Frankenstein Lesson Plans: Decision-Making Lesson Plans

Frankenstein Lesson Plans: Decision-Making Lesson Plans
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The Need For Decision Making Lesson Plans

After tunneling my way through sloppily assembled piles of essays and literary analyses, I vowed I’d never assign another essay. I put

them in a pile, doused them with kerosene, and took out a match. Seconds before I blew up the entire school and anything within four blocks, I changed my mind and decided to create a prewriting assignment. I grabbed something from my decision-making lesson plans pile, something from my Frankenstein lesson plans pile, and made the first ever decision-making lesson plans combined with Frankenstein lesson plans prewriting assignment.

Frankenstein Lesson Plans: Procedures

At the end of chapter 16, Frankenstein’s monster demands that Victor make him a mate. In chapter 17, Victor deliberates whether or not to do it. It’s time for your students to make that decision.

Step 1: Define the character’s goals. Successful people understand the importance of visualizing the desired result before beginning the quest. Discuss with your class what results Victor wants.

  • Victor wants to protect his family, to not get caught, and to end the monster’s destructive ways.

Step 2: List four possible decisions Victor could make, along with the pros and cons. This can be done as a whole class discussion, a small group discussion, or an indivdual assignment.

  • Choice #1 - Make the mate.

    • Pros - The monster will stop killing Victor’s family. Victor will relieve the guilt of abandoning his creature. The monster will go away and never be heard from again.
    • Cons - The monster could be lying and two monsters could cause more damage to humankind. What if the monster wants children? A race of monsters could destroy humankind. The monster’s mate may not even like the monster.
  • Choice #2 - Refuse to make the monster. Pros - There aren’t two monsters to contend with. Two wrongs don’t make a right. See the cons above. Cons - The monster will kill Victor’s family and kill people in anger.

  • Choice #3 - Agree to make the monster and not actually do it. Pros - This buys Victor some time, time to devise an alternative plan. It also gets the monster away from his family and gives them time to relocate. Cons - Imagine how angry the monster will be when he finds out he’s been tricked. Victor will have to associate with dead body parts once again.

  • Choice #4 - Agree to make the monster and while pretending to make it, gather up a posse to hunt him.

    • Pros - The monster is strong, but is he capable of fending off hundreds of angry villagers? Victor wouldn’t even have to admit he made the thing. He could just say he found the creature in the mountains.
    • Cons - It is likely the monster would tell his tale and get Victor in trouble. It is also possible that the monster could kill hundreds of villagers, murder Victor’s family, and torture Victor.

Step #3 - Force students to make a decision based on their goals. Be sure they include the reason why.

  • I would make choice #4. It’s the only one that allows for all of Victor’s goals to be achieved.

Step #4 - Assign a four-paragraph persuasive essay. The thesis statement should directly state the recommended decision.

Last But Not Least

Don’t forget to check out the <em>Frankenstein</em> study guide.

References

  • Author’s Experience

This post is part of the series: Teaching Frankenstein

These lessons will help you teach Mary Shelley’s classic.

  1. A Book Review of Frankenstein for the Teacher
  2. Unit Test on Mary Shelley&rsquo;s Frankenstein
  3. Teaching Allusion in Mary Shelley&rsquo;s Frankenstein
  4. Frankenstein Lesson Plan: Create a Monster
  5. Decision-Making Lesson Plan For Frankenstein