For Tuesday, December 16

Finish reading the play.  In my book, you will start reading on page 104 with Danforth's line, "Come here, woman.  Look at me only, not at your husband.  In my eyes only."  Think about:  What is in a name? and Hale's encouragement to lie in order to save a life.

Write your argument essay over the creativity question in your packet.  If you have misplaced your packet, I have copied the prompt below.

Schedule for the remainder of the semester:

TUESDAY:
Creativity Argument Essay- (Major Grade)
Reading Quiz- (Minor Grade)  (This will be one essay question in which you state your opinion regarding an element of the play.)
Finish Film and Discussion

MID-TERM, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 17

You will write a timed rhetorical analysis (Question 2 in your packet)- I will give you 60 minutes. You may come in with an outline and ask me questions during your writing.

You will complete two sections of multiple choice questions (about 20 questions).  You can take the time you need.  This will be graded with a sliding scale.

EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITY:

Design a book cover or a poster advertising a production for The Crucible.  On the back of your book cover or poster, explain the elements you used in your design and how they connect with the play itself.  Tying your cover/poster to the rhetorical context of the play will increase points earned.  Using embedded quotes in your explanation will be helpful.

Prompt for Question 3:
Authors Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman published "The Creativity Drisis" in Newsweek.com in July 2010.  They reported that the Torrance Test, a test of creativity that has been administered to millions of people worldwide in 50 language, indicates that the public's "creativity quotient" has steadily crept downward since 1990.  In their article, Bronson and Merryman cite the claim of Professor Kyung Hee Kim at the College of William and Mary: "It's very clear, and the decrease is very significant."  Kim reports that it is the scores of younger children in America - from kindergarten through sixth grade--for whom the decline is "most serious."

Bronson and Merryman state that "the potential consequences are sweeping.  The necessity of human ingenuity is undisputed.  A recent IBM poll of 1,500 CEO's identified creativity as the No. 1 "leadership competency" of the future.  Yet it's not just about sustaining our nation's economic growth.  All around us are matters of national and international importance that are crying out for creative solutions, from saving the Gulf of Mexico to bringing peace to Afghanistan to delivering health care.  Such solutions emerge from a healthy marketplace of ideas, sustained by a populace constantly contributing original ideas and receptive to the ideas of others."

One possible approach to this reputed decline in creativity is to explicitly teach creative thinking in school.  Write to your school board explaining what you mean by creativity and arguing for or against the creation of a class in creativity.