Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Transcription

1 Problematic Situation Purpose Problematic situations allow students to use problem solving skills, decision making skills, and cooperation skills as they address imaginary situations that apply to their reading. This activity will test students reading comprehension as they analyze characterization in the book to address the imaginary situation. It will challenge students to draw on prior knowledge, and return to the text after their reading to locate relevant passages and textual cues. Context This strategy will be most effective when used after students have completed their reading. The novel reads rather like a mystery story until the last few chapters which is where the bulk of character conflict comes to light. The strategy presents an alternate ending to the story, it will be most effective when students have read the entire story and understand the primary conflict that drove the story. Students will need to be familiar with the primary characters of the story. This strategy is designed to help students build a personal connection to the story as they make decisions that will determine the fates of the characters in the book and possibly influence the fate of the known world. Directions Time limit: Spread over 2 days Day 1: minutes to introduce the assignment and strategy and to start students on the assignment Day 2: minutes for students to form small groups and come to a consensus on their decisions minutes for a class discussion comparing their decisions Materials Needed: One worksheet for each student, desks arranged in small groups for discussions on the second day 1. Students have finished their reading of the book. Ask students whether they thought Jekyll s formula was a good or a bad thing? What if Jekyll

2 didn t abuse it the way he did? Would it still have been an important scientific breakthrough worthy of study? Was it a good thing that the formula and antidote died with Jekyll? 2. After taking just a few answers for each and starting the thought process, introduce the scenario, and pass out the worksheets for students to complete. Ask the students what would happen if the formula had not died with Jekyll, but he had left complete and detailed notes that explained how to replicate the formula and antidote. 3. Students are to decide what to do with it. They must make 2 key decisions on their own that evening. a. Whether the formula and antidote (they should be treated as inseparable) should be destroyed or preserved and why. b. Which character from the story should be trusted with its destruction or preservation and why. 4. Students will need to revisit the book to find textual cues to back both of their answers. To get them started, help students find one reason the formula should be kept or destroyed and fill it out on the first chart and help them locate one or two character cues to fill out on the second chart. 5. Give students time to work on the assignment in class or assign for homework that evening. 6. In class the next day, split the class according to their initial decision of whether the formula should be kept or destroyed and form groups of 3-4 within those two subgroups. 7. Pass out the third worksheet (one for each group) and give students time to come to a consensus. They have already agreed that the formula should be either destroyed or kept, now they need to decide which character will be most trustworthy to carry out their first decision. 8. After all groups have come to a consensus, bring the group back together and let each group present their choice and why they agreed on that decision. Ask students to consider what characteristics led to their choices. Could the entire class come to a consensus or are they too divided? What does that show about this kind of a subject. Ask students whether Jekyll was a trustworthy keeper, why or why not? Discuss whether there are any such scientific discoveries that are controversially dangerous today (stemcell research, cloning, nuclear weapons, etc.) Close discussion asking students which leaders or mentors or friends in their lives they would trust with such a task. Would they trust themselves with it? Assessment

3 Grade students based on their at-home preparation of the first worksheet, and on their participation in the group decision and class discussion.

4 Problematic Situation: Who do You Trust? The Scenario: We are going to use this activity to rewrite the ending to the story. After Jekyll s untimely death in the gruesome form of Mr. Hyde, you managed to find Jekyll s last letter just like Utterson did in the book, but enclosed within the same envelope was a full formula write-up for the substance that Jekyll used to become Mr. Hyde as well as a full explanation of how to create the antidote. You are now responsible for deciding what to do with them. Do you decide that they are too dangerous or that they should be preserved so they can be studied and possibly lead to further scientific discoveries? Look back through the text to find cues that help you with your decision and record them on the worksheet, then circle your final decision at the top. Only here s the catch, once you ve made your choice, you must not decide who should be trusted with carrying it out. Because you re simply a visitor in the story, you must decide which character will be most likely to carry out your wishes. You may consider that Dr. Lanyon lived through his shock, and that he is a viable option. Do you trust him? What about Jekyll s faithful butler, Poole? Or do you choose the narrator, Mr. Utterson? Again, go back through the book to locate textual cues that will help you choose the most appropriate character. Make note of all the cues on the worksheet and use them to make your decision. Again, circle it at the top. Bring both charts to class the next day where you will form groups and come to a consensus on both decisions. Be sure to make the best choice for your group and to support it with evidence from the book. Be prepared to defend your choice to the rest of the class afterward. Good Luck!

5 Name: Period Do you choose to destroy Jekyll s formula or preserve it (in pen circle the one you choose? Destroy or Preserve Use the following chart to document evidence from the text and back up your answer. You do not need to write in complete sentences, but make note of page numbers and basic ideas that you can use to defend your choice. Evidence for Destruction Evidence for Preservation

6 Name: Period: Which character do you trust to carry out your first decision (in pen circle the one you choose on your own): Poole or Dr. Lanyon or Mr. Utterson Use the chart below to document any textual cues that demonstrate certain qualities of each character. Use these qualities to choose which character will be most trustworthy to carry out your first decision. Be sure to document evidence for all three, so you can refer to it when you make your initial decision and when you need to form a consensus as a group. Poole Dr. Lanyon Mr. Utterson

7 Group Names: Period: Use your first charts to reach a group consensus. Circle whether your group chose to Destroy or Preserve the formula. In the space below write the name of the character you choose to trust and explain why. Be sure to include specific textual evidence in your answer. Be prepared to explain and defend your choice to the class.

8 Reflection I really like the problematic situations activity for its ability to bring the text to a more real world level. There are so many opportunities to take the more abstract themes and issues of the work to a more concrete level through this activity. When students must make choices that actually influence the outcome of the book and possibly even affect the lives of real people, the issues in the book become more real to them. The decisions require students to read back through the book, finding textual cues that will be important for creating well-written literary analyses, to make educated decisions so they can be good contributors to their groups. I especially like the potential for deep and thought provoking instruction at the end of the activity. Asking students to apply the idea of trust and character to the book is only one aspect of application. It really hits home as an important life truth when they are asked to evaluate their own trust toward others in their lives and especially when they are asked to evaluate their own level of character. It leaves a lot of room for further discussion and writing assignments that can develop these themes even more.