Tag: Faith-Based Teaching Resources

English/ELA, Faith-Based Resources, Free Resources, Teacher Resources

Frankenstein, Ian Malcolm, & Emerging Technology

AlwaysLearningHQ

Did y’all know that a new Frankenstein movie comes out in November?!

It’s releasing on Netflix and looks like it’ll be pretty intense with Guillermo del Toro at the helm of the adaptation.

Coincidentally, when I stepped back into a British Lit classroom to land the plane for the 2024–2025 school year, the final work the seniors studied was Frankenstein.

I teach in a private Christian school, so there are all kinds of lessons about the dangers of playing God that rise to the surface quickly. This work is too perfect to let it go gently into the good night of high school. So, with the goal of making the 19th-century novel relevant to today’s headline-grabbing technologies, I took a gamble.

Instead of launching Frankenstein with the Emerging Technology project as an introductory activity— or saving it for the final assessment—I paused the reading right after Victor runs screaming into the streets when his creature pops in to say “Hi, Dad!” on Creation Day.

We traced Victor’s journey from curiosity to passion, then obsession to possession, and when the consequences of his pride first peeked into the novel on that dark and stormy night, we hit pause.

At the heart of the project is Ian Malcolm’s legendary quote to Dr. Hammond about the hubris of scientific achievement without ethical consideration. That quote inspired the project’s name. (If you haven’t seen the original Jurassic Park movie in a while, take a minute to watch this clip.)

It was a very quick project, two block-schedule days total. We reviewed the presentation, chose groups, researched topics, and presented findings to the class. And oh my word, did those technologies spark some fabulous debates!

Below are PDFs of the resources we used. Students documented their group discussion and research on the worksheets. I counted the worksheets as classwork and the presentations as major assessments.

Please note: The project’s intent was to examine emerging technologies in light of traditional biblical wisdom—to factor in the should along with the could. If that’s not your worldview, you may or may not find this resource helpful.

But if it is, I can’t wait to hear how it goes!

Emerging Technology The CouldShould Project 2.0Download
Emerging Technology The CouldShould Project Worksheets 2.0Download

The post photo above is the first slide of the project’s instructional presentation, which uses a template designed by Hope Studio via Canva.

English/ELA, Faith-Based Resources, Teacher Resources

Things Hold Together

AlwaysLearningHQ

Several years ago, when I was teaching Things Fall Apart, one thing that kept hitting me over and over was the tension in Okonkwo’s life even before the arrival of the Europeans.

He’s a brilliantly crafted character—so great in his culture but so at odds with it, too. His identity is built on what he perceives to be the most important cultural values, strength and fearlessness. Yet fear certainly overshadows his thoughts and actions, and he does cruel and ruthless things to prove his unmatched strength and control. Ultimately, the culture proves cruel and ruthless toward him as well.

Clearly, the cultural shift that happened with the arrival of the Europeans hastened Okonkwo’s downfall, but there were already cracks in the life he’d built for himself.

We approached the novel through the lens of cultural and character analysis, tracking elements of Ibo (Igbo) and European cultures and the internal and external traits of the main characters. In the end, our goal was to determine the degree of impact culture and character had on each other.

I need to mention that I taught Things Fall Apart at a private Christian school and that I am a follower of Jesus Christ. That’s a key detail in this story.

As we compiled our lists of cultural elements and examined how the characters embodied their respective cultures, I had an epiphany. Or maybe two.

First, I realized that even though religion is an element of culture, there is a huge difference between culture-based Christianity and what C.S. Lewis would call “mere Christianity”… the essence of the faith apart from a particular culture.

Second, it dawned on me just how tightly the threads of my American culture and faith had woven together without my awareness. It was shocking, and I spent the next few years questioning my assumptions about faith, culture, and the connection between the two.

As I journeyed through this season, the threads of pure faith in Jesus and what it looks like to be His disciple unwound from the values my culture dictated as most important.

As challenges came and the larger culture shifted in a direction I just could not go, my foundation remained solid. The Spirit used literature to show me the cracks in the life I’d built for myself. This season led me through a major course correction.

During this time, I made a chalk-painted sign with the words of Colossians 1:16b-17 (NIV) and hung it in my classroom to remind me that anything I build my life on besides Jesus will ultimately let me down. It also became a reminder to my high school students that there’s a better foundation for their lives, a surer foundation, than the ever-shifting sands of their culture.

So, that’s the origin story for this resource.

If you happen to teach at a Christian school where students read Things Fall Apart in your English class, here’s a free poster to pair with the Yeats & Mere Anarchy poster I shared a few weeks ago. Even if you don’t teach in a Christian school where students read Things Fall Apart in your English class, you are welcome to this resource. Because it’s true: in the world, things fall apart, but in Jesus, all things hold together.

In Him All Things Hold Together 17X11 (Landscape)Download