Trials and tribulations...

"I have LOVE in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and RAGE the likes of which you would not believe.

If I cannot satisfy one, I will INDULGE the other."

Crikey. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein certainly raises interesting questions about human nature and whether the pursuit of knowledge is always desirable. Regardless of these conundrums, I have reached the end of teaching my Frankenstein unit (entitled 'Monsters of Men'). It went down a storm with my students who were repulsed, intrigued and fascinated by the dark tale.

So I decided to go out with a bang and attempted something quite ambitious with my top band Year 8 group. To challenge them, I decided to facilitate a whole class courtroom trial. Our defendant was Frankenstein’s monster, who was being charged with multiple murders. After some research, I narrowed down the courtroom roles so that every child/groups of children had to contribute something different to the trial. This is what I ended up with:

The Judge (played by two students)
Clerk (played by one student)
Usher (played by one student)
The defendant (played by one student)
Prosecution lawyer (played by two students who took it in turns to examine)
Defence lawyer (played by two students who took it in turns to examine)
Prosecution witnesses: Victor Frankenstein and Robert Walton
Defence witnesses: DeLacey and the young girl who almost drowned
The Jury (played by twelve students)
Courtroom artist (can be played by more than one student)
Courtroom journalists (can be played by more than one student)

I gave the students a couple of lessons to prepare their roles and strengthen their knowledge of the story. There are manuals on how to run mock trials on-line so if you are able to book computers/ laptops/iPads, I suggest you direct students to this. You can also find a running order so the trial runs as smoothly as possible.

I must say, my learners attacked this challenge with gusto and the final trial itself was a sight to behold. I even went as far as providing Judge’s wigs, gavels, ‘Press’ lanyards and spectacles (for the lawyers) and a mask for the monster himself! This activity proves that impeccable planning enables learning to happen independently, as enough scaffolds have been provided to allow for autonomy.

 This can be adapted to cross-examine characters in many stories and I thoroughly recommend that you give it a go.