Historian Brian A. Pavlac’s TED-Ed animation lays bare how fear, torture, and flimsy evidence turned 15th- to 18th-century witch trials into state-sanctioned terror. This Witch Hunts TED-Ed analysis guide equips teachers to connect that history to modern justice issues, showing students how unchecked power can still target the vulnerable today.
Through vivid stories of Maria Höll and Rebekka Lemp—and the early dissenters who paved the way for due process—students evaluate historical causation, bias, and civic responsibility.
What You Get – Complete Classroom Kit
Teacher Guide (~9 pages, Google Doc/PDF)
Student Slide Deck (15 editable slides, Google Slides/PPTX)
10 SAT-level Vocabulary Tasks with verbatim quotes
20-item Self-Graded Google Forms Quiz & Answer Keys
Using this Witch Hunts TED-Ed Analysis Guide
Kick off with a graffiti wall on modern scapegoats, then screen the animation in two segments, pausing for think-pair-share on confession and evidence. Students use the slide deck to compare witch-hunt logic with today’s conspiracy theories and craft position statements defending due-process safeguards.
DISCLAIMER: This worksheet and question set for “Ugly History: Witch Hunts” (2017) is independently compiled for classroom use and is not endorsed by TED-Ed or Brian A. Pavlac.
