A comprehensive companion to the teaching of this classic heritage text…
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (to give it its full title, complete with original, excessive punctuation) ticks all the boxes for an in-depth KS3/4 literature unit. Despite being a heritage text, it carries so much current cultural prominence that practically everyone is aware of it.
Right now, you’re probably picturing a slab-headed figure with a bolt through its neck – even though you, as an educator, know that this is an inaccurate representation of the creature, who in any case isn’t even the title character. Yet, for all the omnipresence of the monster in our collective consciousness, the full story as told in Mary Shelley’s 1818 Gothic novel is probably not as widely understood.
Yes, most people are aware that it involves a mad scientist constructing an animated, sentient, human-like creature out of spare body parts, but the novel is far more convoluted than that. For one thing, as a heritage text, the language is often quite dense, requiring a fair amount of unpacking for modern readers.
Turning it into a quality teaching unit would be a daunting prospect for anyone. Fortunately, however, Bloomsbury is here to lend a hand.
This comprehensive, meticulous and well-researched book (RRP £16.99 paperback / £15.29 e-book) is an indispensable guide to the teaching of Frankenstein. Written by experienced educators, it clearly demonstrates a keen understanding of the needs of the busy teacher – not least through its helpful structure, which enables you to rapidly look up precisely what you need to know, whether you’re teaching the text as a complete unit, or dipping in and out of certain sections.
“This comprehensive, meticulous and well-researched book is an indispensable guide to the teaching of Frankenstein.”
Following a necessarily lengthy instruction and introduction section, the book is divided into a series of discrete parts, each covering a handful of chapters and focusing on a phase in the development of one of the novel’s various narrators and core characters. Each part begins with a useful overview, covering themes and significant plot events, before launching into the key questions of ‘Why?’ ‘What?’ and ‘How?’ – through which, every conceivable aspect of the novel is unpicked and discussed.
As you’d expect, there’s also a wealth of supporting materials, including sample questions and suggested answers, as well as essay question stems. Further resources are available online, as indicated by a computer mouse icon.
One feature I found particularly appealing was the use of ‘Pit Stops’, which provide a pause for specific learning and assessment activities. These take the form of suggested retrieval and extension exercises, as well as academic writing points to deepen understanding. (One glance at the references section underlines how seriously the authors take this last point.)
For all its depth and complexity, this guide is accessible, well structured and usefully signposted – which is just as well, considering it runs to nearly two-thirds as many pages as the Penguin Classics edition of the original! It really is amazing how much richness and life it’s possible to derive from a single body of work.
Also available from Bloomsbury Education: a comprehensive guide to teaching Meera Syal’s GCSE set text Anita and Me.
