Introduction

Use this Real-Life Lens Plan to help students consider Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein through the lens of scientific responsibility with an examination of the novel’s themes, action, and characters. How does Shelley portray science? How do different characters respond to the responsibilities of pushing the limits of human knowledge? How dangerous is scientific exploration? When does science go “too far,” or when is knowledge “dangerous”? What warnings does Shelley present about the power of the human mind and scientific innovation?

Materials

Introduce the Lens

To activate students’ thinking, choose one or two of the following Real-Life Links to use in an engagement activity. Have students read or listen and discuss the content. Encourage students to jot down notes, or record class notes on the board for future reference.

Pose the following Big Idea Questions to the class:

What is scientific responsibility? 

How do different people respond to the moral issues that arise from scientific exploration?

Engagement Activity

Have students write quick initial answers to the questions. Then discuss the questions, either as a class or in small groups. Prompt students to consider the concept of scientific responsibility in a variety of scientific fields, such as biology, genetics, medicine or any other scientific field students are interested in. Encourage students to consider the moral and ethical issues that arise from scientific exploration and the ways in which members of the public—ordinary citizens, policymakers, scientists, and others—respond to these issues. Following discussion, give students time to revise their initial responses and ask volunteers to share what they wrote with the class.

CCSS

Introduce the Driving Questions

Begin by having students write their own questions about the lesson topic. Encourage them to think about what they already know about scientific responsibility and to consider the moral and ethical issues that arise from scientific exploration. Invite them to record what they’re interested in exploring further. 

Hand out the Driving Questions Worksheet. Review the questions as a class. Students should enter initial answers to the questions before and as they read Frankenstein. They will revisit the questions and revise their answers following the lesson activities, classroom discussion, and completion of the text. Remind students to support their responses with text evidence.

Integrate the Driving Questions into your classroom discussions. Use them to help guide students’ thinking about the Big Idea Questions.

1. What reasons does Victor give to explain what led him to create his “monster”? How are his reasons similar to Walton’s desire to explore the North Pole? 

2. How is nature portrayed in the novel? What warnings are given about crossing the boundaries of nature? 

3. What responsibilities does Victor have to his “creation”? Was his response to the monster’s requests fair? Why or why not? 

4. How does Walton learn from Victor’s tragic circumstances? 

5. How do the shifts in narrative perspective help shed light on the characters’ motives? Do these shifts alter your perception of the characters? 

6. How does the novel draw on the mythological story of Prometheus? 

7. What views can you infer Shelley has on the relationship between science, nature, and religion from the novel? How are these views shared or challenged in American culture today?

CCSS

Introduce the "Through the Lens" Activity

Activity: Current Science

In this activity, students will describe a current advancement in science that poses some moral and ethical issues.

Ask students to briefly summarize a current advancement in science they know about and what moral and ethical risks this advancement might pose to society. For example, if students choose to write about AI, they might summarize advancements in the automation of jobs and describe the moral and ethical issues automation presents, such as the perceived risk that robots will take people’s jobs. Encourage students to consider what they know about the issue and briefly describe the arguments for and against the advancement. Have them write at least three or four paragraphs. 

Pair students and have partners share their writing. Encourage pairs to return to the Big Idea Questions and consider how these questions might challenge any assumptions they had or deepen their understanding of their initial answers. 

Invite three or four students to share their writing with the class. Prompt whole-class discussion with questions such as: Does the issue seem more complicated the more it is explored? Are the moral and ethical risks more perceived than real? What do the moral and ethical risks people cite say about what’s important to society? 

Before moving on, explain that students will explore Mary Shelley’s treatment of scientific exploration and the moral, ethical, and spiritual issues scientific exploration poses through her use of characterization, plot, and language in the novel Frankenstein.

CCSS

Differentiated Instruction

This activity can be modified to help all students access learning.
Decrease difficulty

Begin by choosing one scientific advancement to define together as a class, including the moral and ethical issues for and against the advancement. Have pairs verbally work together to form their opinions on the topic to share with the class.

Increase difficulty

Have students work as a class to choose a scientific advancement to discuss and formally debate. Have students form two teams, one arguing for and one against the advancement. If time allows, have students support their stances with researched facts.

Introduce the Final Project

Before moving on, introduce the final projects to the class (see below for details). Have students choose the project they will complete and encourage them to keep their project in mind as they read the text. Facilitate the formation of project groups if necessary.

Assign the Midpoint Activities

Activity 1: Point of View

Students will track shifts in narrative point of view to analyze:

1. What the shift in point of view helps them learn about specific characters and/or situations in the novel. 

2. What this shift in point of view further reveals about Shelley’s commentary on the issue of scientific responsibility. 

Students will: 

  • Track shifts in point of view in the novel and analyze what these narrative shifts reveal. 

  • Work in pairs to discuss their observations and analyses which they will record in the third column in the chart. 

  • Analyze what these shifts help them to understand about Shelley’s commentary on the theme of scientific responsibility as it is revealed in the novel. For example, how does Victor’s point of view of his dilemma contrast with the monster’s? What does this say about the role of scientist as “creator” and any moral obligations due to the “creation”? 


Students should use the Narrative Point of View worksheet to track the shifts in point of view in the novel and their analyses of the shifts.

CCSS

Differentiated Instruction

This activity can be modified to help all students access learning.
Decrease difficulty

Do a sample analysis of one section of the novel as a class to model how to fill out the chart.

Increase difficulty

Have students use the back of the worksheet to analyze and write about the author’s purpose in using the first-person point of view. Why might Shelley have wanted to tell her tale in the first-person rather than utilize, for example, a third-person omniscient narrator?

Activity 2: Characterization

Students will compare and contrast Frankenstein’s and the monster’s actions to evaluate each character’s responses to events in the novel. Students will: 

  • List major plot events and Victor Frankenstein’s and the monster’s responses to each event. 

  • Analyze how the characters’ responses contribute to the theme of scientific responsibility. 

  • Write a short essay that compares and contrasts the characters’ responses and analyzes how the responses contribute to the theme of scientific responsibility. 

Students should use the Characterization Worksheet to support this activity.

CCSS

Differentiated Instruction

This activity can be modified to help all students access learning.
Decrease difficulty

Watch the SparkNotes Plot Video Summary and work together as a class to fill out the Characterization Worksheet.

Increase difficulty

After finishing their essays, have students develop an oral presentation to formally deliver their responses to the class.

Final Projects

Students will work on their final projects after they have finished reading the complete text of Frankenstein. The first project can be completed by students working individually, while the second project calls for individuals or pairs.

Final Project 1: Victor’s Moral Conflict

Students will trace the development of Victor’s character throughout the novel, relating his character development to key plot elements. Students should focus specifically on the plot events that directly promote and challenge the reader’s view of his morality and ethics. Students will: 

  • Review the text and note places where Victor faces a moral or ethical challenge. 

  • Note Victor’s response to the challenge. What action does Victor take or what decision does he make at this critical point?

  • Explain how Victor’s responses contribute to the theme of scientific responsibility in the novel. 

  • Organize their findings in a final essay. 


Students can create a chart similar to the one in the Characterization Worksheet to support this activity and prepare notes for their final essay.

Differentiated Instruction

This activity can be modified to help all students access learning.
Decrease difficulty

Have students focus on just one of Victor’s decisions or actions.

Increase difficulty

Have students extend their essays by imagining what would have happened if Victor had made a different decision at each critical juncture in the novel. Have students write a summary paragraph hypothesizing how these changes would have affected the other characters involved.

Final Project 2: Write and Submit an Annotation to Frankenbook

Students will work individually or in pairs to write an annotation for Frankenbook, an online collaborative project where readers can submit their own comments and perspectives on the 1818 version of the novel. Show students the website and review some annotations from it as a class, or assign some for students to read for homework. Explain that a literary annotation is a note in a text that highlights historical, aesthetic, or other key information to enhance a reader’s understanding of—or reaction to—a text. Students will: 

  • Discuss and understand the features of an annotation. 

  • Construct an argument either for or against Victor’s decision to create his “monster” and his subsequent decisions not to tend to the monster’s needs. 

  • Relate the argument to the theme of scientific responsibility. 

  • Organize their findings in a formal annotation for submission to the website.

Differentiated Instruction

This activity can be modified to help all students access learning.
Decrease difficulty

Have students work in groups rather than individually or in pairs to write an annotation for the site.

Increase difficulty

Have students extend their arguments to compare their ideas with views on scientific responsibility that exist today.

Assess the Assignments

Use the Rubric for Student Assessment to evaluate student work on the lesson assignments. 

Distribute the Student Reflection Worksheet. Guide students through the self-assessment and reflection questions.

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