English with Mrs. Lamp

This is a great introductory activity for students studying The Scarlet Letter, Puritan Literature, and/or The Crucible!

Find more materials for teaching The Scarlet Letter on the unit page, “spoiler alert” page, and anticipation questions page. Looking for MORE unit materials for The Scarlet Letter? Try these!

Puritan Punishments WebQuest

Directions

STEP ONE

In a team of 2-4 people (or on your own), read the articles linked below. They are about Puritan crimes and punishments.

STEP TWO

While reading (or after reading), create a chart (divide a paper in half with a vertical line). On one side, list the punishment, and on the other side, list the crime. Try to find 10 crimes & 10 punishments.

STEP THREE

On the back of the page, answer these three questions:

1. What types of crimes did Puritans seem to hate the most?

2. Why do you think so many of their punishments involved public shaming?

3. Why do you think they felt the need to be so harsh?

WEBQUEST LINKS:

• https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/way-more-than-the-scarlet-letter-puritan-punishments/ (Links to an external site.)
• https://www.ushistory.org/us/3d.asp (Links to an external site.)
• https://www.sd308.org/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=36872&dataid=56099&FileName=Puritan%20Life%20Overhead.pdf (Links to an external site.)