Tips for Teaching Frankenstein to High School English Students

One of my favorite books to read in high school was Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, which is probably why I enjoy teaching it so much. Whether you’re teaching it as a stand-alone text or integrating it into a larger unit, here are some practical tips to make the novel engaging and meaningful for your high school students.

Please note, I teach Frankenstein in AP English Literature, so some of these activities, align with that class. However, all of them can be used in other classes as well!

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Getting Started

Believe it or not, I spend almost a whole week getting ready to read Frankenstein. My students spend some time learning about Romanticism and Gothicism, as well as studying the author’s fascinating life.

• Mary Shelley’s Life: Dive into Mary Shelley’s fascinating background. Discuss how her personal experiences—like the influence of her parents, her marriage to Percy Shelley, and her own maternal loss—shaped her ideas about creation and responsibility.
• Historical Context: Connect the novel to the Romantic and Gothic literary movements. Highlight how scientific advancements, like the Industrial Revolution, and societal changes of the early 19th century, like the French Revolution, influenced Shelley’s writing.
• Pop Culture Connections: Many students think they know Frankenstein based on the way the monster has infiltrated pop culture. Try an introductory quiz to point out misconceptions. Questions like “Who is Victor’s assistant?” or “What is the creature’s name?” will point out what they don’t know right away!
• Don’t skip the allusions: Frankenstein is subtitled “The Modern Prometheus,” so be sure to tell students about Prometheus from Greek mythology. This Ted-Ed video can do it succinctly! There are also many allusions to John Milton’s Paradise Lost, so make connections to that whenever you can.

Themes to Discuss

There are many themes that can be aligned with Frankenstein, but these are the most common choices:

• Creation and Responsibility: Use Victor’s relationship with the creature to explore modern parallels, which have only abounded as the novel as aged. When I was in high school, we discussed stem cell research and genetic testing. These days, this novel is often discussed in conjunction with artificial intelligence.
• Light & Darkness: Shelley is not subtle in her alignment of this contrast. When a character is searching for answers, he is often described as being in the darkness. When he makes a discovery, such as a passage through ice or the reanimation of life in dead tissue, he feels as if he is surrounded by light. Ask students to keep track of symbolism of this theme since it’s easy to find.
• The Pursuit of Knowledge: Connect Victor’s ambition to contemporary examples of unbridled scientific exploration. What lessons can students learn about curiosity and its consequences?
• Isolation and Belonging: Analyze how isolation affects Victor and the Creature differently. Don’t forget to include Walton in this discussion as well! Pair this with modern articles on loneliness or depression to make it relevant.

Creative Lesson Ideas

When I teach Frankenstein, I use Guided Reading notes, quote-based close reading questions, and discussion questions. However, there are other ways to make learning Frankenstein fun!

• Retell the story with emojis – Midway through the book, I ask my students to retell the novel using nothing but emojis. I give them a few minutes to work on small groups and have them email me their answers. Then, they must stand in front of class and defend their choices. This assignment is a big hit! It also reminds students of small details they may have missed in the first few chapters.  
• Byronic Heroes – Frankenstein is a great novel for exploring the concept of a Byronic hero. I like making my students do a Byronic Hero romantic personal ad midway through the book. It’s light-hearted and fun, but helps students to realize how romantic (or Romantic) both characters are.
• Mock Trial – Put Victor Frankenstein on trial for crimes against humanity. Assign roles like defensive and prosecuting lawyers, witnesses, and a jury. Let students argue his culpability and give bonus points for connecting arguments to the novel’s themes!
• Jenga Discussions – You may have heard of Jenga discussions, where teachers put open-ended questions on Jenga blocks. These questions can be paired with any text, but they are usually a hit with Frankenstein!

Cross-Curricular Connections

If you are blessed to work in a close knit school community, there may be other teachers who wish to hop on the Frankenstein bandwagon. Here are some other subjects that solidify connections in Frankenstein!

• Science: Collaborate with a science teacher to discuss the ethics of experimentation. There are many connections from Frankenstein’s era to modern advancements like genetic testing and AI.
• Philosophy: Connect the novel’s themes to different philosophies, such as the moral responsibilities of creators using excerpts from philosophers like Rousseau, who influenced Shelley. Another connection is the role of Elizabeth in the novel, using essays from Mary Wollstonecraft (Mary Shelley’s mother).
• Social Studies: Try to align the study of Frankenstein with a study of the French Revolution. This will help strengthen ties to Romanticism and Mary Shelley’s motives for writing the novel.

Novel & Short Story Pairings

Below is a list of novels with similar themes as Frankenstein. They would be great for a thematic novel unit or literary book clubs:

• Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro – This dystopian novel explores the ethics of human cloning and what it means to live a meaningful life. This novel raises similar questions about the responsibilities of creators and the humanity of creations.
• Brave New World by Aldous Huxley – Delves into the consequences of unchecked scientific advancement and the ethical dilemmas of genetic engineering.
• The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson – Another gothic novel, Jekyll’s isolation due to his dark experiment is reminiscent of Victor’s obsession and its toll on his humanity.
• “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes – This popular short story presents the ethical argument for augmenting one’s intelligence through science. It would make a great introductory text before Frankenstein.
• Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro – A story told from the perspective of an artificial friend (robot) that examines empathy, creation, and what it means to be alive.
• The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde – This gothic novel explores the consequences of unchecked desire and ambition.
• 1984 by George Orwell – The novel interrogates the role of science and technology in controlling humanity, paralleling Victor’s failure to consider the social consequences of his actions.
• Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi – A modern retelling set in war-torn Baghdad, exploring the ethics of creation amidst violence and destruction.

Poems to Pair

In AP Lit, or in any ELA course, novels units are a great opportunity to work in poetry. Here is a list of poems that would pair well with Frankenstein. Do them individually or try a gallery walk for a full lesson and study them all at once!

• “Mont Blanc” by Percy Bysshe Shelley – Written by Mary Shelley’s husband, this poem explores themes of isolation, the sublime, and humanity’s relationship with nature, echoing Victor’s journeys in the Alps.
• “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge – This is the most frequently paired text with Frankenstein. It explores guilt, alienation, and the consequences of disrupting the natural order, mirroring Victor’s struggles and the Creature’s isolation.
• “Prometheus” by Lord Byron – Victor Frankenstein is often likened to Prometheus for “stealing” the power of creation. Byron’s poem examines defiance and suffering.
• “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley – This Romantic poem highlights themes of hubris, legacy, and the impermanence of human achievement, paralleling Victor’s doomed ambitions.
• “We Wear the Mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar – Dunbar’s more modern poem explores themes of hiding one’s true self and the pain of alienation, resonating with the Creature’s struggles to fit into a world that rejects him.
• “The Second Coming” by W.B. Yeats – Yeats’ work addresses chaos, destruction, and the loss of control, paralleling Victor’s inability to manage the consequences of creating life.
• “Daddy” by Sylvia Plath – This modern poem conveys a complex, tumultuous relationship with a father figure, mirroring the Creature’s anguish toward Victor as his creator.

Film Pairings

Despite there being many movie adaptations of Frankenstein, none of them are very good (in my opinion). But here is a list of movies with similar themes or conflicts:

• Jurassic Park (1993) – One of my favorite movies! This film explores the dangers of unchecked ambition and scientific hubris, paralleling Victor’s reckless pursuit of creation.
• Ex Machina (2014) – A thought-provoking exploration of artificial intelligence, free will, and the ethical dilemmas of creating life.
• Edward Scissorhands (1990) – A modern Gothic tale about an artificial being longing for acceptance in a world that views him as a monster.
• Blade Runner (1982) or Blade Runner 2049 (2017) – Both movies question what it means to be human as synthetic beings (Replicants) struggle with their creators and their limited lifespans.
• The Shape of Water (2017) – A love story between an isolated amphibious creature and a lonely human, exploring themes of connection and alienation.

Writing Prompts

Frankenstein is one of the most frequently taught texts in AP English Literature, likely because the novel works well with many open questions. Here are just a few of the released Q3 prompts that work well with Frankenstein:

• 2017 – “In many works of literature, a character’s relationship to the past contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole. Discuss how the character’s relationship to the past affects the plot or themes of the work.”
• 2016 – “Many works of literature contain a character who intentionally deceives others. The character’s dishonesty may be intended to either help or hurt. Select a work where a character deceives others and analyze how the deception contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.”
• 2015 – “A bildungsroman, or coming-of-age novel, focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from youth to adulthood. Select a work that traces the development of a character and analyze how the character’s growth contributes to the meaning of the work.”
• 2005 – “In many works of literature, a physical journey – the literal movement from one place to another – plays a central role. It may be a quest for self-knowledge, a desire for escape, or something else. Select a novel or play in which a physical journey is an important element and discuss how the journey adds to the meaning of the work as a whole.”
• 2003 – “According to critic Northrop Frye, ‘Tragic heroes are so much the highest points in their human landscape that they seem the inevitable conductors of the power about them…conductors of power may be regarded either as heroes or as scapegoats.’ In a well-written essay, discuss a character from a novel or play who functions as such a hero or scapegoat.”
• 2000 – “Many works of literature feature a tragic character whose downfall is caused by a particular weakness or flaw. Select a novel or play and explain how the character’s flaw is revealed through the course of the work. Discuss how this flaw relates to the meaning of the work as a whole.”

Assessment Ideas

Of course when teaching a novel, you can always give a test at the end. And I think you should! However, work in other summative assessment activities for students who aren’t test takers, or just to stump those who just read the summary of the book!

• Timed Writing: Use one of the writing prompts above for a Q3 open question essay. Or, to practice Q1 or Q2, select a Romantic poem to study or use an excerpt from the novel.

• Socratic Seminar: Use a list of open-ended questions to get thoughts brewing on the novel as a whole. For a bigger challenge, you can require students to write their own questions!
• Debates: Organize a debate on whether Victor’s pursuit of knowledge was justified. Use a simple Either/Or strategy and make students take sides on the issue. No middle ground is allowed!

Closing Thoughts

As you may have noticed, I’ve linked to several teaching resources on TpT. Frankenstein is my best-selling resource and the unit includes nearly all of these activities–and more!

Other Frankenstein Resources

Here’s a bunch of other resources that can help you get the most out of Frankenstein:

• Teaching Frankenstein Blog Post – Much Ado About Teaching
• Everything You Need to Know to Read Frankenstein Ted-Ed video
• Mary Shelley Biography from The Poetry Foundation
• “Frankenstein Reflects the Hopes and Fears of Every Scientific Era” article from The Atlantic
• Mary Shelley: A Biography video from The National Theatre
• “Doctor’s Plan for Full-Body Transplants Raises Doubts Even in Daring China” article from The New York Times
• “Should Parents of Children With Severe Disabilities Be Allowed to Stop Their Growth?” article from the New York Times

What strategies have you used when teaching Frankenstein? Share your ideas in the comments below!