University of Chicago Lab School- Ms. Jacobs' Page

Monday, January 04, 2010

Salem Witch Trials Blog Post Assignment

Image Source: http://www.salemweb.com/guide/images/wtrial2a.jpg

For THURSDAY, choose ONE of the online newspapers created by Mr. Nekrosius's project groups and spend fifteen minutes browsing through the various pages (you can find links to the two newspapers here). When have finished reading the newspaper, create a post that contains three things you learned from your reading and one question you have for the authors.

Remember:

You should include ONLY your first name and your class period (NO LAST NAMES) at the end of your blog post. All of Ms. Jacobs' students should post their responses to the Salem Witch Trials projects on THIS blog to receive credit.

Also, remember to be positive and detailed in your responses!

posted by Charlotte Jacobs at 5:44 AM

36 Comments:

  • I learned that Tituba (the first person to be accused of witchcraft) (supposedly) always had Salem's best interest in mind. I also learned that John Procter was the person who convinced the courts that they needed to change things. Lastly I learned that John Procter was the first wizard of the trials. My question would be does Tituba practice witchcraft now that she has signed the devils book, or was she lying in her interview.

    Ethan 8/9

    By Blogger Unknown, at 3:42 PM  

  • I read period 8/9's newspaper and thought there were many interesting facts. One thing I found cool was that there were other strong ideas for the hallucinations in the Salem Witch Trials. Instead of the belief that the girls were bewitched, the people of Salem believed in ergot poisoning, a poison that grows on rye, wheat etc. The ergot poisoning was supposedly affecting the girls and having them feel pain. Another thing that was fascinating was how people tried to identify a witch. People would try to look for obvious ways to find witches. There were methods such as trying to see a special mark from the devil on people and methods of testing if a person would float in water or not. A third thing I found interesting was that Giles Corey killed because he would not admit to being a witch. The court officials put heavy rocks on top of Giles which eventually crushed him to death.

    By Anonymous Anna 3-4, at 3:51 PM  

  • I thought that the newspaper was interesting. I only had time to read one, but it was interesting to read. I learned many new facts. The only thing that I found bad was probably a typo-In the Sections there's an article that says "John Wilard No One is Safe", but it should be "John Willard No One is Safe"
    Arthur
    3/4

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3:56 PM  

  • I read group 3/4's newspapers. I learned that the girls Elizabeth Hubbard and Abigail Williams might have accused people because they had Ergot poisoning, that Tituba signed a book from the Devil, and there were 9 other names in it even though the villagers killed 80 or so people. I also learned that it seems if you confess to being a witch, it meant you had been saved and would be unpunished. Something i would like to know is how many people objected to the Witch Trials in Salem and didn't die or be punished for it.

    By Anonymous Kevin 8-9, at 5:17 PM  

  • Karen 3-4

    I read 3/4 newspaper and I have found it very interesting. For one, I found it hard to believe some of the ways they determined if a person was a witch, especially the one where they tested if you floated in water or not. Also, I found it fascinating that it over 80 people got killed and it all started with two young girls goofing around. Lastly I learned about the whole thing, I have never learned or heard about the Salem witch trials. I would like to know how much people were left when it was over.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6:07 PM  

  • I learned about black magic, how it was used and what its consequenses were. black magic was a bad form of magic practiced by witches. some types of black magic were a prediction to the feature in the stars or on you palm, and geomancy. black magic was bad becuase it was practiced by witches, who were believed to have been sent by the devil. so anyone that was practicing it or was believed to have been practicing it would be punished and a face consequences.

    Whitney 3/4

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 7:12 PM  

  • I read period 8/9 newspaper. I thought it was very interesting because it talked about Black Magic. I never knew what Black Magic was, so I thought it was very cool. I do have one question though. How did the women curse them? It never clearly stated how the cursed them. I am kinda very confused. Other then that it was a great article.

    By Anonymous Kasey 3-4, at 10:18 AM  

  • Della
    What I learned in reading period 3/4's newspaper was all about spectral evidence. First off, what spectral evidence is. Spectral evidence is a way of identifying witches by using visions and spirits. I also learned where spectral evidence came from. It came from Europe. In addition to that, I learned a new way to identify a witch, which was blindfolding them and putting their hands on one of the cursed ones, and if they cried out, it would seal the deal for them being a witch. One question I have is were there any witch trials in Scotland before the Scottish created the law in 1563?

    Della 8/9

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1:18 PM  

  • I read the 3-4 newspaper. I found many interesting things. First, I thought it was interesting that girls became witches because they wanted power. They had little power before, but now they did have power in this situation. Second, I found out that Tituba herself did not actually try to make Betty Parris and Abigal Williams witches. She believed the devil had posessed them. Lastly, I learned that Ann Putnam and her friends accused people who they new weren't actually witches because they wanted the attention. One thing that I wonder about is why the people of Salem believed Tituba when she told of the Devil's book. She was then spared from imediate killing because the people wanted more information from her.

    Madeline 3-4

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1:22 PM  

  • I learned a lot about the Salem Witch Trials. I learned how it got started, how Ergot may have been involved, and how it ended. Again, this was a newspaper that was fun to read, and it was interesting.


    Arthur
    3-4

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1:22 PM  

  • When reading the 8-9 newspaper i found many interesting issues and conflict that occurred at the time. One subject that i enjoyed reading was about the indian wars, doing this same subject with my group it was fun to see a different style of how the topic was written. The native wars group used first person, which made it feel like you were really there at that time. i also thought that the website was very original and had some really cool drop down menus. Overall i really enjoyed reading the 8-9 newspaper so i congratulate everyone who worked on it.

    Alex 3/4

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3:00 PM  

  • I read period 8/9 newspaper. I thought it was very interesting because it talked about Black Magic. I never knew what Black Magic was, so I thought it was very cool. I also learned about the consequences and how black magic was used by Tituba. I do have one question though. How did the women curse them? It never clearly stated how they cursed them. I am kinda very confused. Other then that it was a great article.
    Revised copy.

    By Anonymous Kasey 3/4, at 3:52 PM  

  • I read period 3-4's newspaper. One of the first questions I had was what happened to Sarah Good? Also, what happened to Tituba? I learned that the first person to be accused of witchcraft and hanged was Bridget Bishop. I also learned how the trials were ended. Lastly, I learned the actual dates of these events.
    -Mimi 8-9

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4:21 PM  

  • The reports were really good! (8/9) I saw that people in 8/9 and much different information than 3/4. I am sort of confused about Giles Corey. Did he want want to die? or was he just trying to fool the guards into not killing him?
    --
    Kate 3/4

    By Blogger Unknown, at 6:49 AM  

  • I learned that Tituba was the person that was teaching the girls about dark magic. Since me and Sean were the Webmasters of the 3-4 website, I looked at the 8-9 website, I learned very much about Sarah Good and Sarah Osbourne in the 8-9 newspaper.

    By Blogger Jonah, at 7:20 AM  

  • I learned that the first witch was accused by a 12year old girl, named Anne Putnum. I aslso learned that the man who was punished by death by weight. Large rocks were put on his body until he died, what I did not know about this man was that he and his wife were accused of witchcraft. The main reason for stopping the accusations was that people were beginning to doubt that there were witches after none of these accused witches had used their power to save themselves. I wan't to know what go the people to believe in witches.

    Mary 3/4

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 7:33 AM  

  • I learned that twenty-three people died because they were accused of flying around in a form humans did not do. i also learned Betty and Abigail accused Tituba (the household maid) for their illness. he salem witch triels went from 1692-1693. Were the girls lying?


    Eleri miller Period 8/9

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 7:47 AM  

  • I learned in ye currente salem times, that ergot might have been a leading cause in the "witchlike" behavior. also I learned that Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba were the first accused of being witches. Also tituba claimed that there were nine witches in salem.

    the question I would like to ask this group is, could I have some background on Tituba (she sounds like someone from the pirates of the caribbean)?
    (p.s. it should be tymes not times)

    By Anonymous david b 8-9, at 12:49 PM  

  • i learned that the girls had learned from tituba, and had not made witchcraft up. i also learned that the girls had not just made it up, but could have been hallucinating. i also didnt know that gilles corey was an old man. Did tituba survive the trials?(my question to the editors)

    By Anonymous Will K-3/4, at 2:28 PM  

  • I learned about how the Salem Witch Trials started, and how unjust the trials were. I also learned that the girls who started the Salem Witch Trials started them from sheer boredom.Besides this, I learned about what those accused of being witches were put through. Some people were pricked with a neddle until they stopped yelling to find the so called 'devil's mark"' and them. My question to the authors is did any people start a rebellion against these trials, and if so, did it work?

    -Shekinah 8/9

    By Anonymous Shekinah, at 2:56 PM  

  • I read the newspaper from period 3/4. I learned that the people of Salem were obsessed with ridding themselves of witches, to an extent so far that they did ridiculous things like drowning others. I understood that the children in Salem had blamed a kind person like Tituba, fearing severe punishment from court. I also learned that Giles Corey had known that arguing with the court would bring him nowhere, so the only thing he could do was to die peacefully. What I didn't understand was how black magic came to Tituba. I would also like to say that I found the design for this newspaper to be really cool, so good job!

    By Blogger SuperSameer!, at 3:19 PM  

  • I loved the gossip collum because it because it was because it was really realistic. It was just like a person from Salem wrote it. They had all these wild accusations like if some ones crop did not grow they were a witch and like one measly happening could lead to several people being accused because of gossip .

    By Anonymous Liam, at 3:23 PM  

  • I read 8-9's paper. I learned that Governor Phipps recovered sunken treasure from a Spanish ship; a large sum of silver and gold. As a reward for his actions he earned 16% of it and was knighted by the King of England. Later in his life Phipps was also the first man to be appointed Royal Governor of Massachusetts, and when Phipps sailed back to America he brought the charter ending self government, making the colony under complete political control of England. I also would have to wonder how Phipps found the Spanish treasure ships if they had been lost for 50 years.

    - David Y. 8-9

    By Blogger niteblak, at 3:47 PM  

  • I learned that if you had a tiral back, in the 1600s or before or after and you did not speak. Didnt want to answer any questions the people would put you in between two big pieves of wood and put big, heavy stones on you. If you didnt speak then you would keep under the wood until you speak or die. I dont undesrtand why putting the people under wood. Were did they come up with that idea?
    Ivana 8/9

    By Blogger Unknown, at 4:07 PM  

  • James 3-4 I found that the Salem Witch Trials was kind of frightening because the first two women to be trialed were at the ages of 11 and 9 (more like little girls than women). I also learned about that Tituba always cared for Salem. I thought that she was very cool. Also about John Procter. Being the FIRST wizard in the trials, that is really cool. overall the Salem Witch Trials were really interesting.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4:42 PM  

  • i learned that in 1692 two young girls Elizabeth Hubbard, eleven, and Abigail Williams, nine, were said to be possessed by witches. Also, I learned that a so called witch named Tituba claimed that she signed the Devil's book, then accused two more witches. I also learned that the people of Salem decided how to tell if some one was a witch-- by putting someone in water and if he/she floated he/she was a witch and if the person drowned he/she was clean. Kind of a dead if i do, dead if i don't situation.

    What were some of the other witches' names?
    Benny 3/4

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5:06 PM  

  • I read the 3/4 newspaper and i learned that Tibuta was responsible for the witch trials because she taught two girls how to meow and bark. I also learned that people in that day would pressure people so harshly until they admitted that they were a witch/wizard. One way they did this was by placing a board on their head and adding heavy rocks until they admitted they were guilty even though they might not be. Lastly, I learned many ways that they thought they could identify witches like marks on their skin and asking them to recite the Lord's prayer. My question is what happened to Tibuta in the future?
    Alijah 3/4

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5:06 PM  

  • I learned that if you did not answer questions in court then you were weighted with stones till you died. Also i learned that Sarah Good became homeless because she had to pay off her dead husband's debt. A third thing is black magic is a west African religion. My question is how much weight each time did they put on Giles to eventually kill him.

    Peter 8/9

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5:36 PM  

  • Francine 3/4
    who knew witches could be 15 year old girls? pressing the truth out of someone? death of the innocent? I never imagined that you could die just because some nosy neighbor claimed to see you practicing black magic. WHEN YOU NEVER DID! i loved all these articles. everyone did a great job, i learned ALOT. :P

    By Blogger Frannieflo, at 5:58 PM  

  • I read period 3/4's paper.
    suprisingly i did not get bored woth any of the matierial considering i have a VERY difficult time reading history.
    I learned that there were more than just two girls (Elizabeth Hubbard and Abigail Williams) who were the most involved in the Salem Witch Trials. I learned about the torture of "crushing". I learned Tutubia was the one who started the idea of barking and meowing.

    I had already known that the majority of girls/women were accused but i had not know how many more women than men were accused untill i read this newspaper. The typos were annoying and i think that to make the newpaper ore realistic, there could have been advirtisments in the newsparer.
    My question is; Was Tutubia really a so-called Witch as the interview with her states? Or was she just playing along with all the girls invovled so she would not be killed or for whatever other reason?

    -Leah 8/9

    By Anonymous Leah R., at 6:17 PM  

  • I read a newspaper from period 3/4 and though that I learned about one of the most interesting people accused of being a witch. This article taught me about the life and death of Rebecca Nurse. She was a witch and what was interesting about this was that her mother was a witch and it got pasted down to her to, this event showed the presence of the devil to the towns people.I also learned that the devil also showed his presence with a his mark on Rebecca.Lastly I learn that her death was put off a whole month before she was killed. This article was very well done and informed me with very interesting information.


    Kendall 3/4

    By Anonymous Tennisgrl, at 6:23 PM  

  • Three things that I learned about the Salem Witch Trials include:
    I learned about is how the witch trials finally ended, and how the govener, sir William Phipps, stopped the Witch trials and in may of 1693, how he released all living suspected witches from the jails, ending the witch trials.
    I also learned that is is possible that the salem court was cracking under pressure because of the great stress that came with the Witch trials, and were unfairly accusing people of practicing witchcraft for no good reason.

    As well I learned about how the Salem witch trials began by two young girls by the name of Abigail Williams and Betty Parris, and how both of the girls began to act wierdly. Later, the Salem Judges began to suspect that the girls were witches, and said that the witches had began invading Salem.


    ~Angelina 3-4

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6:24 PM  

  • There were many interesting facts in the article Man Crushed to death by Stones. (8/9) The first fact that I found interesting was that Giles Corey’s wife was originally accused of being a witch and that it was at her trial that he was accused. Second, he was a member of the Church. So, it is likely that Corey was well known in the community and yet he was still accused. Lastly, what I found the most interesting was that Corey did not talk even when the court placed rocks on him in an attempt to get information out of him. One question that I had was why was Ms. Abigail Hobbs, “a known witch”, still alive? Was she still in trial?


    Kate 8/9

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6:34 PM  

  • Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9:59 PM  

  • I found the many different ways of killing witches very interesting. People would dunk them, place rocks on them, poke them with needles and more. I also did not know that ergot on rye caused the women accused of being witches to act strangely. I also didn't know how biased the courts were during the Salem Witch Trials. One thing i didn't understand about spectral evidence, is why did all of the girls in the village cried out in pain at the same time, probably knowing it would condemn the witch?

    By Blogger REDhare2201, at 3:44 PM  

  • I learned that the christian people thought that it was all the nurses bad doing for anything that went wrong. Even though nurses help people to regain there strength. Just because they used herbal medicine, they thought they worked with the devel.
    Paula,Jacobs 8/9

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 2:05 PM  

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