The Salem Witch Trials were a dark chapter in American history, particularly during the colonial period. This infamous event took place in Salem Village, Massachusetts, in the late 17th century. The video about the Salem witch trials for middle school students aims to provide an overview of the events and shed light on the causes, consequences, and lessons learned from this tragic episode. The video begins by introducing the historical context of the Puritan society in colonial New England, emphasizing the strict religious beliefs and moral codes prevalent at the time. It explains how these religious beliefs influenced the attitudes of the community towards witchcraft and the supernatural. The video then delves into the events that triggered the witch trials.

Salem witch trials video for middle school

Contributor:: TeachWithBri Meant for Grades: 6 to 12 Number of pages: 30+ Grading Rubric and Answer Key: Included Versions included: Digital and Printable PDF

Product Description

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Travel to Salem, Massachusetts to explore and learn all about the history of the Salem Witch Trials in this Virtual Field Trip worksheet activity pack. This historic lesson is perfect for middle school and high school this Halloween or Fall

Take a Virtual Field Trip:

• Take a video walking tour of Salem and many of this historical sites
• Watch a Ted-Edu video to learn about what the trials were and the history
• Explore the key historical sites of Salem in this 360 website tour
• Read all about the trials and "Witch Tests" at this website
• Take a detailed guided tour of the Salem Witch Trial PEM Museum

This is product includes both the digital version meant for google classroom and the PDF printable version.

This product includes all of the following plus more:

1. Free product code for teachers (a 2 Dollar Value from my store)
2. Teacher instructions and differentiation ideas
3. Student instructions
4. Virtual Field Trip go page (links to field trip activities) lots of great links!
5. Trip Overview Summary and prediction Page
6. Video Notes to guided learning questions for TED Edu talk
7. 360 Tour: Guiding questions notes pages
8. Video Notes question page
9. Locations in Salem description activity sort
10. Learning check and assessment
11. Writing summarization task
12. Application creative writing task
13. Newspaper writing summarization task
14. Comprehension writing task- newspaper article from the time period
15. Compare and contrast exercise - Court systems today vs then
16. Vlad summarization and description worksheet
17. Summary of VR 360 findings snapshot page
18. Overview of learning and summary of understanding page
19. Student assessment/learning check
20. Grading Rubric
21. Answer Key
22. Assessment Answers
23. Connect with me pages to learn more and TeachWithBri

Check out a freebie from this series and other great freebies from my store to see the types of activities included in virtual field trips.

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*Note due to the nature of this resource (for example discussion of death, witches, execution, etc) it recommended to review all materials before use with students and this is not meant for younger students (middle and high school grades).

Teaching the everyday & the extraordinary: Salem in 1692

For the 300 th anniversary of the Salem witch trials, the Peabody Essex Museum created the Days of Judgement: Salem in 1692 exhibit and video. On display were original trial documents along with artifacts belonging to some people involved in the trials. Items included Judge Jonathan Corwin’s chest, Mary (Hollingsworth) English’s embroidered sampler, old George Jacobs’ canes, and John Proctor’s sundial.

Besides the exhibit, the Peabody Essex offered The Everyday & the Extraordinary: Salem in 1692 tours to school groups. Originally located across the street from the “old witch gaol,” the 1684 John Ward house helped students imagine what 17 th -century life was like, from its simple furnishings to outmoded kitchen implements. The old home set the stage for talking about the social, economic, religious, and political conditions that led to the witch hunt.

Next, the students congregated in the one-room meetinghouse, which was similar to the 17th-century courthouse with bench seating, where they learned about court procedures. Afterward, the students reenacted the parts of accuser and accused using testimonies from the witch trials.

Recommended for middle and high school students, the program also provided teachers with a 50-page curriculum packet and reading list. Developed and tested by educators, the lesson plans introduced the basic story of the witch hunt and covered four themes: jurisprudence/law; folk belief and magic; group dynamics and prejudice; and material culture.

The video then delves into the events that triggered the witch trials. It describes how a group of young girls began exhibiting mysterious symptoms, including seizures and fits, which were attributed to witchcraft. The accusations spread like wildfire, resulting in the arrest and interrogation of numerous individuals, mostly women, as suspected witches.

What the Witch Hunts Teach Us

Between the museum visits and the classroom lessons, students discovered why studying the Salem witch hunt is still relevant today. Some of the ideas include:

• The importance of primary sources and how secondary accounts and later interpretations can change how we view history
• The difference between bias and objectivity, and how loaded words can influence the audience
• How group dynamics and mob mentality can influence outcomes
• How to weigh evidence based upon what you know, and what’s admissible evidence within the historical context
• How laws, scientific knowledge, and belief systems change over time
• How traditions and practices are different among groups of people and through time
• How ethnocentric groups discriminate, stereotype, and scapegoat others; and how we can combat intolerance and prejudice by recognizing it
• How the roles of women have changed over 300 years; and why gender, ethnicity, religious beliefs, race, culture, etc., influence us today
• How to have courage and believe in yourself, like the innocent victims who would not falsely confess to witchcraft and were hanged

In 1998, the Peabody Essex Museum opened The Real Witchcraft Papers “permanent exhibit” at the Phillips Library across the street from the main museum. Before 2011, when the Phillips Library collection was moved to a “temporary” collection center during renovations to the building, the so-called permanent exhibit was dismantled and taken off display.

Today, the Peabody Essex no longer maintains a permanent witch-hunt exhibit nor offers witch-hunt-themed school programs, despite the huge value of using these artifacts and original documents as teaching tools. Over the last 10+ years, the Peabody Essex Museum changed its mission by focusing on art and culture, while relegating “history” to the tourist attractions. Unfortunately, those businesses don’t have the historical settings, artifacts, original documents, educational resources, and prestige to put together an influential exhibit and educational program like PEM did with The Everyday & the Extraordinary: Salem in 1692.

Note: Since this post was written, PEM’s Phillips Library moved to Rowley, Massachusetts. The Peabody Essex Museum also presented two Salem witch trials exhibits, with plans for more. Check the PEM site for upcoming events and exhibits.

To see photos of some of PEM’s Salem witch trials artifacts, check out The Salem Witchcraft Trials, a booklet by Katherine Richardson (1983).

Books (All Ages):

A Break with Charity Susanna desperately wants to join the circle of girls who meet every week at the parsonage. What she doesn’t realize is that the girls are about to set off a torrent of false accusations leading to the imprisonment and execution of countless innocent people. Susanna faces a painful choice. A Story about the Salem Witch Trials. Level 4.7, but longer for more mature students. Older students.

Accused of Witchcraft From 1692 through 1693 neighbors were accusing neighbors of witchcraft and sentencing one another to death. Follow along with the true story of a doomed town amid some of the world’s most famous witch trials. Level 5.4. Massachusetts.

Beyond the Burning Time When young Betty Parris contracts a mysterious ailment that spreads to other girls in her Puritan village of Salem, Betty and her family must confront the deadly superstitions that will change their lives. Level 5.6. Mature Older students.

Fire and Brimstone: Salem Witch Trials (Behind the Curtain) A Play. The events surrounding the Salem Witch Trials did not look the same to everyone involved. Step back in time and into the shoes of a minister, an accused witch, and an accuser as readers act out the scenes that took place in the midst of this historic event. Written with simplified, considerate text to help struggling readers, books in this series are made to build confidence as readers engage and read aloud. Middle students.

I Walk in Dread: The Diary of Deliverance Trembly, Witness to the Salem Witch Trials, Massachusetts Bay Colony A Dear America book. Deliverance Trembley lives in Salem Village, where she must take care of her sickly sister, Mem, and where she does her daily chores in fear of her cruel uncle’s angry temper. But when four young girls from the village accuse some of the local women of being witches, Deliverance finds herself caught up in the ensuing drama of the trials. Older students

Salem Witch Trials: Colonial Life What was life like in the colonies back in 1692? It was pretty scary if you lived in Salem, Massachusetts! That year, the town of Salem seemed to think everyone was a witch. Even children as young as four years old were accused of being witches! These witches were harshly punished, too. It was even worse for them if they didn’t confess. Why did the witch hunt happen? How did it finally come to an end? Younger to Middle students.

The Crucible: A Play in Four Acts Based on historical people and real events, Arthur Miller’s play uses the destructive power of socially sanctioned violence unleashed by the rumors of witchcraft as a powerful parable about McCarthyism. Older students.

The Devil’s Door: A Salem Witchcraft Story Sarah Wright and her father came to Salem Village to start a new life. But a strange affliction began tormenting some young girls in the village. Set in colonial America, follow Sarah Wright on her journey in this terrifying tale of the Salem witchcraft trials. Level 4.9. Massachusetts. Middle to Older Students.

The Sacrifice In the year 1692, life changes forever for ten-year-old Abigail Faulkner. In Salem, Massachusetts, witches have been found, and widespread fear and panic reign mere miles from Abigail’s home of Andover. When two girls are brought from Salem to identify witches in Andover, suspicion sweeps the town as well-respected members of the community are accused of witchcraft. It isn’t long before chaos consumes Andover, and the Faulkners find themselves in the center of it all. Historical fiction, with lots of intense scenes. Level 4.6. Massachusetts. Older students.

When a group of girls came down with a horrible, mysterious bout of illness, they pointed the finger at people in their community they claimed were witches. Soon, the whole town was convinced they were in danger from supernatural forces. Today, we have details about the accusations, trials, and those who lost their lives, but the question remains: What caused the mass hysteria? Become a detective, study the clues, and see if you can help solve this chilling mystery from history! Younger to Middle students.

The Salem Witch Trials: An Interactive History Adventure A Choose-Your-Adventure Book. The colony of Massachusetts in 1692 was a harsh place. Disease, hunger, and the threat of war made life stressful. Colonists clung to their religious faith and looked for someone to blame. Some accused their fellow colonists of causing the troubles through the practice of witchcraft. The hysteria spread until no one was safe. Will you: Attempt to defend yourself against charges of witchcraft? Try to keep your family together as your mother is put on trial? Accuse someone else of being a witch?

The Salem Witch Trials (Cornerstones of Freedom) Even before the first glorious ring of the Liberty Bell, America was a land of freedom and promise. The Cornerstones of Freedom series explores what inspires people from all over the world to start life anew here, endure the economic and social upheavals, and defend the land and rights that are unique to the United States of America. Readers will find out why the people of Salem had such a powerful fear of witches, why certain people were more likely to be accused, and how innocent people were tried and found guilty in a long string of court trials. Middle to Older students.

The Salem Witch Trials (We the People) Describes the community of Salem, Massachusetts, its Puritan beliefs, and the troubles occurring in 1692 when accusations of people practicing witchcraft led to famous trials. Middle to older students.

The Salem Witch Trials Follow the beginnings of the witchcraft hysteria that led to the Salem witch trials and learn about the impact of these trials on the people and community. Nonfiction. Level 5.7. Massachusetts. Middle to Older students.

The Salem Witch Trials Tells the story of the 1692 witchcraft trials in Salem, Massachusetts. Written in graphic-novel format. Some of the pictures are graphic (hangings, etc.). Level 4.2. Middle students.

The True Story of the Salem Witch Hunts The story of the Salem witch hunts in Massachusetts in 1692 describes social conditions, the first accusations, the trials, the spread of accusations and accusers through the area, and the end of the crisis, and discusses possible explanations. Nonfiction. Level 4.8. Massachusetts. Middle students.

The Witchcraft of Salem Village Stories of magic, superstition, and witchcraft were strictly forbidden in the little town of Salem Village. But a group of young girls ignored those rules, spellbound by the tales told by a woman named Tituba. When questioned about their activities, the terrified girls set off a whirlwind of controversy as they accused townsperson after townsperson of being witches. Author Shirley Jackson examines in careful detail this horrifying true story of accusations, trials, and executions that shook a community to its foundations. Landmark series. Middle students.

What Were the Salem Witch Trials? Part of the Who Was series. Nonfiction. Level 5.3. Middle students.

Who Were the Accused Witches of Salem?: And Other Questions about the Witchcraft Trials In June 1692, a jury in Salem, Massachusetts, found Bridget Bishop guilty of performing witchcraft. The only evidence against her was the villagers’ testimony. As punishment, she was publicly hanged. Meanwhile, local girls had been behaving oddly for months. They cried out of being pinched or choked by a witch’s spirit. The girls accused neighbors, outcasts, and respected community members of tormenting them. As fear spread through Salem, jails filled with the accused. In the end, nineteen people were hanged for witchcraft in one of the darkest moments in U.S. history. Younger to Middle students.

Witches! The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem The riveting, true story of the victims, accused witches, crooked officials, and mass hysteria that turned a mysterious illness affecting two children into a witch hunt that took over a dozen people’s lives and ruined hundreds more unfolds in chilling, novelistic detail. NOT for sensitive students, and has unsettling pictures. Level 7.8. Middle to Older students.

Witch Hunt: It Happened in Salem Village A Step Into Reading book. It is 1692. In a small village in Massachusetts, strange things are starting to happen. One girl cries out for no reason. Another shakes and falls to the ground. Are witches at work? Soon everyone suspects neighbors, friends–even relatives! Here is the terrible but true story about the time in America when people were condemned for witchcraft. Younger to Middle students.

Witch Hunt: Mysteries of the Salem Witch Trials Salem, Massachusetts, 1692. In a plain meetinghouse a woman stands before her judges. The accusers, girls and young women, are fervent and overexcited. The accused is a poor, unpopular woman who had her first child before she was married. As the trial proceeds the girls begin to wail, tear their clothing, and scream that the woman is hurting them. Some of them expose wounds to the horrified onlookers, holding out the pins that have stabbed them — pins that appeared as if by magic. Are they acting or are they really tormented by an unseen evil? Whatever the cause, the nightmare has begun: The witch trials will eventually claim twenty-five lives, shatter the community, and forever shape the American social conscience. If you have an older student who wants to delve into the history and causes of the witch trials in more detail, this is a great starting point. Level 8.8 .Older students.

You Wouldn’t Want to be a Salem Witch: Bizarre Accusations You’d Rather Not Face Nonfiction, part of the You Wouldn’t Want To series. Level 5.1. Massachusetts. Middle students.

A Bit of Lovilness among the witchcraft.

The Tinker’s Daughter This is the story of Mary Bunyan, daughter of John Bunyan who would later write Pilgrim’s Progress. While this book has little, if anything to do with American history, I wanted to add it in here as it is a great Christian book with a great message. Level 4.3

The Witch of Blackbird Pond Sixteen-year-old Kit Tyler is marked by suspicion and disapproval from the moment she arrives on the unfamiliar shores of colonial Connecticut in 1687. Kit struggles to survive in a hostile place. Just when it seems she must give up, she finds a kindred spirit. But Kit’s friendship with Hannah Tupper, believed by the colonists to be a witch, proves more taboo than she could have imagined and ultimately forces Kit to choose between her heart and her duty. Connecticut. Older students.

Coloring Pages/Drawing:

• Salem Witch Trials coloring pages

Documentaries and Videos

• Witch Hunt in Salem: One of the Darkest Chapters of the History of the United States Note: Contains sensitive content, may be hard for younger students to watch
• What really happened during the Salem Witch Trials – Brian A. Pavlac Sensitive viewers may find some of the images and content troubling.
• The Salem Witchcraft Trials (1692) | A Witch-Hunt in Massachusetts

Museums/Field Trips (including virtual):

• The Salem Witch Museum, Massachusetts
  • Online Tour

  Songs:

  • Salem Witches: “The Mean Girls of Salem” | SUNG HISTORY
  

  The video raises the question of how fear and paranoia contributed to the escalation of the trials. Next, the video explores the trials themselves, highlighting the lack of due process, the use of spectral evidence, and the methods of interrogation used to extract confessions. It also addresses the role of the court, including the involvement of judges, such as Judge Samuel Sewall and Judge William Stoughton, in perpetuating the hysteria. Additionally, the video discusses the impact of the trials on the community and individuals involved. It touches on the economic and social consequences and how families were torn apart. The video emphasizes the importance of learning from history and the significance of protecting individual rights and due process in modern society. Overall, the Salem witch trials video for middle school students aims to provide a concise yet comprehensive understanding of this dark period in American history. By presenting the causes, events, and consequences of the trials, the video encourages students to reflect on the dangers of superstition, mass hysteria, and the importance of fairness and justice in society..

  Reviews for "Learning about the Salem witch trials: A captivating video for middle school kids"

  - Sarah - 2 stars - I was very disappointed with the "Salem witch trials video for middle school". The content was confusing and the information provided was scattered and unclear. It failed to adequately explain the historical context of the trials and did not provide enough background information for the students to fully understand the topic. Additionally, the video seemed rushed and lacked any engaging visuals or animations. Overall, I found it to be a subpar educational resource for middle schoolers.

  - Mark - 2 stars - I found the "Salem witch trials video for middle school" to be lacking in depth and detail. The video skimmed over important facts and failed to provide a comprehensive explanation of the events that took place during the trials. I think middle schoolers need more than just a surface-level overview to truly grasp the significance of this historical period. The video also lacked visual aids or interactive elements that could have made the content more engaging for students. Overall, I believe this video falls short as an educational resource and would not recommend it.

  - Emma - 1 star - I was extremely disappointed with the "Salem witch trials video for middle school". It left out crucial information and failed to provide a thorough understanding of this important historical event. The video seemed rushed and poorly researched, which resulted in a confusing and disjointed narrative. It also lacked any visual aids or examples to help illustrate the concepts being discussed. As an educational resource, this video falls short and would not be helpful or informative for middle school students.

  Exploring the Salem witch trials: A video resource for middle school kids