Hello Families,
This month, we will be completing our 8th-grade unit on Equality and will begin a new unit, Science and Science Fiction.
In this unit, students read Gris Grimly’s Frankenstein, a graphic novel that incorporates engaging illustrations into an abridged version of Mary Shelley’s famous 1818 novel. Grimly’s haunting representations of Frankenstein’s creature help students understand and engage with some of the novel’s central themes: Frankenstein’s responsibility for his creation, the role of society in shaping our identity and sense of belonging in the world, and the promises and risks associated with technological advances. Students trace Victor Frankenstein’s level of empathy for his creation throughout the story, rewrite and act out key scenes from the creature’s point of view, analyze Shelley’s allusions to figures and stories from Greek mythology and Biblical texts, and debate whether Victor owes the creature a companion. At the end of the unit, after conducting research and engaging in debate, students write an essay to develop their claim about whether Victor's creature should ultimately be considered human.
In the Poetical Science sub-unit, students read two poems, a speech, and excerpts from Chapter 1 of Walter Isaacson’s The Innovators to compare and contrast the ways in which William Wordsworth, Lord Byron, and Ada Lovelace view man’s relationship with technology. The texts in this unit raise the question: Are we the masters of our machines, or are the machines our masters?
To help you navigate the assignments due this month, I have attached a picture that lists the tentative assignments for November.
