Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde: Social and Historical Context!

This engaging and informative lesson enables students to make sustained and developed links between Stevenson’s novella ‘Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ and its social and historical context. In particular, students learn about 19th Century attitudes towards scientific discoveries and religion, the duality of the mind, and the idea of civilisation vs. savagery.

The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which children learn through:
- Understanding key information about 19th Century through the creation of a timeline - plotting key events, inventions, and scientific discoveries;
- Comprehending the key events of the text;
- Learning about Robert Louis Stevenson and his key influences in writing the text;
- Linking their understanding of context to the key elements of the text;
- Analysing how Stevenson presents 19th Century attitudes towards religion, science, and ‘the savage.’
- Peer assessing each other’s learning attempts.

Included is:
- Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and comprehensive;
- Cards for the timeline activity;
- Links to context worksheet (and completed answer sheet for teachers);
- Analysis template with success criteria for creating well-structured responses;
- Links to an engaging video and further reading for advanced students (internet access needed for these);
- Comprehensive lesson plan.

There are also opportunities for group learning, peer assessment, and whole class discussion. These resources were originally taught to GCSE students, but with subtle adaptations they have also been used with KS3 and A Level Students.

All images are licensed for commercial use, and image rights are listed on the last page of the presentation.