Are you looking for The Crucible project ideas and activities to refresh your unit plan? You’ve come to the right place! The Crucible by Arthur Miller is an incredibly popular and engaging text to teach, but it can be difficult to find meaningful activities that aren’t just another worksheet. I’ve had the privilege of teaching the play multiple times over my career and have compiled a list of my favorite project ideas and activities along the way. Read on for some fresh inspiration!
#1: Memes
Creating memes is a great activity for any novel, but I especially love when it accompanies The Crucible. Memes are a language that students understand and allowing them to express what they know in a comfortable medium is a powerful tool. I’ve always found this activity to be meaningful, eye-opening, and yes, hilarious.
#2: Cancel Culture
Connecting The Crucible to cancel culture is an effective way to show students that the themes in the play are still relevant today. You can have students research cancel culture overall or look up specific instances where others have been “canceled” and discuss parallels to the text. This is a great way to bring a real-world connection into the classroom.
#3: Character Eulogy
In classic literature, you can almost guarantee that there will be the death of a character. In The Crucible, there are several. Have your students choose a character and write a eulogy for them. Explain what a eulogy is and outline specific criteria for their work. This provides an excellent opportunity for character analysis and allows students to show what they know in a unique way.
#4: Soundtrack Project
My students always loved this project. I call it “Songs of Salem” and it is basically an opportunity for students to connect songs to literature. They choose a song that represents a character, theme, scene, etc. from the play and connect it to a song. I always made it a requirement to include a section of the lyrics that specifically connect, so you’re practicing close reading as well.
#5: Mock Trial
A mock trial is a great idea for The Crucible, especially in Act III. As the act is littered with tons of legal jargon, it makes for a good opportunity to review the terms and have students use them in action. Assign sides, have students write scripts or just the opening/closing arguments, and let them act it out.
#6: Defend Arthur Miller’s Reasoning
Arthur Miller wrote a great piece about the play called Why I Wrote The Crucible. Every time I teach this text, I have students read the piece, identify Arthur’s claim, and a few pieces of evidence to prove it. Then, I have them respond. Do they agree with his reasoning? Is it valid? This is perfect for practicing argumentative writing and/or starting a rich discussion about the themes of the play.
#7: Historical Topic Jigsaw
There are so many historical topics to cover when reading The Crucible. Split your students into groups and allow them to explore various related subjects like the Salem Witch Trials, Puritanism, McCarthyism, Joseph McCarthy, The Red Scare, etc. Each group can create a presentation to teach the other students about the topic to create an easy pre-reading jigsaw.
#8: Literary Field Trip
Since The Crucible is rooted in an actual place, having students create a literary field trip is a meaningful activity. Allow them to explore things to do in or around Salem, Massachusetts that connect to the text. They could visit Giles Corey’s grave or the John Proctor House. They can find the best place to eat and other things to see.
If you want a completely done-for-you project, click here to see my Literary Field Trip project resource complete with teacher instructions, worksheets, a Google Slides companion, and rubric.
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My full unit plan for The Crucible is available in my shop. You can click here to see it. You’ll get a full 6-8 week unit plan with activities, assessments, and more. The bundle has everything you need to run a meaningful, rigorous study of The Crucible.
What are your favorite activities for teaching The Crucible? Sound off in the comments below or follow me on Facebook or Instagram to join the discussion!
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