JGriffin


 * Diverse Text Set for: Mary Shelley's** **//Frankenstein; or A Modern Prometheus//**

This text set is intended for a 10th grade British Literature class consisting of a diverse set of students with varying ability levels. This text set takes into consideration different learning styles and includes comprehensive texts that will enable each type of learner to grasp the text. The text set will accompany a unit based on the reading of Mary Shelley’s //Frankenstein//; //or A Modern Prometheus//. The texts support themes of social and ethical conflict in regards to the creation of Frankenstein’s monster by helping students to fully understand the context of the story as well as to identify more fully with the main characters.

//Citation//: Shelley, Mary. (1994). //Frankenstein; or the modern prometheus//. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications. //Text Summary//: This story takes place in the 1790s and revolves around the brilliant Dr. Victor Frankenstein. Young Dr. Frankenstein reanimates a creature he has formed out of body parts taken from corpses. However, Dr. Frankenstein is unprepared for the consequences of his scientific endeavors and finds that he has created a monster. Contrary his hideous visage, this “monster” is capable of eloquent and complex emotions. Despite his efforts to belong in the world in which his creator has thrust him, the monster is shunned by society driving him to fiendish acts of revenge against his creator. //Rationale//: This story is an appropriate unit topic for a tenth grade English class because it requires students to think about pertinent social dilemmas, and asks them to identify on a deep level with the characters in the story. //Use of Text//: This text will be the basis of further discussion in this unit, the students will be required to read the entire text. //Attachment//: N/A.
 * A. Printed Resources**

//Citation:// Combs, B. (1989). //Found poem from Frankenstein//. Retrieved on 10/23/2010 from [] //Text Summary//: This poem is written in the “found” style, in which the author takes quotes from the text and creates a poem that describes a particular theme or character from the original text. This poem in particular uses quotes from //Frankenstein// to describe how the “monster” feels about his life and his creator. The poem cites where in the text each quote is found. //Rationale:// The author of this poem accurately sums up how the monster is feeling throughout the story, creating a comprehensive picture of a complex character. This poem can help students better identify with the “monster.” //Use of Text//: I would use this text to do two things, first I would use it to help students understand the monster’s character better by discussing and analyzing the poem. I would then ask students to make their own “found poem” from the text. I would provide a worksheet that describes how to make this type of poem. //Attachment//: Appendix A.

//Citation:// Wood, J., Woodard, L. (2006). //Found Poem Instructions//. Retrieved on 10/23/2010 from [] //Text Summary//: This is a list of instructions for writing founds poems that details how to make such a poem, and what to avoid in making such a poem. //Rationale:// This text will be helpful for students when they begin to work on their “found poems” the instructions are clear and easy to follow. //Use of Text:// They will use these instructions to create a poem that illustrates a theme in //Frankenstein// while encouraging them to dig in the text for evidence. This poem will come towards the end of the unit. This will teach students to understand the text on a more personal level while also fostering skills in evidence searching. It will also help me to assess how students understood the themes within the text. This assignment would begin in class but would be finished as homework. //Attachment:// Appendix B.

// Citation: // Venables, H. (1980). //The Frankenstein diaries//. Viking Adult. // Text Summary: // This book is an adaptation of the original //Frankenstein//. The author, Hubert Venables, believed that he found the actual papers of Victor Frankenstein, which he translated after his retirement. The story is written in first person narrative form as the diary entries of Victor Frankenstein himself. The book explores Dr. Frankenstein’s tormented soul. The text is accompanied by what the author assures the reader, are authentic drawings and diagrams by Dr. Frankenstein. // Rationale: // This reworking of the classic tail is an excellent way of gaining insight into the mind of Dr. Frankenstein. This book appeals to both visual and textual learners. This text is a clever way of making strong connections between the reader and Dr. Frankenstein. This text can be used with readers on many levels because it can be complex, but it also offers illustrative tools that can help struggling readers better understand the main text. // Use of Text: // This text could be used after the primary text has been read. I will read chosen portions of this text to the class, showing them the accompanying pictures. I will break students into groups to discuss the implication of this supplemental text on the primary text. Does it change their opinion of Dr. Frankenstein? Why or why not? // Attachment: // N/A.

// Citation: // Woods, D. (2010). Are genetically modified foods dangerous. //The Reporter//. Retrieved on 10/23/2010 from [] //Text Summary//: This article discusses the possible implication of genetically modified food (GMs). GMs are foods that take genetic materials from other plants and animals that modify them in a way that is beneficial to the producer of said food. For instance some plants are genetically modified to be resistant to pesticides that could harm them. This article shows the benefits of such food, particularly to the producer, as well as about the potential dangers to human and the environment. The major point of the article is that not enough is known about GM. //Rationale:// This article is a current example of the implications of scientific advancement in society. A major theme in //Frankenstein// is the leaps in scientific discovery that are taking place. How far is too far and who is responsible? This article begins students thinking about these themes in their own lives. Many students unwittingly eat GM foods, so this article is relevant to the students. //Use of Text:// I will use this article as an opening piece to the unit. Students will fill out a prepared anticipation guide asking questions about scientific advancement and its advantages. The students will then read this article and be asked to reconsider their anticipation guide answers. In small groups students will discuss their final answers. //Attachment:// Appendix C.

// Citation: // Lauritson, J. (2007). //The monster gazes into a pool//. Retrieved on 10/23/2010 from [] //Text Summary:// This is a drawing by Lynd Ward, from an illustrated version of //Frankenstein//. This drawing depicts the “monster” looking at his own reflection in a pool of water. Beside the picture is quote from //Frankenstein// which the “monster” reflects on the seemingly perfect lives humans live, while he himself is shunned by society. //Rationale//: This picture will hopefully appeal more to visual learners. The drawing evokes feelings of pity for the monster who canot seem to fit in despite his best efforts. Students will be able to use the photo to connect more deeply with the “monster’s” character. This photo is also a useful contrast to the usual depictions of Dr. Frankenstein’s monster, as depicted by Boris Karloff in the 1931 adaptation of //Frankenstein.// //Use of Text:// I would use this drawing paired with the quote as a writing prompt for students part way through the reading of //Frankenstein//. The students would reflect on what they have read so far, and use the drawing to write about the complicated feelings experienced by the monster and the ethical problems his creation brings up for Victor Frankenstein and society in general. Attachment: Appendix D.
 * B. Media Resources **

//Citation//: Cooper, A. (1986) Teenage Frankenstein. On // Constrictor // [lyrics]. Retrieved on 10/23/2010 from [] //Text Summary:// This is an Alice Cooper song that compares the teenage feelings of not being understood and not belonging to the life of Frankenstein’s “monster.” The teenager is the text feels that he physically and mentally does not fit in society and is therefore rejected by society, left to lurk in the darkness. //Rationale:// Mary Shelley wrote this story at a very young age, there have been many critics who have made connections between the tragedies in Mary Shelley’s life and the events in her story. This song also makes connections between the life of a teen who feels he or she does not belong and the “monster.” This text can be used to a make a direct connection between how a teenager might feel just like this hideous “monster” in a centuries old novel. Considering Shelley was hardly older than students in the class when she wrote the story, it is relevant to draw connections between feelings students might have about themselves, and feelings the “monster” has about himself. //Use of Text:// This text can be used in conjunction with background knowledge of Mary Shelley and the circumstances in her life that prompted her to write //Frankenstein//. Students would be given the lyrics to this song and asked to write a brief piece making connections between the “monster” and the teen in the song. This would happen directly after students finish reading about how society reacts to the “monster” when he tries to help others. Students will bring their pieces in to be discussed as a class the following class meeting. This will be a whole class discussion that will encompass their responses, and then begin to talk about how other groups of people might identify with the “monster.” //Attachment:// Appendix E.

//Citation:// Read, Write, Think. (2005). //Flip book.// Retrived on 10/23/2010 from [] //Summary of Text:// This interactive resource allows students to make an online flip book of key features of a story. This resource provides a format in which students can organize the facts of a text to make it clearer by putting the information in an interactive online flipbook that can be printed for quick reference. //Rationale:// The primary text //Frankenstein// is told from various points of view, as well as in a few different times frames and with different narrative styles. There are also many characters to keep track of. It could become difficult for struggling readers to understand the text if they are having a difficult time keeping track of all the different narratives that comprise this story. This text could therefore be used to make a clear outline of key characters and their narrative style. //Use of Text:// I will create a flipbook for the entire class that I will project onto a large screen. As we read the book we will file new characters into this flipbook. Students will be responsible for identifying new important characters, as well as provide a brief description of that character’s importance and whether the character is a narrator. By the end of the unit, we will have a complete flipbook that provides a comprehensive tool that can be used in the completion of an essay assessment. //Attachment:// N/A.
 * C. Online Interactive Resources**

//Citation:// U.S. National Library of Medicine. (2010). Frankenstein; Penetrating the secrets of nature//.// In //History of Medicine//. Retrieved on 10/23/2010 from [] //Summary of Text:// This is an informational site that provides deeper insight into Mary Shelley’s life, the time period in which she wrote, and explains to some degree some of the literary allusions she makes in her text. The site also discusses the current perception of //Frankenstein// as popularized by Hollywood, making stark contrast to the preconceived notions of the “monster” that have been adopted from movies and the actual story. //Rationale:// This text helps students to find deeper meaning in the story by making connections to the author and the time period in which it takes place. This will allow for a deeper reading of the text, particularly in regards to the literary allusions Shelley makes, for example //Paradise Lost// by John Milton. //Use of Text:// This text will be given as a suggestion to students as a source of background reading for deeper understanding. I will already be giving the students a background on Mary Shelley which they will use in conjunction with “Teenage Frankenstein” so this text is not mandatory for the class. However, as a suggested text it will be useful to students who may be struggling to understand the text, or when completing the end of unit writing assessment. //Attachment:// N/A.

//Citation:// Glencoe, Initials. (N/A). Study Guide for Frankenstein. //The Glencoe literature library//. Columbus, OH: McGraw-Hill. Retrieved on 10/23/2010 from [] //Text Summary:// This is a comprehensive study guide that gives an overview of Mary Shelley and the context in which //Frankenstein// was written. It also gives various ways in which to address the text through group discussion prompts, to works sheets, to important vocabulary within the text. //Rationale:// This text is useful because it helps to guide me through parts of the text that may be difficult for my class by pinpointing these areas and showing me how to address them through examples of potential assignments and in class activities. //Use of Text:// I would use this text to gain more knowledge about the background of the story, as well as to give me examples of different activities I could do in class. The text provides interesting writing prompts as well as useful work sheets I can use as examples. //Attachment:// N/A.
 * D. Instructional Resources**


 * Using these texts together in a classroom:** Used together these texts will help a diverse group of learners gain a deeper meaning of a complicated book. Through the use of varying texts, this set appeals to many different types of learning styles. This text set is a combination of resources that are relevant to students’ lives today, as well as to the period in which //Frankenstein// was written. In this all of these texts will help make connections across centuries to and make a classic novel significant to students who are concerned with their lives that are happening now. These texts will give students a deeper understanding of the social and ethical themes found in //Frankenstein// while also helping to foster skills in critical reading.

Core Standards for Reading Informational and Literary Texts  ;   Standards for the Range and Content of Student Reading - Students must be able to ** read a variety **  of literature, informational texts, and multimedia sources in order to  ** gain the knowledge **  base they need for college and career readiness.
 * Learning Objectives:**

English Content Area State Standards: Craft and Structure - 4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone).

Joyce - I really like how you used these set of varying texts to help students sort their way through this book. Instead of just having to go to the teacher for answers, students now have the ability to use other resources to help them better understand the book and eventually form their own opinions on it. I also though the idea of the flip book was brilliant! By continually adding to the flip book as the class gets further and further into the book will definately help them through the story! - Amanda Dorado