Grade 7 Patient Zero Research Page
Greetings! This page has additional resources for you to use while creating your research podcast. Under each topic, you'll see different types of resources with descriptions and links to the resource. The citation is also provided. Make sure to include that in your bibliography! I'd like to shout out my librarian colleagues across the state who suggested many of these resources. Special thanks to Ms. Hauver, the Shrewsbury Public Teen Librarian, who used her awesome subscription powers to make otherwise hard to access resources available to us. THANK YOU!!!
If you have any questions or need help, please reach out to pfeynman@shrewsbury.k12.ma.us
Salem Witch Trials
SORA App - see Gr7 Patient Zero Research Project Collection
Primary Source Documents - Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive and Transcription Project - read transcripts (or original documents) of testimony, court records, and other fascinating information; they also have historical maps.
Video
National Geographic (2024). “The Salem Witch Hunt (Full Episode) | Witches: Truth Behind the Trials | National Geographic” YouTube [Video]. Retrieved on 10 March 2026 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gksEuJN04Q
Smithsonian Magazine (2024). “The Shocking History and Legacy of the Salem Witch Trials” YouTube [Video]. Retrieved on 11 March 2026 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3h6pyWrOq4.
TED-Ed (2020). “What Really Happened During the Salem Witch Trials - Brian A. Pavlac” YouTube [Video]. Retrieved on 11 March 2026 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVd8kuufBhM.
Audio
"Interview: Mary Beth Norton discusses the Salem witch trials and what may have been the real reason for the hysteria." Weekend Edition Sunday, 27 Oct. 2002.
Written transcript of: "Interview: Mary Beth Norton discusses the Salem witch trials and what may have been the real reason for the hysteria." Weekend Edition Sunday, 27 Oct. 2002.
Computer Interactives
Erciyas, Bella. “The Salem Witch Trials.” ArcGIS StoryMaps, 7 Nov. 2024, https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/71d97bf78e7744a08b9b52d9b3a30c4a (*please copy the URL and paste into your browser*)
This site uses GIS (Geographic Information System) to create interactive maps that demonstrate class, gender, and property dynamics involved in the Salem Witch Trials. Background information and explanatory text support deeper understanding.
Furlough, Mike (1999). The Salem Witchcraft GIS: A Visual Re-Creation of Salem in 1692. https://salem.lib.virginia.edu/gis/index.html. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
"The GIS gives visual representation of the social context of the witch trials episode by placing the nearly 300 people mentioned in the court records in their actual household locations in the Village.... Such relationships are more easily grasped when the locations of the family members and households are displayed on a map. Important property disputes stand in the background of the Village's experience, among families later caught up in the witchcraft trials, and the map shows the disputed property boundries....the GIS is also able to represent in graphic form important demographic information, such as age, gender, frequency of accusations by various individuals, family relationships, relative wealth of accusers and accused -- all of which have played an important role in scholars' interpretations."
Articles and Papers
Fraser, Devon (2020). “Society, Suspicion, and the Supernatural: The Factors Behind the Salem Witch Trials.” The Great Lakes Journal of Undergraduate History, 7(1).
"Interview: Mary Beth Norton discusses the Salem witch trials and what may have been the real reason for the hysteria." Weekend Edition Sunday, 27 Oct. 2002.
King, Ernest W. and Franklin G. Mixon Jr. (2010). “Religiosity and the Political Economy of the Salem Witch Trials” The Social Science Journal, 47, pp. 678-688.
“Misogyny, Ergot, or Envy? The Salem Witch Trials” The Economist, 323(7759).
New England Law Boston (n.d.). “The True Legal Horror Story of the Salem Witch Trials” New England Law Boston. Retrieved on 10 March 2026 from https://www.nesl.edu/blog/detail/a-true-legal-horror-story-the-laws-leading-to-the-salem-witch-trials.
Purdy, Sean (2007). “Conjuring History: The Many Interpretations of the Salem Witchcraft Trials” Rivier Academic Journal, 3(1). Retrieved from https://www2.rivier.edu/journal/rcoaj-spring-2007/j90-purdy-salem-trials.pdf.
Ray, Benjamin C. (2008) “The Geography of Witchcraft Accusations in 1692 Salem Village” William and Mary Quarterly, Volume LXV, Number 3. Retrieved on 11 March 2026 from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/513a/a20b6c481629445a96fb18e48ab3c954f1b7.pdf.
Reis, Elizabeth (2003). “Confess or Deny? What’s a ‘Witch’ to Do?” OAH Magazine of History.
Salem Witch Museum (n.d.). “Border Disputes” Salem Witch Museum. Retrieved on 10 March 2026 from https://salemwitchmuseum.com/locations/border-disputes/.
Saxon, Vicki (2015). “What Caused the Salem Witch Trials?” JSTOR Daily. Retrieved on 10 March 2026 from https://daily.jstor.org/caused-salem-witch-trials/.
Yuko, Elizabeth (2023). “Salem Witch Trials: What Caused the Hysteria?” History.com. Retrieved on 10 March 2026 from https://www.history.com/articles/salem-witch-trials-hysteria-factors.
This site provides information using PDF, visit this link to download the Adobe Acrobat Reader DC software.