An adventure of four parts awaits you as you explore the Puritan time period and study other "rule breakers."  During your adventure, you will perform various tasks to better understand crime and punishment through the ages.  Directions for completing your assignments are in this webquest.

        You have just entered the seventeenth century of Puritan crime and punishment. You have been found guilty of a crime, and now you will be punished for it.  The crime and punishment is up to you; but keep in mind that you are now a Puritan,  so you need to share your impressions, ideas, and beliefs concerning events as a Puritan would have witnessed them.

         You will be asked to perform two parts to this task.  Click on the process link below to receive your instructions.

PROCESS LINK
 

        During the seventeenth century the Salem Witch Trials occurred. Both men and women (mainly women) were accused of witchcraft or devilry. Many of the people that were accused of being a witch swore that they were innocent, but were still tried and executed. Others,  who confessed to witchcraft, were tried and set free.

        You are a journalist who is on vacation in Salem, Massachusetts, in the year 1692. You have just arrived in Salem and as you stroll through the streets you see a huge crowd gathered around a woman who is about to be hanged. You ask yourself , "What is going on?"

        As you come closer to the crowd,  you hear people chanting, "Die, you witch!"

        You become a little frightened by the tone of their voices;  you work up enough nerve to walk over to the crowd to see what is happening. You find out that the woman about to be hanged is named Bridget Bishop, and that she has been accused of witchery. 

        You have decided to extend your vacation because this is a story of a lifetime.   Is this the first of the Salem Witch Trials?
 

        You will learn about the assignment and resources for your second task by clicking on the process link below.

PROCESS LINK
 

        Hester Prynne broke society's rules by engaging in an adulteress affair and therefore had to pay the consequences for her actions. Throughout American history there have been many incidents in which groups of people have broken society's rules.

        Did these people break the rules for a just  cause or were they just  lawbreakers?  Whatever the reason, they did not sit on the sidelines; they got involved.

       Now, it's your turn to get involved by researching one of the events.  Do not sit on the sidelines!

       For this task you have the choice of becoming a historian, a journalist, a photographer, or a participant/activist in an event with a group of  other students as you explore events that broke society's rules.

      You will learn about the assignment and resources for your third task by clicking on the process link below.

PROCESS LINK
 

        By now you should realize how lucky you are to be living now rather than in the seventeenth century!  After finishing this webquest, you should have a better understanding of society during the seventeenth century as well as why some people "break society's rules."
 

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