Crime and Punishment Lesson Plan

Understanding 19th-Century St. Petersburg

Kind of Activity:

Research

Objective:

Students will understand the text’s literary context.

Common Core Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.1.A, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.2.B, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.2.D, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.11-12.1

Structure:

Much of Crime and Punishment takes for granted the geography of 19th-century St. Petersburg, as Dostoevsky references (both directly and indirectly) real places in this city. This can create confusion for modern American students, who have never been to St. Petersburg, certainly not in the 19th century.

To help students understand the novel’s context, break them into groups of 3-4 and...