Great Books: Frankenstein
Teacher’s Guide
Grade Level: 9-12
Curriculum Focus: Literature
Lesson Duration: Two class periods
Program Description
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's frightening tale of science gone awry has taken on a life of its own
since the young author first published it anonymously nearly 200 years ago. Explore the novel's
themes, the author's relationship with the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, and the many stage and film
adaptations of this quintessential Gothic novel.
Lesson Plan
Student Objectives
•
Active readers interpret a novel—its characters, plot, setting, and theme—in different ways.
•
Great literature can be and has been adapted in many ways over time.
Materials
•
•
•
•
Simplified legal guides
Dictionaries
Space to set up mock trial
Great Books: Frankenstein video and VCR or DVD and DVD player
Procedures
1. After watching the video, discuss Frankenstein's nature. Was he inherently evil? What made
him so angry and vengeful?
2. Point out that in the United States these days, when litigation is so popular, a new version of
Frankenstein set here might show the monster, before going off to the Arctic, suing his creator in
civil court for negligence, malpractice, and emotional and physical distress. Tell students that
they are going to stage a mock trial of Victor Frankenstein for the above-mentioned charges.
The trial, like the novel, can have science fiction or fantasy elements.
3. Explain that the case will be heard in civil court, where a suit is brought by one individual
(plaintiff) against another (defendant). This is different from a criminal court, where the case is
between the state (prosecution) and the defendant.
Great Books: Frankenstein
Teacher’s Guide
2
4. Proceed by making sure students know what the charges are. They can research the definitions
of negligence, malpractice, and emotional and physical distress as they are used in the legal
profession. To find definitions, students may use materials prepared for jurors in local courts; in
addition, some college-level and most unabridged dictionaries will give law-specific definitions
for at least negligence and malpractice.
5. Ask students to help you determine what roles the following characters will play in the trial,
and then assign students to those roles:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Victor Frankenstein
the ghost of William Frankenstein
the ghost of Justine Moritz
the ghost of Henry Clerval
the ghost of Elizabeth Lavenza
the monster
witnesses for the plaintiff, including a medical expert and an ethicist
witnesses for the defendant, including a medical expert and an ethicist
attorney for the plaintiff
attorney for the defendant
judge
Because this mock trial is a civil case, assign six jurors and one alternate. Take the role of bailiff,
the person who keeps order in the court.
6. Go over the order in which they may carry out their mock trial:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
opening statement by plaintiff's attorney
opening statement by defendant's attorney
interrogation of plaintiff's witnesses by attorney for the plaintiff
cross-examination of plaintiff's witnesses by attorney for the defendant
interrogation of defendant's witnesses by attorney for the defendant
cross-examination of defendant's witnesses by attorney for the plaintiff
closing arguments by both attorneys
7. Give each participating student time to prepare for his or her role by reviewing the novel and
researching the book on the Internet.
8. During the trial, the judge may intervene to help the witnesses and to respond to objections by
attorneys. After both sides have rested their cases, the judge should remind the jury of its
obligations. Then you can invite the jury to deliberate in front of the class. The jury should
submit a verdict in writing to the judge, who will read it aloud.
Published by Discovery Education. © 2005. All rights reserved.
Great Books: Frankenstein
Teacher’s Guide
3
9. Determine for your class whether the trial will end with the jury's verdict, or, if found guilty,
the defendant will hear what damages he must pay to the monster. The judge, the original
jurors, or a new panel of jurors may determine damages.
10. Ask the students who did not participate in the mock trial to assess the strengths and
weaknesses of the case as it was presented in the mock trial.
Assessment
Use the following three-point rubric to evaluate students' work during this lesson.
•
•
•
Three points: Students created their role and stayed in that role very well; developed well
thought out questions or statements; and delivered questions or statements clearly.
Two points: Students created their role and stayed in that role moderately well; developed
fairly well thought out questions or statements; and delivered most questions or statements
well.
One point: Students did a poor job of creating their role and staying in that role; their questions
or statements were not clearly thought out; and they did not deliver questions or statements
well.
Vocabulary
benevolent
Definition: Marked by or disposed to doing good
Context: I was benevolent once; my soul glowed with love and understanding.
formidable
Definition: Causing fear, dread, or apprehension; tending to inspire awe or wonder
Context: Most people thought it was a formidable subject.
obsession
Definition: A persistent, disturbing preoccupation with an often-unreasonable idea or feeling
Context: Victor Frankenstein's dream of creating life became his obsession.
poignant
Definition: Painfully affecting the feelings
Context: Frankenstein illustrates the poignant struggle of an outcast to fit in to society.
predatory
Definition: Inclined or intended to injure or exploit others for personal gain or profit
Context: The experience of being abandoned drives him into a violent, predatory rage.
progeny
Definition: Offspring of animals or plants
Context: Mary Shelley referred to her book as “my hideous progeny.”
Published by Discovery Education. © 2005. All rights reserved.
Great Books: Frankenstein
Teacher’s Guide
4
Academic Standards
Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL)
McREL's Content Knowledge: A Compendium of Standards and Benchmarks for K-12 Education
addresses 14 content areas. To view the standards and benchmarks, visit
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/browse.asp.
This lesson plan addresses the following national standards:
•
Language Arts: Reading—Uses reading skills and strategies to understand and interpret a
variety of literary texts; Uses reading skills and strategies to understand and interpret a
variety of informational texts
•
Language Arts: Listening and Speaking—Uses listening and speaking strategies for different
purposes
•
Language Arts: Viewing—Uses viewing skills and strategies to understand and interpret
visual media
Support Materials
Develop custom worksheets, educational puzzles, online quizzes, and more with the free teaching tools
offered on the Discoveryschool.com Web site. Create and print support materials, or save them to a
Custom Classroom account for future use. To learn more, visit
•
http://school.discovery.com/teachingtools/teachingtools.html
DVD Content
This program is available in an interactive DVD format. The following information and activities are
specific to the DVD version.
How To Use the DVD
The DVD starting screen has the following options:
Play Video—This plays the video from start to finish. There are no programmed stops, except by
using a remote control. With a computer, depending on the particular software player, a pause
button is included with the other video controls.
Video Index—Here the video is divided into sections indicated by video thumbnail icons; brief
descriptions are noted for each one. Watching all parts in sequence is similar to watching the video
from start to finish. To play a particular segment, press Enter on the remote for TV playback; on a
computer, click once to highlight a thumbnail and read the accompanying text description and click
again to start the video.
Published by Discovery Education. © 2005. All rights reserved.
Great Books: Frankenstein
Teacher’s Guide
Curriculum Units—These are specially edited video segments pulled from different sections of the
video (see below). These nonlinear segments align with key ideas in the unit of instruction. They
include onscreen pre- and post-viewing questions, reproduced below in this Teacher’s Guide. To
play a particular segment, press Enter on the TV remote or click once on the Curriculum Unit title
on a computer.
Standards Link—Selecting this option displays a single screen that lists the national academic
standards the video addresses.
Teacher Resources—This screen gives the technical support number and Web site address.
Video Index
I. Introduction (12 min.)
A look at the life of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, the young author of Frankenstein, and an
introduction to the story told in her frightening tale of science gone awry.
II. Birthing a Monster (13 min.)
Dr. Victor Frankenstein runs away in horror after giving life to a hideous monster. In the second
part of Frankenstein, we hear the terrifying story from the monster's perspective.
III. Frankenstein on Stage and Film (13 min.)
Having turned violent due to loneliness and despair, the monster leads Frankenstein on a deadly
chase in the Arctic. Through plays and films, Frankenstein lives on.
IV. Frankenstein's Legacy (12 min.)
Over the years, Frankenstein's monster has become a symbol of what happens when science goes
too far. A look at some of the ways the monster lives on.
Curriculum Units
Segment 1. Frankenstein: An Introduction
Pre-viewing question
Q: What kinds of rules and boundaries should apply to science?
A: Answers may vary
Post-viewing question
Q: What is the definition of a “Frankenstein”?
A: Frankenstein means one who creates a monster or destructive agency that he cannot control
or that brings about his own ruin.
Published by Discovery Education. © 2005. All rights reserved.
5
Great Books: Frankenstein
Teacher’s Guide
6
Segment 2. Mary Shelley
Pre-viewing question
Q: Why do you think Frankenstein was published anonymously?
A: Answers may vary
Post-viewing question
Q: Why was the love affair between Mary Wollstonecraft and Percy Shelley so scandalous?
A: Percy Shelley was married with two children when he began seeing Mary. The two would
meet at her mother's grave. Mary became pregnant at 16 and she and Percy eloped, even though
Percy was already married. The couple went to France but soon returned to England because
they were broke. Neither Mary nor Percy's father would accept the lovers or help them pay
their debts, so they hid from debt collectors, moving numerous times.
Segment 3. Dr. Frankenstein Creates Life
Pre-viewing question
Q: Why might someone see electricity as the source of life?
A: Answers may vary
Post-viewing question
Q: What are the similarities between Victor Frankenstein and Percy Shelley?
A: Percy Shelley had a sister named Elizabeth, Victor Frankenstein's character was in love with
a cousin named Elizabeth. Victor's fictional family very closely resembled Percy's real-life
family. Also, Percy published his first book of poems under the pen name Victor.
Segment 4. A Monster's Perspective
Pre-viewing question
Q: How would you react if your friends and family abandoned you?
A: Answers may vary
Post-viewing question
Q: Was Frankenstein's monster civilized?
A: Yes, he learns to read and write and sees the world through a very poetic light. However, his
anger at being abandoned and unloved makes him violent.
Segment 5. Theatrical Versions of Frankenstein
Pre-viewing question
Q: Do you feel sympathy for Frankenstein's monster?
A: Answers may vary
Post-viewing question
Q: What was Victor Frankenstein's initial reaction to his monster in the first Universal movie?
A: In the original release, Dr. Frankenstein reacts to his monster by saying. "Now I know what it
feels like to be God." The line was later dropped, possibly because of protests by audiences
offended by the idea of a man comparing himself to God.
Published by Discovery Education. © 2005. All rights reserved.
Great Books: Frankenstein
Teacher’s Guide
7
Segment 6. Modern Twists on the Monster
Pre-viewing question
Q: Why are we fascinated with monsters?
A: Answers may vary
Post-viewing question
Q: What does the story of Frankenstein show us?
A: The story is a condemnation of science without soul. Its message makes us aware of our own
accountability when we tamper with nature.
Published by Discovery Education. © 2005. All rights reserved.