Over the next several weeks, I want students to fully understand The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 and also the communist "witch hunt" in America during Red Scare and Second Red scare in the 1950s when Sen. Joseph McCarthy and Edward R. Murrow squared off. It is purposeful because of the universal themes and concepts it teaches: fear, loyalty, pride, greed, paranoia, justice etc. Kids can relate to these because the concepts still exist in today's world. They will try to understand why young teenage girls cried "witch" ... and why Senator McCarthy cried "communists" ('witches'). Murrow and Crucible protagonist, John Proctor, are also compared, analyzed and examined. Many students who enjoy reading fantasy novels really seem to like this play. Arthur Miller wrote the play in 1953... we will research why he wrote The Crucible and why he used a 260-year old tragedy to compare it to???