Crucible Connections

Time Required

Planning:
Planning for this Learning Experience, collectively, took three to four hours. This time frame included searching through the S.C.O.R.E website, conducting my own research on McCarthyism. This time also included creation of the McCarthyism Pre-Test, the McCarthyism Research Assignment, the McCarthyism Research Rubric, the teacher exemplar, the Reflection Essay questions, and the Reflection Essay Exemplar. Furthermore, the planning time period also included checking the NYS standards and making sure the lesson was properly aligned.

Implementation:
The implementation of this unit takes place over the course of three full days. (See Procedures.) The pre-test and McCarthyism Research Assignment are given to students at the very end of class on the day before the Learning Experience. The research assignment was given for homework, and the pre-test was to be finished just before the bell rang to end class. The second day (or Day 1 of the Learning Experience) is the first full day of the Learning Experience; an entire 40 minute period is spent going over the information that the students found from their research and filling out a chart comparing their new knowledge of McCarthyism to what they already knew about The Crucible. On the third day, which is actually Day 2 of the Learning Experience, another 40 minute period is spent. First, the teacher leads the class in a discussion over their homework from the previous night, which was to complete the third column of the comparison chart with information from today. For the remainder of the period (about 30 minutes), the students are given the post-assessment, which is the reflection essay.

Assessment:
Over the course of this Learning Experience, there were three separate assessments that needed to be graded (the pre-test, the research assignment, and the post-assessment). Scoring of the pre-test should take about 10 seconds per student. This includes time to read and mark down each student’s response. Scoring of the research assignment should take approximately eight minutes per student. This includes time to read the research, complete the rubric, and add up each student’s grade. Scoring of the post-assessment should take about 5 minutes per student. This includes time to read over each student’s response, give the student a quantity/effort grade, and also mark down which statement from the pre-test would best fit this student based on their essay.

Schedule:
This Learning Experience made up the last 2 days of a five-week unit on The Crucible. (See a complete unit schedule.)

*Go to Materials and Resources.