make relationships to their own experience.
Activity 5: Students will separate into groups of three or four and create scenes from the script. They will perform these scenes in class and receive a project grade on the performance.
Standards
TH:Cr2.1.HS
a. Explore the function of history and culture in the development of a dramatic concept through a critical analysis of original ideas in a drama/theatre work.
b. Investigate the collaborative nature of the actor, director, playwright, and designers and explore their interdependent roles in a drama/theatre work.
TH:Pr5.1.HSI
a. Practice various acting techniques to expand skills in a rehearsal or drama/theatre performance.
TH:Pr6.1.HSI
a. Perform a scripted drama/theatre work for a specific audience.
TH:Re8.1.HSI
b. Identify and compare cultural perspectives and contexts that may influence the evaluation of a drama/theatre work.
TH:Re9.1.HSI
a. Examine a drama/ theatre work using supporting evidence and criteria, while considering art forms, history, culture, and other disciplines.
TH:Cn11.1.HSI
a. Explore how cultural, global, and historic belief systems affect creative choices in a drama/theatre work.
