Section 6: pp. 13-21

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 two fact or opinion questions, two describing questions and one predicting question.

1. Describe a specter and what the specters did in Salem.
Answer: Specters are ghostly images that only the bewitched girls could see. Specters pinched, poked and tormented the girls of Salem.

2. Fact or Opinion: The girls of Salem were being abused by witches.
Answer: Some people do not believe in witches, so this is an opinion.

3. Describe the atmosphere of the meeting house where the girls were gathered.
Answer: The meeting house was cold and dark. It was full of people, and even more people were standing outside. All the Puritans eyes were on the young girls.

4. What do you predict will happen to Tituba?
Answer: I think she will help the magistrates find other witches. Maybe she will get to go back to her home, the Caribbean.

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.15, para. 1, "At one...minister's hat."
I picked this passage because it is funny!
The author's purpose for this passage is to describe the specter and to add some entertainment to the story.
Question: Do you think Abigail and Ann thought this passage was funny?
Answer: No - they were seeing the strange visions, and they were probably scared.

2. p.15, para. 2, "They could...to change."
I picked this passage because it made me think that the villagers curiosity was about to get them in trouble.
The author's purpose for this passage is to provide foreshadowing.
Question: What is something you are curious about, and why?
Answer: I am curious about big trucks. I would like to learn about them, and have one myself, some day.

3. p. 19, para. 2, "Sarah Good...her servants."
I picked this passage because it explains what Sarah Good and Sarah Osburn were like.
The author's purpose for this passage is to show how similar these women are to each other, but how different they are to other people.
Question: Compare Sarah Good and Sarah Osburn. Tell how they ar e similar.
Answer: Both women were accused of witchcraft. Both of the women seem to be different than the other Puritans. They are unpopular and do not seem to be very nice.

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. specter
        p. 14, para. 2, "These ghostly images, or specters, were invisible to most people."
        definition: a ghostly apparition; a phantom
        sentence: The girls claimed to see specters sent from the witches of Salem.

2. magistrate
        p. 18, para. 2, " The magistrates were the town leaders."
        definition: a civil officer with power to administer and enforce law.
        Sentence: The magistrate's office is where small claims court is held.

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.

Tituba
Honest because she admitted to being a witch.
Nice because she seems to be easy to get along with.
Homesick because she is so far away from the Caribbean.
Goal: Have a successful life in America.
Problem: Is accused of witchcraft, which is punishable by death.
Solution: She admitted that she was a witch, and agreed to help the magistrate find and convict more witches.
 

Activity Activator

    Your job today will be the Activity Activator. You will be in charge of selecting a scene from this section to act out with your group. Assign roles and you will present this skit to the rest of the class.

I would act out the scene when Sarah Good, Sarah Osburn and Tituba were brought before the girls. This would be a fun skit to perform for the class.