Frankenstein Resources
Frankenstein Reading Calendar
On this site you will find links and resources for the Frankenstein Research Project. This group research project takes place in College English class and analyzes both the novel Frankenstein as we read and current articles in science and technology. Each student is responsible for his or her own contributions to the group & will give a presentation to the class at the end of the project.
Here we are about to embark on an adventure -- Frankenstein was written by an 18-year-old girl (Mary Shelley) following her eloped marriage to poet Percy Shelly. The novel came out of a late-night chat with her husband and John Keats (another poet) to see who could tell the best ghost story. (I'm guessing since hers is the only one that survived, Mary won!). The novel still challenges readers to think about nature versus nurture, the ethics of science, and the question of responsibility as well as the relationship between creator and Creation. Since Frankenstein is written as a "quest novel" you will be embarking on a research journey as we read. Your task, as we read Frankenstein, is to consider the themes of the novel, the scientific implications for today's society, and the novel itself. Just like any other novel in Ms. Gossling's class, there will be discussion, quizzes, homework, assigned readings, and lots of analysis as a class. Your group's task is to create a finalized portfolio for your assigned theme. The links below will be extremely helpful to you as you embark on this quest.
The Task
Groups will create a scientific journal that explores some of the issues raised in the novel through a modern lens. Students will research issues related to human science that has an ethical bias and analyze themes in the novel to develop an informed opinion on these topics. Groups will consisting of an editor-in-chief, a copy editor, and a photo/graphic editor. The creation and research of this project will take place while we are reading and discussing the novel in class (see the Reading Calendar for more information).
The Process
Each group will contain the following members:
Editor-in-Chief: This group member is responsible for organizing all materials, keeping the group on task and aware of deadlines, and writing the group opinion essay.
Copy Editor: This group member is responsible for creating the actual journal in Microsoft Publisher, Apple Pages, or Google Docs. Ideally, this member should have his/her own computer with this software installed.
Photo/Graphic Editor: This group member is responsible for locating graphics and political cartoons for the journal and for compiling the MLA Style Works Cited page.
NOTE: If your group consists of four members, the fourth member should float among the three positions, helping each person and contributing his/her own article and essay to the scientific journal; thus, this group’s journal will be somewhat larger than that expected by groups with three members. This student will be graded in the area where he/she made the most contributions. Rubric to come later.
All group members will research a theme (see Theme Essay Page) from the novel, read related critical analysis articles, and write a detailed and documented essay on that theme. Each member will also find, read, summarize, and critique one article on cloning or stem cells to share with the group (see Scientific Research Page). From these articles, the group will discuss the place of these issues in our society to come up with a group position on these issues. All group members are responsible for turning in all materials on time so the copy editor can create the journal.
Handout to explain project
This group project is designed as a combination of resources borrowed with utmost thanks from Mr. Waselko at Buckeye Valley High School (page removed) and Mrs. Huff and a few of my own adaptations as well. This project is presented as a cumulative research project to seniors in the College Preporatory English class at Galena High School in Galena, Illinois.
Here we are about to embark on an adventure -- Frankenstein was written by an 18-year-old girl (Mary Shelley) following her eloped marriage to poet Percy Shelly. The novel came out of a late-night chat with her husband and John Keats (another poet) to see who could tell the best ghost story. (I'm guessing since hers is the only one that survived, Mary won!). The novel still challenges readers to think about nature versus nurture, the ethics of science, and the question of responsibility as well as the relationship between creator and Creation. Since Frankenstein is written as a "quest novel" you will be embarking on a research journey as we read. Your task, as we read Frankenstein, is to consider the themes of the novel, the scientific implications for today's society, and the novel itself. Just like any other novel in Ms. Gossling's class, there will be discussion, quizzes, homework, assigned readings, and lots of analysis as a class. Your group's task is to create a finalized portfolio for your assigned theme. The links below will be extremely helpful to you as you embark on this quest.
The Task
Groups will create a scientific journal that explores some of the issues raised in the novel through a modern lens. Students will research issues related to human science that has an ethical bias and analyze themes in the novel to develop an informed opinion on these topics. Groups will consisting of an editor-in-chief, a copy editor, and a photo/graphic editor. The creation and research of this project will take place while we are reading and discussing the novel in class (see the Reading Calendar for more information).
The Process
- Assign roles.
- Assign each group member one essential question/theme from the novel.
- Decide on a scientific focus for research. Individually locate, read, summarize, and critique at least one scientific article on a human aspect of science (cloning, stem cell research, etc).
- Individually research the theme, using both the novel and related sites on the internet or in the Norton edition of Frankenstein and write an analysis essay on the assigned theme.
- Discuss the place of cloning, stem cell research, and science in our society to form an informed group opinion, which the Editor-in-Chief will write in his/her opinion essay.
- Locate graphics and political cartoons relevant to the articles and opinions of the group members and share with the Photo/Graphics Editor.
- The Photo/Graphics Editor will Create an MLA Works Cited page for information and graphics used in the journal.
- The Copy Editor will 0rganize all articles, essays, graphics, and the works cited page into a scientific journal using Microsoft publisher, Microsoft word, or as a Google Document. Make sure your information is all together and in a format that can be submitted to Ms. Gossling electronically.
Each group will contain the following members:
Editor-in-Chief: This group member is responsible for organizing all materials, keeping the group on task and aware of deadlines, and writing the group opinion essay.
Copy Editor: This group member is responsible for creating the actual journal in Microsoft Publisher, Apple Pages, or Google Docs. Ideally, this member should have his/her own computer with this software installed.
Photo/Graphic Editor: This group member is responsible for locating graphics and political cartoons for the journal and for compiling the MLA Style Works Cited page.
NOTE: If your group consists of four members, the fourth member should float among the three positions, helping each person and contributing his/her own article and essay to the scientific journal; thus, this group’s journal will be somewhat larger than that expected by groups with three members. This student will be graded in the area where he/she made the most contributions. Rubric to come later.
All group members will research a theme (see Theme Essay Page) from the novel, read related critical analysis articles, and write a detailed and documented essay on that theme. Each member will also find, read, summarize, and critique one article on cloning or stem cells to share with the group (see Scientific Research Page). From these articles, the group will discuss the place of these issues in our society to come up with a group position on these issues. All group members are responsible for turning in all materials on time so the copy editor can create the journal.
Handout to explain project
This group project is designed as a combination of resources borrowed with utmost thanks from Mr. Waselko at Buckeye Valley High School (page removed) and Mrs. Huff and a few of my own adaptations as well. This project is presented as a cumulative research project to seniors in the College Preporatory English class at Galena High School in Galena, Illinois.
Rubrics for Frankenstein Project
Theme Essay Page Scientific Research Page
This project is based on a project by Dana Huff, which can be found here.
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