Witch "Trials"

To prepare for our unit on the Salem Witch Trials, I thought I'd share one of my favorite witch trial videos... courtesy of Monty Python.



In your journals, write a paragraph to answer the following questions and be sure to use evidence from the video.

1. Describe the tests Sir Bedivere and the townsfolk used to determine whether or not the woman was a witch.

2. Do you think they were reasonable or valid?

3. Believe it or not, Puritans living in New England actually used tests that were almost as absurd as the ones in the video. For example, real witch trials often included tossing a potential witch out into a lake... if she drowned they declared that she wasn't a witch....if she was able to swim to shore, they found her guilty of witchcraft and killed her anyway. What are your thoughts about this type of "justice?"