Section 5: pp. 1-12

Discussion Director

Today your job will be Discussion Director. You will read this section of the book, and choose questions for your group to discuss. The question you select should be interesting and important to the story. Please choose one multiple choice question, two cause and effect questions, one describing question, and one predicting question.

1. The girls acted in the following ways, except:
a) Screaming
b) Falling down
c) Sitting still
d) Speaking nonsense

Answer: c

2. What else do you think could be causing the girls to act so strangely?
Answer: They could be really sick, or they could be pulling a prank on their parents.

3. What caused the adults to react so immediately to the girls?
Answer: Puritan children are not supposed to be loud or rowdy, they are supposed to “go unnoticed”. These girls were getting a lot of attention, which caused their parents to take notice.

4. The parents of the girls did not punish them for their actions. What would you have done?
Answer: I would have talked to the girls about what was going on. I would have tried to find out what was responsible for their strange behavior.

5. Do you think the girls will perform any witchcraft before the end of this book?
Answer: I hope so! That would make this story very exciting! But, I think that I have heard somewhere that there are not really witches anywhere.
 

Passage Picker

Your job today will be Passage Picker. You will read this section of the book, and select passages that you find especially interesting, descriptive, important, or surprising. Select four passages to discuss with the class. Be sure to include: page and paragraph number; first two words and last two words of the passage; why you chose this passage; a question about the passage; and what was the author's purpose for this passage ( to describe, inform, entertain, persuade).

1. p.5, para. 1, “The winter…of snow.”
I picked this passage because it reminds me of wintertime in Boone.
The author's purpose for this passage is to describe the atmosphere of winter in Salem.
Question: Describe the climate that surrounds you today.
Answer: Today it is cloudy, but it has not rained yet. Everywhere you look, all you see I gray.

2. p.6, para. 2, “Their children…play music.”
I picked this passage because it lets me know how boring it must have been for Puritan children.
The author's purpose for this passage is to describe the atmosphere that surrounded the Salem girls.
Question: Would it matter to you if you could not dance or listen to music? Explain why.
Answer: I would hate it! I dance and listen to music all day. If there is not a radio near, I hum a tune to myself. Music makes people happy, and I think the children of Salem were missing out.

3. p.9, para. 1, “ He knew…and honey.”
I picked this passage because it is a strange way to cure a sprained ankle.
The author's purpose for this passage is to give insight as to how doctors cured people during that time.
Question: Do you know any strange remedies for ailments?
Answer: Yes, my Mom always rubs tobacco on a bee sting to remove the poison. It's strange, but it really works!

4. p. 12, para.1, “Suddenly one…the walls.”
I picked this passage because it is pretty exciting.
The author's purpose for this passage is to describe how the girls acted during the meeting.
Question: Describe how the audience of the meeting might have felt.
Answer: The people probably felt scared and shocked. They might have been angry with the girls or with the witches who were causing the girls to act this way.
 
 

Word Wizard

 Your job today is the Word Wizard. You will read this section of the book. Then you will look up the following words in the section. Find the sentence from the book that contains the word, including the page and paragraph number. Then, find the definition of the word (this book has a glossary at the end). Next, write your own sentence using that word. Put this information on an index card, and draw a picture that describes or explains the word.

1. Parsonage
p.5, para. 2, “Visitors were rare, but those passing through could always warm themselves at the parsonage.”
Definition: the official residence usually provided by a church for its minister.
Sentence: Preacher Mary resides in the parsonage.

2. Piercing
p. 8, para. 1, “Others interrupted church services and public meetings with piercing shrieks and strange words.”
Definition: to sound sharply
Sentence: The car's tires made a piercing noise when he slammed on the brakes.

3. Bewitched
p. 9, para. 2, “The girls were bewitched.”
Definition: under a magic spell
Sentence: I thought I had been bewitched when I kept having bad luck.

4. Tormenting
p. 10, para. 1, “Perhaps witches were tormenting the girls.”
Definition: causing great physical pain or mental anguish
Sentence: I wished the students would stop tormenting me with their unanswerable questions.

Character Sketcher

   Your job today is the Character Sketcher. Read this section of the book, and pick an interesting character. On your own, choose three words that describe your character. For each word, you must provide proof that the character is really like that. Next, decide what your character's goals are in this story. Then, find a problem that your character faces. Is this problem resolved, how? Also, draw a picture of your character, being as creative as you wish.

Mr. Parris
Religious because he is a minister.
Puzzled because he does not understand what is happening to the girls.
Determined to figure out what was wrong with his daughter and the others.
Goal: To find out what is wrong with the girls in Salem.
Problem: No medical explanation.
Solution: Consult the clergy.

Connector

    Today your job will be the connector. You will read this section of the book, paying attention to any aspects that you can relate to your own life. You can relate ideas, events, themes or anything else you think of. You will share these connections with the rest of the group, and question to see if anyone else made any connections to the book.