This lesson plan was developed by our Head of Programmes, Alice, as part of her ongoing oracy project working with the North Downs Schools’ Partnership.
The aim of this lesson was to really push and challenge GCSE students who are currently studying Frankenstein. Using argument stations is a great way to structure student discussions and create some really lively debates and discussions!
The three interpretations they explored were: a Marxist interpretation, a Feminist interpretation, and an interpretation that argued Frankenstein is simply a modern re-working of the Prometheus myth.
Download Frankenstein Argument Stations Lesson Powerpoint
Learning Objectives
- To learn three different interpretations of Frankenstein
- To find evidence and create a convincing argument for each interpretations
- For students to interrogate each interpretation and decide what their interpretation of Frankenstein might be
Starter
Two minute discussion with talk partners – What is Frankenstein ‘about’? What does it mean?
Feedback into whole class discussion.
Main activity
Divide the class into 3 groups.
Group 1 will work on the Marxist interpretation.
Group 2 will work on the Feminist interpretation.
Group 3 will work on the Prometheus myth interpretation
Each group will have 20 minutes to come up with evidence and reasons for their interpretation.
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After those 20 minutes, individuals from each group should be re-grouped together. This could be groups of 3, 6, 9 etc., but in each group there should be at least one representative from each interpretative position.
In these new groups, students then feedback and explain their interpretation in turn. Others in the group have time to question and challenge this interpretation. These small group debates and discussions are important to help students rebuild and improve their arguments, in light of criticism.
By the end of this main session, students should have notes and evidence for all 3 interpretations.
Plenary
As a whole-class, have a discussion about the 3 interpretations. Which one is least popular? Which one do most people agree with? Does anyone have an alternative interpretation they’d like to argue in favour of?
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If you are interested in having Noisy Classroom design and deliver a special oracy-focussed lesson, on a piece of literature, event in history, or anything else that your students are studying, email debbie@noisyclassroom.com